HUMAN PARSING OF AMBIGUOUS SENTENCES

Human beings are sensitive to lexical subcategorization prefrences.


What do these sentences mean to you? (your first impression)

1. The women kept the dogs on the beach.

   a. The women kept the dogs which were on the beach.

   b. The women kept them (the dogs) on the beach.


2. The women discussed the dogs on the beach.

   a. The women discussed the dogs which were on the beach.

   b. The women discussed them (the dogs) while on the beach.


GARDEN PATH SENTENCES

garden path sentences = sentences that people tend to misread the
first time ("going down the garden path")


Are these good sentences?:

1. The horse raced past the garden fell.

2. The complex houses married and single students and their families.

3. The student forgot the solution was in the back of the book.


In experiments, people read garden path sentences more slowly. 

Presumably this is because they have to stop & back up.