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The complexity of the English language

5/10/2011

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 Here is an example of the complexity of English. Professor Ernest Brennecke of Columbia is credited with inventing a sentence that can be made to have 8 different meanings by placing ONE WORD in all possible positions in the sentence: "I hit him in the eye yesterday." The word is "ONLY".
The Message:
● ONLY I hit him in the eye yesterday. (No one else did.)
● I ONLY hit him in the eye yesterday. (Did not slap him.)
● I hit ONLY him in the eye yesterday. (I did not hit others.)
● I hit him ONLY in the eye yesterday. (I did not hit outside the eye.)
● I hit him in ONLY the eye yesterday. (Not other organs.)
● I hit him in the ONLY eye yesterday. (He doesn't have another eye..)
● I hit him in the eye ONLY yesterday. (Not today.)
● I hit him in the eye yesterday ONLY. (Did not wait for today.)
This is the beauty and complexity of the English language.
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  • Home
  • About the course
  • Programs
  • Course dates
    • Koh Samui Course dates
    • Siem Reap course dates
  • FAQs
  • Accreditation
  • Contact us
  • Book your place
  • Testimonials
  • About Koh Samui
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  • TEFL Blog
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