Sunday, April 20, 2014

commas - Just me, a schizophrenic and a petty arsonist





Just me, a schizophrenic and a petty arsonist.





How many people are there in the above sentence? Is it ambiguous?


Answer



I could imagine anywhere from 1 to 3 people:



One:



Just me (further describing myself as a schizophrenic and arsonist)



Two:




Just me (describing myself as a schizophrenic), and another person who is an arsonist



Just me, and another person who is both a schizophrenic and arsonist



Three:



Me, a schizophrenic, and an arsonist


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