English
posted by rfvv yesterday at 2:39am
1. I saw a boy in the car.
2. When I saw a boy, I was in the car.
3. I saw a boy who was in the car. At that time I was near the car.
[Does #1 mean either #2 or #3 according to the context? Which one is a common explanation for Sentence 1?]
Writeacher yesterday at 8:20am
1 and 3 mean the same thing. 1 is the more common expression. 3 is wordy and rather awkward.
2 does not mean what the others do.
1 means that, as I was standing or walking by/near the car, I saw a boy inside it.
========================================================
1. I saw a boy in the car.
2. When I saw a boy, I was in the car.
3. I saw a boy who was in the car. At that time I was near the car.
[Thank you for your help. If somebody asks, "Where did you see the boy?", can't we answer as in #1? In that case, #1 can mean #4 or #5, can't it?]
4. In the car, I saw the boy.
5. I saw the boy in the car. [I was in the car.]
6. I was in the car, and saw the boy there.
#1 can mean the same as #s 4, 5, and 6, yes.
Yes, in the given context, if someone asks "Where did you see the boy?" you can answer using sentence #1 as well. In that case, #1 can have a similar meaning to #4 or #5.
Here are the explanations for #4 and #5:
4. In the car, I saw the boy.
This means that you saw the boy while you were inside the car. The emphasis is on the location of where you saw the boy.
5. I saw the boy in the car. [I was in the car.]
This means that you saw the boy who was inside the car, and at the same time, you were also inside the car. The emphasis is on both the location and the fact that you were inside the car.
As for sentence #6, "I was in the car, and saw the boy there," it is very similar to #5 in terms of meaning. It implies that you were in the car and saw the boy who was there. However, #5 is more commonly used in this kind of situation.