Who is on the corner? He or the girl?
He saw the girl on the corner.
and what about this?
On the corner,he saw the girl.
2007-01-17 18:04:45 · 10 answers · asked by edd 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
He saw the girl on the corner.
The girl is on the corner.
On the corner, he saw the girl.
He is on the corner.
2007-01-17 18:13:17 · answer #1 · answered by blahblah 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On the corner he saw the girl
2007-01-17 20:34:17 · answer #2 · answered by Neighbour 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is confusing english.He saw the girl on the corner... is just an example of a weakness of the english language..it could be either meaning...this case would normally be thought of as the girl was on the corner..but it is ambiguous.
On the corner, he saw the girl.....it too is ambiguous. We need more of the story to tell who is where.
2007-01-17 19:26:42 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
On the corner, he saw the girl.
2007-01-17 18:10:47 · answer #4 · answered by BobC 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I as a speaker of UK English would say "at the corner", because "on the corner" to me has the connotation of the kind of girl who hangs about on street corners hoping to be spotted in this way.
He saw the girl at the corner.
In this sentence, he is at the focus of attention, and the seeing of the girl is part of his visual experience.
I expect other people will disagree with this, as I think that in the USA the preposition "on" is used in ways other than in UK English -- for example, they say "on weekends" when we would say "at weekends".
At/on the corner, he saw the girl.
Here the focus is on the street and his journey up or down it. The girl is part of the scenery.
2007-01-17 22:53:20 · answer #5 · answered by Doethineb 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends on what the composer of the sentence means.
If it is the "girl" on the corner, then:
He saw the girl who was on the corner.
(Who is a pronoun that refers back to girl).
If "he" was on the corner, then:
While on the corner, he saw the girl.
"While on the corner" is an adjective phrase that modifies "he."
Not sure if this is what you were looking for.
2007-01-17 18:32:18 · answer #6 · answered by scruffycat 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It would have been better if you'd put it into context so we know why but he saw on the girl standing on the corner sounds best.
2007-01-17 18:18:21 · answer #7 · answered by Poppy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On the corner, on the corner.
2007-01-17 18:51:38 · answer #8 · answered by Bergama 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
They are both ambiguous, but the first one almost certainly means the girl is on the corner. The second one probably means she is, but it is more ambiguous.
2007-01-17 18:11:57 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
indeed!
2007-01-17 18:08:44 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋