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  1. ItzAmber

    ItzAmber test

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    What are the most confusing sentences you have heard?

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by ItzAmber, Oct 22, 2021.

    English is pretty confusing---even to a native speaker. Tell us sentences that are confusing and (somehow) grammatically correct. Maybe even help explain why it means what it means. You can share the sentence found in a book, someone has said, or by searching online.
     
  2. ItzAmber

    ItzAmber test

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    Here's one: Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.
    Sounds confusing, but it is grammatically correct. I don't know how to explain so here's info from a website:
    [​IMG]
    Simplified parse tree

    S = sentence
    NP = noun phrase
    RC = relative clause
    VP = verb phrase
    PN = proper noun
    N = noun
    V = verb

    "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" is a grammatically correct sentence in English, often presented as an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated linguistic constructs through lexical ambiguity. It has been discussed in literature in various forms since 1967, when it appeared in Dmitri Borgmann's Beyond Language: Adventures in Word and Thought.

    The sentence employs three distinct meanings of the word buffalo:

    A semantically equivalent form preserving the original word order is: "Buffalo bison that other Buffalo bison bully also bully Buffalo bison."

    From wikipedia.
     
  3. Catriona Grace

    Catriona Grace Mind the thorns Contributor Contest Winner 2022

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    A classic:

    She said she only kissed him.

    She said she only kissed him.

    She said she only kissed him.

    She said she only kissed him.

    She said she only kissed him.

    She said she only kissed him.

    She said she only kissed him.
     
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  4. Travalgar

    Travalgar Active Member

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    The famous Bilbo Baggins quote:
    I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve
    So basically.... what?
     
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  5. Homer Potvin

    Homer Potvin A tombstone hand and a graveyard mind Staff Supporter Contributor

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    He's admitting he's an asshole.
     
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  6. Bruce Johnson

    Bruce Johnson Contributor Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    Was this parodied in 'Walk Hard: the Dewey Cox Story'?

    After Dewey cuts his brother in half accidentally:

    "You ain't half the boy Nate was! You ain't even half the boy that the top half of Nate was after you cut him in half!"

    "So you're saying that I'm less than a quarter of the boy Nate was?"

    "The wrong kid died!"
     
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