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English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? - Education (4) - Nairaland

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English Gurus What's The Correct Sentence? / English Gurus: Who's Drunk Here?? (see Pic) / English Gurus Pls Help Out. (2) (3) (4)

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Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by triplechoice(m): 4:48pm On May 02
Hillarie:


No, sir. Semantics doesn't work that way. It's an ambiguous sentence. That is to say that it can mean different things.
While you're very correct about the adverbial clause modifying the verbal phrase "beat up", (even though it was erroneously written as "beats up" ) it still doesn't explain whether it's the mother who was drunk or the daughter. Read up on ambiguity in language.

My dear ,each of the constituent parts of the sentence have their function . If you know what they're ,you won't argue this with me.

The adverbial clause, "because she was drunk" is performing the function of an adverb, and adverbs can only modify verbs, adjectives, and another adverb, not nouns.

The clause is modifying the action, "beats up" and not describing the daughter as drunk.
Please read up grammatical function to understand this better.

"A father beat up his daughter because he was drunk " ,is the same kind of sentence.

You cannot argue in the above that it's the daughter that was drunk.
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by israelmao(m): 4:51pm On May 02
That sentence is ambiguous it could mother or daughter that was drunk.
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by Wanta(m): 4:55pm On May 02
One of them.... Gbam!!!
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by AfDapone: 5:00pm On May 02
kings59:
A mother is the subject, her daughter is the object, because = is the emphasis, she was drunk was the reason for the action.

Her daughter was drunk.

He threw the fruit away because it was bad.

Help us rewrite the English if the mother was the one who was drunk.
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by MorataFC: 5:01pm On May 02
socialmediaman:
It's grammatically correct but doesn't give full context. "She" could be referring to the mother or the daughter.

The correct way to express it is something like:

"A mother beats up her daughter because she (the mother) was drunk".

"A mother beats up her daughter because she (the daughter) was drunk".

"A mother beats up her daughter because she, the daughter, was drunk".

"A mother beats up her daughter because she, the mother, was drunk".

Update:

Even better ways to provide clarity:

“A mother beats up her daughter, who was drunk”.

“A mother, who was drunk, beats up her daughter”.
You Sabi book.
Seven Gbosa for u⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by AlfaSeltzer(m): 5:12pm On May 02
Only illiterates speak like this.
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by InvertedHammer: 5:14pm On May 02
/
Any Nigerian bragging about being proficient in English language is a fool.

/
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by GanagiBitrus: 5:18pm On May 02
kings59:
A mother is the subject, her daughter is the object, because = is the emphasis, she was drunk was the reason for the action.

Her daughter was drunk.

He threw the fruit away because it was bad.
You are wrong & just succeeded in misinforming ignorant N/landers.

That sentence is AMBIGUOUS & could mean either of them was drunk.

To remove any ambiguity;
A mother beats up her daughter because the daughter was drunk.

Or

A mother beats up her daughter because the mother was drunk.

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Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by jnrbayano(m): 5:18pm On May 02
Asawoboy:
grin grin

Mother or daughter is the answer due to the clumsiness of the grammar construction
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by olisamax(m): 5:21pm On May 02
Both of them are drunk
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by MetaMatrix: 5:27pm On May 02
kings59:
A mother is the subject, her daughter is the object, because = is the emphasis, she was drunk was the reason for the action.

Her daughter was drunk.

He threw the fruit away because it was bad.


You wrong, a comma (,) would have needed be after the subject ( the mother) indicating 2 mutually exclusive actions.
The mother was drunk

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Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by HALCYON44: 5:29pm On May 02
A mother is the subject
Beats up is the verb( concord)
Her daughter ( object)
Because she was drunk( adverb of reason) modifies the verb phrase "beats up"
Definitely the daughter is the one that is drunk. If it's the mother that is drunk. The sentence will be the "drunk mother "beats up her daughter
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by Biglittlelois(f): 5:33pm On May 02
Tapout:


It's obvious you're among the 140 million that scored below 200 in jamb.. cheesy


You are right, I actually scored 03 in Jamb.
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by Biglittlelois(f): 5:34pm On May 02
CaptainFM1:


There's a straight answer. Kings59 already answered it correctly @ first to comment.

He is wrong, it is an ambiguous expression that can go both ways that's why I gave possible instances to that sentence.

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Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by Biglittlelois(f): 5:34pm On May 02
chiefolododo:
they can as well both be drunk


Correct.
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by Tapout(m): 5:40pm On May 02
Biglittlelois:



You are right, I actually scored 03 in Jamb.

Keep it up!
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by criuze(m): 5:49pm On May 02
There's English word called ambiguity
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by CrossRhodes: 5:50pm On May 02
Biglittlelois:
No straight answer to this

The mother MAY be drunk and beat the daughter cos she's intoxicated, or due to anger, alcohol bring out the worst in humans

The daughter MAY be underage so can't drink alcohol

The daughter MAY be drunk which made the mother beat her.
Until then set am for IELTS, then you go know say straight answer dey.
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by triplechoice(m): 5:51pm On May 02
HALCYON44:
A mother is the subject
Beats up is the verb( concord)
Her daughter ( object)
Because she was drunk( adverb of reason) modifies the verb phrase "beats up"
Definitely the daughter is the one that is drunk. If it's the mother that is drunk. The sentence will be the "drunk mother "beats up her daughter

You got it very wrong
Look at sentence below with the same structure and tell me who was drunk?

"A Father beat up his daughter because he was drunk "
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by george5084(m): 6:06pm On May 02
The daughter here is the drunk one...she's probably talking sh*t...that pissed the mother to beat her
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by CaptainFM1: 6:07pm On May 02
Biglittlelois:


He is wrong, it is an ambiguous expression that can go both ways that's why I gave possible instances to that sentence.


Motigbo!
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by triplechoice(m): 6:08pm On May 02
Biglittlelois:


He is wrong, it is an ambiguous expression that can go both ways that's why I gave possible instances to that sentence.

Where's the ambiguity in the sentence?
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by drerocker: 6:30pm On May 02
kings59:
A mother is the subject, her daughter is the object, because = is the emphasis, she was drunk was the reason for the action.

Her daughter was drunk.

He threw the fruit away because it was bad.
Wrong ans score u 4/10
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by daniwise(m): 6:30pm On May 02
There is actually no direct answer to this question.Both mother and daughter could have been drunk.when making such comments,one should be specific.e.g

The dad beat his son because he(son or dad) was drunk.
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by BeauBragnar11: 6:35pm On May 02
Saviourk:
This is an ambiguous sentence/statement. Either of them them could be drunk; hence there's is no answer to the above question.

You must not chuck mouth for everything!!
The Daughter is the object and direct recipient of the action!!

There's nothing ambiguous there!!
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by ukaface(f): 6:53pm On May 02
Biglittlelois:
No straight answer to this

The mother MAY be drunk and beat the daughter cos she's intoxicated, or due to anger, alcohol bring out the worst in humans

The daughter MAY be underage so can't drink alcohol

The daughter MAY be drunk which made the mother beat her.
😂😂😂
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by Xinox: 6:57pm On May 02
Biglittlelois:
No straight answer to this

The mother MAY be drunk and beat the daughter cos she's intoxicated, or due to anger, alcohol bring out the worst in humans

The daughter MAY be underage so can't drink alcohol

The daughter MAY be drunk which made the mother beat her.
No way! Her daughter was drunk. The mother performed the actionsadbeat up her daughter) why? Because she was drunk ( her daughter is the receiver of the action)
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by uuzba(m): 7:12pm On May 02
Biglittlelois:
No straight answer to this
The mother MAY be drunk and beat the daughter cos she's intoxicated, or due to anger, alcohol bring out the worst in humans
The daughter MAY be underage so can't drink alcohol
The daughter MAY be drunk which made the mother beat her.

The original statement is one way many British and Americans make jokes and comedies.
It's just misdirecting the subject of the sentence. And it is intellectually engaging.
They don't have to speak bad grammar just to make a joke.
Many Nigerian comedians do not understand this and resort to speaking bad English grammar as their joke.
Which is totally unintellectual.
Here's a British skit that make use of this type of logic. The Guy is telling a story with some particular subjects
and the bar man is constantly referring to a different subject out of the same sentence.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8ko2nCk_hE

Man: My wife just doesn't understand me. (My reasonings as a man)
Barman: Polish or something (else) is she? (Polish people (from Poland) will not understand when you speak English).
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by Neoteny(m): 7:16pm On May 02
kings59:
A mother is the subject, her daughter is the object, because = is the emphasis, she was drunk was the reason for the action.

Her daughter was drunk.

He threw the fruit away because it was bad.

"It" is clearly the object.

The pronoun "she" can refer to both the subject and object as they're the same gender, so the answer is largely dependent on the context of preceding or proceeding information.
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by Pimine: 7:26pm On May 02
The sentence itself is wrong. Correct it first before expecting an answer.

Now, as for the sentence, there is ambiguity. It could be the mother or the daughter. Next time, be more specific in your communication to avoid ambiguity.
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by Slydan204: 7:46pm On May 02
kings59:
A mother is the subject, her daughter is the object, because = is the emphasis, she was drunk was the reason for the action.

Her daughter was drunk.

He threw the fruit away because it was bad.
Oga abeg chop knuckle
Re: English Gurus Pls What Is The Answer To This ?? by Ifyok50(m): 7:49pm On May 02
O'boy, nland get professors of English here oooo. I throw way salute for una.

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