GARDEN-PATH SENTENCES
A garden-path sentence is another type of Wellerism, one written in such a way as to make the meaning of the whole ambiguous. More specifically, these sentences are written so that, in the beginning, the reader is lead to believe that the sentence's logic will flow in one direction, when actually, the logic pivots on a word that has multiple meanings (a pun), and the last part of the sentence moves the whole in a different direction; the reader, then, has been lead down the proverbial garden path, hence the name. The effect of a garden-path sentence is that the reader is left shaking, or scratching, or tipping his or her head in momentary confusion.
As an example, I'll use a famous story title that is actually just the first half of a garden-path sentence: "The Most Dangerous Game." The word "game" is the pun. Does it mean "sport?" or does it mean "quarry?" Aye, there's the proverbial rub. If you read the story by Richard Connell, you'll find that, in fact, it is both "sport" and "quarry"--ambiguity, not vagueness. Still, assuming that, when people read this title, they think that "game" refers to "sport," we can make the title a garden-path sentence, if we create a predicate that uses "game" to mean "quarry:" "The most dangerous game fights back," for example.
The web sites that list garden-path sentences--those I have seen, anyway--will contend unabashedly that the sentences are grammatically correct. I have to advise caution on that point. If a person is trying to create a garden-path sentence, then the ambiguity is intentional, so, yes, the structure may be sound. If, however, you are trying to create a story or essay for a class where clarity and precision are key, then, no, garden-path sentences are both incorrect and ungrammatical, and what will happen is this: Your teacher will write down your incorrect sentence, then rewrite it on his or her web site as if it were intentionally written, and that way your teacher gets credit for something clever, where you are blamed for something incorrect. Therefore, if you do not want to fuel your teacher's humorous web pages, you must learn how to correct these problems.
So, how are garden-path sentences created? Well, often these sentences lack proper subordination. That is to say, the sentence would not be ambiguous if one of the words, "that," "which," "who" or "whom," (or related words) were strategically placed. Perhaps you can simply find a well-written sentence that incorporates subordination, and remove the term that does the subordinating. I don't know; I haven't tried. Other times it's a matter of the sentence missing a pair of commas at either end of a certain phrase. Still other times, there is another word left out that would immediately clear up any confusion if it were in place. In either event, I'm not going to tell you how to change the examples I've listed below in order to remove the ambiguity. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to read the examples and remove the ambiguity on your own by making the smallest changes possible. You'll probably be able to find corrections to similar examples on line, but you could use your brain, instead. I leave it to you. If you would like to, you may send me your corrections for my perusal, and I'll send you my comments.
As an example, I'll use a famous story title that is actually just the first half of a garden-path sentence: "The Most Dangerous Game." The word "game" is the pun. Does it mean "sport?" or does it mean "quarry?" Aye, there's the proverbial rub. If you read the story by Richard Connell, you'll find that, in fact, it is both "sport" and "quarry"--ambiguity, not vagueness. Still, assuming that, when people read this title, they think that "game" refers to "sport," we can make the title a garden-path sentence, if we create a predicate that uses "game" to mean "quarry:" "The most dangerous game fights back," for example.
The web sites that list garden-path sentences--those I have seen, anyway--will contend unabashedly that the sentences are grammatically correct. I have to advise caution on that point. If a person is trying to create a garden-path sentence, then the ambiguity is intentional, so, yes, the structure may be sound. If, however, you are trying to create a story or essay for a class where clarity and precision are key, then, no, garden-path sentences are both incorrect and ungrammatical, and what will happen is this: Your teacher will write down your incorrect sentence, then rewrite it on his or her web site as if it were intentionally written, and that way your teacher gets credit for something clever, where you are blamed for something incorrect. Therefore, if you do not want to fuel your teacher's humorous web pages, you must learn how to correct these problems.
So, how are garden-path sentences created? Well, often these sentences lack proper subordination. That is to say, the sentence would not be ambiguous if one of the words, "that," "which," "who" or "whom," (or related words) were strategically placed. Perhaps you can simply find a well-written sentence that incorporates subordination, and remove the term that does the subordinating. I don't know; I haven't tried. Other times it's a matter of the sentence missing a pair of commas at either end of a certain phrase. Still other times, there is another word left out that would immediately clear up any confusion if it were in place. In either event, I'm not going to tell you how to change the examples I've listed below in order to remove the ambiguity. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to read the examples and remove the ambiguity on your own by making the smallest changes possible. You'll probably be able to find corrections to similar examples on line, but you could use your brain, instead. I leave it to you. If you would like to, you may send me your corrections for my perusal, and I'll send you my comments.
The courageous guard freedom tenaciously.
The old man the boat
The Inuit can fish in their new factory in town.
Southern European people like Italians like dishes like pasta.
An old buddy just dropped by his girlfriend was happy to see her.
The complex houses married or single students.
The fat people eat accumulates.
Is that gold mine producing?
We painted the wall with cracks.
The government plans to raise taxes were defeated.
Beverly Hills 90210, Denver 3.
The cotton clothing is usually made of grows in the southern U. S.
The man who hunts ducks out on weekends.
When Mike eats food gets wasted.
I gave the kid the dog bit a band-aid.
The British left waffles on the Falkland Islands.
I've convinced her children are noisy.
Helen is expecting tomorrow to be a great day.
The horse raced past the barn fell.
She told me a little white lie would haunt me someday.
The man who whistles tunes pianos.
A sharp jab to the boxer's abs will wind him up.
Have the patients who didn't pass take the supplement.
The raft floated down the river sank.
Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
While I dressed the baby stayed in the playpen.
The old man the boat
The Inuit can fish in their new factory in town.
Southern European people like Italians like dishes like pasta.
An old buddy just dropped by his girlfriend was happy to see her.
The complex houses married or single students.
The fat people eat accumulates.
Is that gold mine producing?
We painted the wall with cracks.
The government plans to raise taxes were defeated.
Beverly Hills 90210, Denver 3.
The cotton clothing is usually made of grows in the southern U. S.
The man who hunts ducks out on weekends.
When Mike eats food gets wasted.
I gave the kid the dog bit a band-aid.
The British left waffles on the Falkland Islands.
I've convinced her children are noisy.
Helen is expecting tomorrow to be a great day.
The horse raced past the barn fell.
She told me a little white lie would haunt me someday.
The man who whistles tunes pianos.
A sharp jab to the boxer's abs will wind him up.
Have the patients who didn't pass take the supplement.
The raft floated down the river sank.
Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.
While I dressed the baby stayed in the playpen.
