someone said " i am getting on the bus to get to the airport in an hour",,,,does it mean he is getting on the bus in an hour? or he is getting to the airport in an hour?
2007-09-09 22:18:35 · 5 answers · asked by Aiko 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
It is totally ambiguous and needs punctuation to sort it. If you add a comma after bus and after airport, then it would mean he's getting on a bus in an hour. If you add a comma only after bus, it would mean he's getting there in an hour.
2007-09-09 22:25:48 · answer #1 · answered by anigma 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If there was a comma after 'bus', the meaning would be clear (that the bus would take an hour to get to the airport, once he boarded it). To make it clear that he is boarding in an hour, 'in an hour' should come at the beginnng of the sentence. On balance, without the comma, the most likely conclusion is that he is boarding the bus in an hour, because 'in an hour' qualifies the verbal phrase 'getting on the bus'
2007-09-10 05:32:03 · answer #2 · answered by AndrewG 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means that he's getting to the airport in an hour. If it was the bus, he'd state he was "going to the bus in an hour to get to the airport"-it's all about placement in this case.
2007-09-10 05:26:46 · answer #3 · answered by cwgrrl7 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It means that in one hours time he will be catching a bus to take him to the airport.
2007-09-10 05:27:20 · answer #4 · answered by lizzie 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
[i am getting on the bus] to [get to the airport in an hour]
he wants to get to the airport in an hour
or
[i am getting on the bus to get to the airport] [in an hour]
it needs commas
2007-09-10 05:26:26 · answer #5 · answered by Jay 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋