Which one is done in this sentence?
I used a cookie dish and was tired even after two minutes. What happened next?
In this sentence, which one is gone, the cookies or the plate?
Thank you for all your help.
Is it possible to make a joke in ambiguities in your sentence when “appetizing” is prior to “plate”? Of course any rational person would assume it isn’t the plate that is appetizing, but some people may not be so specific.
What is a typical English humor?
I shot an elephant the other day, you know, today; it was an
elephant with a gun in its eye. How are some pictures from this movie? How could someone get into my pajamas?
The joke is that we expect he shot an elephant while he was still dressed in his pajamas, but the ambiguity of the sentence means it’s possible that it was the elephant who was wearing the pajamas.
What if you wanted to make clear that it was the cookies that were tasty, you could write: The plate of
appetizing cookies was gone in half an hour.
Where’s the fun in that?
What is different between people walking along the sidewalk near a grocery store and seeing a cute cartoon?
It is ambiguous. What is context in meaning? However, in any normal context it means that cookies have been eaten, especially as we know these cookies were delicious and so likely to be eaten quickly. So, when someone is going to eat the whole plate of cookies, do I do that? Compare:
Waste services are really good in this City. I just emptied a gable out of my garbage and the garbage was gone. What would it take in half an hour?
In the context would suggest that the bag (and the rubbish) was taken.
It’s the plate of cookies that was gone.. The whole thing. The plate is in the center, with the cookies under it.
Most likely this is because the cookie had been eaten and the empty plate removed, but not necessarily. What do you think was the problem?
Is there any evidence in this statement about the past history of the universe?
The cookies are gone. Something on the plate, usually food, is considered to be the food. This food means anything that is on the plate and therefore the plate.
Plate noun
also plateful
an amount of food on a plate:Stephen ate three plates of spaghetti.
Plate (Cambridge)
(London ): My first plate?
