Unreadable?

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DaGuyWitBluGlasses

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"The bird the cat the dog bothered chased died."

There's nothing specifically wrong about the grammar of the sentence. (The only thing wrong grammatically is that the reader cannot easily understand what the sentence means, so it falls under the broad sweeping "unclarity")

So 20,000 points to whoever rewrites the whole sentence into something readable, or explain exactly what the sentence means.

10,000 points for making the sentence thats fit into the above, that is made by removing one subject and verb.

Enjoy.
 
DaGuyWitBluGlasses said:
"The bird the cat the dog bothered chased died."

There's nothing specifically wrong about the grammar of the sentence. (The only thing wrong grammatically is that the reader cannot easily understand what the sentence means, so it falls under the broad sweeping "unclarity")

So 20,000 points to whoever rewrites the whole sentence into something readable, or explain exactly what the sentence means.

10,000 points for making the sentence thats fit into the above, that is made by removing one subject and verb.

Enjoy.
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I guess I can take a stab at it. What have I got to loose?

I'm guessing the bird is the one who died. The cat is the one who did the chasing, specifically, after the bird. The dog bothered the cat. So effectively, the last two animals are only mentioned as a way of specifying what the previous animal was.

The person is trying to specify that this bird is the one that was chased by a cat. Then he specifies the cat as the one that was bothered by a dog. Then he gets back around to the bird he was talking about in the first place and tells us he died. I guess the only ways I would think to put it would be:

"The bird, the cat, the dog bothered, chased, died."

or

"The bird, that the cat chased, that the dog bothered, died."

or

"The bird the cat chased, died."

Either of those would fit my theory.
 
The cat, who bothered the dog, chased the bird and died.

and for the second part...

The cat chased the bird and died.
 
Digital Jedi said:
I'm guessing the bird is the one who died. The cat is the one who did the chasing, specifically, after the bird. The dog bothered the cat. So effectively, the last two animals are only mentioned as a way of specifying what the previous animal was.
Click to expand...

Correct explanation, but Exiled Force stole the prize money! :-o

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"The bird, the cat, the dog bothered, chased, died."
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This sentence doesn't really clear it up, although it makes it a little bit easier to analyze, the reader will still have to stop to do so; not reading it fluently.

"The bird, that the cat chased, that the dog bothered, died."
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This one is closer, but is ambiguous, as it could mean the bird was bothered by the dog

"The bird the cat chased, died."
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Corrrect for the second part. Comma isn't necessary, The 2nd part is to demonstrate a strange phenomenom in language, as this sentence is clear to the reader. As is "The cat the dog bothered but the original is beyond the limits of normal comprehension, even though it follows the same grammar to create it.

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Maruno said:
The bird that the cat, bothered by the dog, chased, died.
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this suggests that the dog bothers the cat as the cat chases the bird; where as in the original sentence the two events can be separate. And the last two verbs are still awkward.

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I don't think there's anyway to make this particular sentence completely clear through a single sentence:

"The dog bothered the cat who chased the rat who died"

Might suggest that the cat chased a dead mouse, although if an object is added to the original sentence, then it can be cleared up through this sentence: e.g. "~ died today."
 
You have now been rewarded for your stupidness, lol.

100000.00 points donated to DaGuyWitBluGlasses successfully!
 
I got it right? :eek:ldeek

Man, I knew them hooked on phonics tapes would in handy one day. :p

I guess we could say: "The bird that was chased by the dog-bothered cat died." (Doesn't feel right without the comma to me.) But then, it it doesn't specify a dog, or something like that. =/ "The bird that was chased by a cat whom was bothered by a dog died"? :dur
 
What are the points for anyhow? I've looked around, searched the forums but haven't found an explanation. Link anyone?
 
Look in your forum toolbar just below the site's banner. The "Store" link is what the points are used for. Also take a gander at the Sticky in the Chatterbox setcion of the forums.
 
Gracias Señor Digi. I guess I hadn't poked around enough... as my wife typically says "Look with your eyes and not your mouth!"
 
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