Posted by rfvv on Sunday, June 29, 2014 at 4:13pm.
People use pockets when they eat Brussels waffles.
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Is this sentence grammatical? Is the use of 'pockets' here grammatical?
English - Writeacher, Saturday, June 28, 2014 at 10:38am
Do you mean they put the food (in this case, waffles) in the pockets of their clothing??
What is meant here by "pockets"?
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People use pockets when they eat Brussels waffles.
(There are large pockets on the waffles, so people can add toppings there to eat waffles. Does the sentence above have this meaning? Or does the sentence mean people can put waffles into their pockets or people use their pockets of clothing to eat waffles?)
English - Ms. Sue, Sunday, June 29, 2014 at 4:33pm
Writeacher interpreted your first sentence to mean pockets in clothing.
I think you mean --
Belgian waffles have deep pockets that collect butter and syrup.
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Thank you for your help. Do you mean that the sentence can have both meanings?
Your first sentence -- "People use pockets when they eat Brussels waffles. -- doesn't make much sense.
The word, "pockets," has more than one meaning.
http://www.google.com/#q=pocket+definition
Yes, the sentence "People use pockets when they eat Brussels waffles" can have multiple interpretations, and it can be understood in different ways depending on the context. In the initial interpretation by Writeacher, it was understood as people putting the food (waffles) in the pockets of their clothing.
However, in the clarification provided by Ms. Sue, it is suggested that another interpretation could be that Belgian waffles have deep pockets that collect butter and syrup. This interpretation implies that the waffles themselves have pockets rather than people using their own clothing pockets.
So, to answer your question, yes, the sentence can have both meanings. It can refer to people using their clothing pockets to eat waffles, or it can refer to waffles having deep pockets to collect toppings.