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Poll: The files sitting in the office that I was talking about yesterday are in disarray

The files sitting in the office that I was talking about yesterday are in disarray

I was talking about the files yesterday.
I was talking about the office yesterday.
I was talking about both yesterday
The sentence is ambiguous.

Statistics Poll Stats

This Poll:

  • Votes: 171
  • Comments: 4
  • Added: February 2012

Comments:

Angela Lourdes Colaco

I was talking about the files yesterday

don

Subject-verb agreement applies.

The files .... are

If the office is the subject, it would be 'is in disarray'

Robert

Yesterday I was talking about the office in which the files are now sitting. (Non - native speaker, this is how I would paraphrase it.)

Prof H

IT's the phrase "sitting in the office" that causes the trouble here. Cutting it, or moving it after the verb if that's the meaning, is the way to solve the ambiguity of the sentence.

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