Fatal tragedy - Dream Theater
Some days ago I was listening to this song and realized the following sentence could be ambiguous:
"Lad did you know a girl was murdered here?"
Why do I say it could be ambiguous? Because I think it could mean either....
At first we all could say the man that asks wants to know if the lad knew something about the happening, the murder itself. Otherwise he could have asked "lad did you know the girl was murdered here?".
But he could also be asking about the girl, and, what if he didn't want the lad to realize he knew the girl?? I know it's a bit stupid..hehe I mean, by saying "a girl" he could be pretending he knew nothing about the murder, whereas by saying "the girl" he would let the lad assume he was aware about everything, except for the girl's name.
In short, I want to know if this sentence is ambiguous or not. I hope you understand my argument, despite my mistakes!
Thanks in advance
"Lad did you know a girl was murdered here?"
Why do I say it could be ambiguous? Because I think it could mean either....
- 1) "Lad did you know the girl that was murdered here?" or....
2) "Lad did you know that a girl was murdered here?"
At first we all could say the man that asks wants to know if the lad knew something about the happening, the murder itself. Otherwise he could have asked "lad did you know the girl was murdered here?".
But he could also be asking about the girl, and, what if he didn't want the lad to realize he knew the girl?? I know it's a bit stupid..hehe I mean, by saying "a girl" he could be pretending he knew nothing about the murder, whereas by saying "the girl" he would let the lad assume he was aware about everything, except for the girl's name.
In short, I want to know if this sentence is ambiguous or not. I hope you understand my argument, despite my mistakes!
Thanks in advance
INGLÊS PARA VIAGENS
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