Re:How language gives your brain a break
by dragonwriter on Tuesday August 04, 2015 @03:08PM
(#10005534)
> Yes, (1) is easier to parse (and I prefer it) but (2) is less ambiguous
Neither is ambiguous, "the old trash sitting in the kitchen" is unambiguously the direct object in #1; to make "sitting in the kitchen" apply to the subject (John) rather than being part of the phrase identifying the direct object, you'd need either to relocate it and set it off with commas ("John, sitting in the kitchen, threw out the old trash"), or add a "while" ("John threw out the old trash while sitting in the kitchen").
Neither is ambiguous, "the old trash sitting in the kitchen" is unambiguously the direct object in #1; to make "sitting in the kitchen" apply to the subject (John) rather than being part of the phrase identifying the direct object, you'd need either to relocate it and set it off with commas ("John, sitting in the kitchen, threw out the old trash"), or add a "while" ("John threw out the old trash while sitting in the kitchen").