Which of the following two sentences is expected to be easier to process?

(1) What did the friendly lady arrange for in the garage the other day?

(2) What did the friendly lady arrange in the big garage the other day?

Question

Which of the following two sentences is expected to be easier to process?

(1) What did the friendly lady arrange for in the garage the other day?

(2) What did the friendly lady arrange in the big garage the other day?

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

When evaluating which sentence is easier to process, I start by looking at grammar, clarity, and potential ambiguity in each option.
Option (1): 'What did the friendly lady arrange for in the garage the other day?' The presence of the word 'for' before 'in' creates a surprising syntactic leap: 'arrange for [something] in [location].' This structure can force the reader to reinterpret the sentence to resolve who or what is being arranged for, which can slow comprehension. Additionally, 'the garage' is not itself context-rich, so the phrase can feel a bit underspecified, increasing cognitive load as the listener tries to fill in missing details. Overall, this route invites a potential misattachment or misinterpretation and adds processing difficulty.
Option (2): 'What did the friendly lady arrange in the big garage the other day?' Here, the verb 'arrange' directly governs the prepositional phrase 'in the big garage,' indicating where the arranging action took place. The modifier 'the big' adds a single, explicit descriptor that helps pinpoint the location without creating competing attachments. This structure is syntactically straightforward and semantically clear, which tends to reduce ambiguity and processing demands. The extra word 'big' contributes modestly to meaning without complicating the parse.
Beyond syntax, consider information density: Option (1) risks a temporary ambiguity about what is being arranged for and in what sense, whereas Option (2) provides a precise locator ('the big garage') and a direct action, making the sentence easier to build a mental model for.
In sum, sentence (1) introduces potential attachment and meaning ambiguities due to the 'for in' construction and unspecified object, which can hinder quick processing, while sentence (2) offers a cleaner, more conventional structure with a clear spatial modifier, facilitating faster comprehension.

LIN102H1S Quiz 03 (due Friday 21 March before 11:59pm)

Which of the following two sentences is expected to be easier to process? (1) What did the friendly lady arrange for in the garage the other day? (2) What did the friendly lady arrange in the big garage the other day?

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LIN102H1S Quiz 03 (due Friday 21 March before 11:59pm)

Which of the following two sentences is expected to be easier to process? (1) What did the friendly lady arrange for in the garage the other day? (2) What did the friendly lady arrange in the big garage the other day?

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

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