AMBIGUITY

Marianne Joy M. Pelaez

MAT - English
 What is ambiguity in syntax?
• - doubtfulness or uncertainty as regards
interpretation or the possibility of
interpreting an expression in two or more
possible senses or ways.
 Ambiguity in Language

• - something is ambiguous when it can be

understood in two or more possible ways. In
language, a word, phrase, or sentence is
ambiguous if it has more than one
meaning.
“The chicken is ready to it.”
“I saw her duck.”
 Types of Ambiguities in
Language
1. Lexical Ambiguity
2. Syntactic/Structural
Ambiguity
What is Lexical Ambiguity?

•-if the ambiguity is in a

single word it is called as
lexical ambiguity.
“ I saw her duck.”
“I promise I’ll give you a ring
tomorrow.”
“I went to the bank.”
“I sent the bill to John.”
 What is Syntactic Ambiguity?

- if ambiguity is in a
sentence or clause it is called
as syntactic ambiguity.
“The chicken
is ready to it.”
“John enjoys
painting his
models nude.”
“The lady hit the man with an
umbrella.”
“Let’s eat
Grandma.”
“Let’s stop controlling
people.”
Try this……
“Sarah gave bath to her
dog wearing a pink
shirt.”
 “ I saw a man on a
hill with a telescope.”
“Look at the dog
with one eye.”
“Did you see her
dress?”
My mother never made
“
chocolate cake, which
we all hated.”
 “Visiting relatives
can be exhausting.”
Thank you!