ExCh1 Ambiguity 1a-c
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Example sentence: Pat didn't know a guest at the party.
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This is a scope ambiguity.
The two readings are:
Reading 1: Not > Some
- Pat knew no guest at the party.
- More formally: It is not the case that there was a guest at the party that Pat knew.
- In this reading the negation has scope over the indefinite a guest.
Reading 2: Some > Not
- There was one guest at the party Pat didn't know.
- More formally: There was a guest at that party such that it is not the case that Pat knew this guest.
- In this reading the indefinite a guest has scope over the negation.
- There was one guest at the party Pat didn't know.
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