English Language Learners Stack Exchange
English Language Learners Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [ambiguity]

This tag is for questions about the multiple meanings of a word, or phrase.

420 questions
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7 answers

Is "until" inclusive or exclusive?

I sent an email to someone and got an auto-reply saying: I am out of the office until 09/15/2014. Does this mean he will be available on the morning of the 15th?
AGamePlayer
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2 answers

How do I say "gas"?

A friend of mine is working in a gas-mining industry. In a colloquial conversations with English speakers about his work, he uses the word "gas". In English, there are several distinct meanings for "gas", and two are highly confusing: A gaseous…
Be Brave Be Like Ukraine
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4
votes
1 answer

Certain kinds of fish or certain kinds of fishes?

Below is an excerpt taken from the passage given at Passage Comprehension page. Many scientists are working on safer and better ways to kill mosquitoes, but so far, there is no sure way to protect everyone in the world from their deadly…
Inquisitive
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4
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1 answer

About Uncle Ben's famous quote "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility"

With great power comes great responsibility I can see that it is inverted to emphasize great power and responsibility. However, when I reverse it to a normal order(?), it is not only mundane but the cause and effect relationship(?) also seems…
MAT
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3
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1 answer

Who exactly was sure in "Robin was sure to have done the work"? Robin or some other person?

Robin was sure to have done the work. Who was sure? Was it Robin? Or was it another person who was sure that Robin had completed the work? If this was Robin, why would someone write the following sentence to say that Robin was sure? Robin was…
user17969
3
votes
1 answer

Other ambiguity?
I see two possible interpretations of a phrase like English and other languages in which I'm not fluent First, "other" could imply that the qualifier applies only to the unenumerated languages, not to English. Second, "and other languages" could…
qelxiros
3
votes
1 answer

Ambiguity of 'Blank Paper', 'Blank Lined Paper', and 'Lined Paper which is not blank'

This happened with me. I asked my daughter to get me a blank paper and she gave me this. When I asked this is not the blank paper, she said it is, there's nothing written on this. Whereas I was asking for this - If I say give me a lined paper,…
Maulik V
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2
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"I saw him crossing the road", a semantic problem

I saw him crossing the road. Before, I asked a question regarding the differences between certain sentences in which "cross" and "crossing" were involved. Now, I have a new question for which I hope no one think it is a duplicate, albeit I cannot…
user114
2
votes
3 answers

What precisely is an 'art audience'?

Source: An Interview With David Foster Wallace, by Larry McCaffery [David Foster Wallace's answer to Question #2] ...But now realize that tv and popular film and most kinds of “low” art—which just means art whose primary aim is to make money—is…
user8712
2
votes
1 answer

Is the comparison "There are no people in this room as in that room." ambiguous?

There are no people in this room as in that room. Out of context, I want to know if this structure is ambiguous. Can "As in that room" be read as either: there are people in that room there are no people in that room
ForOU
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1 answer

There's no question of something

The banks have made it clear that there's no question of customers losing their credit status in light of the recent mortgage rate scandal. According to the dictionary: there's no question of (something): There is no doubt that something exists…
ForOU
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1 answer

Does the phrase "fit in" make sense to non-native English speakers?

I was planning to use the expression "fit in" in a presentation -- as in "how do you fit in [to the group]?" The audience will include people who speak English as a second language. There will be a wide range of first languages. Someone has…
James
2
votes
3 answers

Having problem comprehending "need to be used occasionally"

I cannot understand the exact meaning of this sentence in the following: Remember, too, that the words "I love you, I like being in a relationship with you. ..." are not demands and need to be said occasionally in any relationship. In particular,…
Ehsan88
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1 answer

Is the sentence below ambiguous?

I have two sentence: Diurnal fluctuation of temperature exists at the downstream location in River A. Diurnal fluctuations of temperature exists at a location in River B. I combine them into one sentence: Diurnal fluctuation of temperature exist…
T X
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I haven't eaten since yesterday

Is "I haven't eaten since yesterday" ambiguous? Does it mean I haven't eaten from yesterday until now (i.e. I didn't eat anything yesterday and I haven't eaten anything ever since), or I haven't eaten in the period of time after yesterday (i.e. I…
Apollyon
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