IELTS, ESP, EAP and CALL

Ambiguity[edit]
Different types of ambiguity which are possible in language.

Lexical ambiguity[edit]
Demonstrations of words which have multiple meanings dependent on context.

Will, will Will will Will Will's will? – Will (a person), will (future tense helping verb) Will (a second person) will (bequeath) [to] Will (a third person) Will's (the second person) will (a document)? (Someone asked Will 1 directly if Will 2 plans to bequeath his own will, the document, to Will 3.)[1]
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. – Buffaloes from Buffalo, NY, whom buffaloes from Buffalo bully, bully buffaloes from Buffalo.
Police police Police police police police Police police.[2] — Cops from Police, Poland, whom cops from Poland patrol, patrol cops from Poland.
Rose rose to put rose roes on her rows of roses. (Robert J. Baran) – Rose [a person] rose [stood] to put rose [pink-colored] roes [fish eggs as fertilizer] on her rows of roses [flower].
James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher[3] – With punctuation: "James, while John had had 'had', had had 'had had'. 'Had had' had had a better effect on the teacher", or "James, while John had had 'had had', had had 'had'. 'Had had' had had a better effect on the teacher"
That that is is that that is not is not is that it it is – Grammatically corrected as: "That that is, is. That that is not, is not. Is that it? It is".
Can can can can can can can can can can. – "Examples of the can-can dance that other examples of the same dance are able to outshine, or figuratively to put into the trashcan, are themselves able to outshine examples of the same dance". It could alternatively be interpreted as a question, "Is it possible for examples of the dance that have been outshone to outshine others?" or several other ways.
Martin Gardner offered the example: "Wouldn't the sentence 'I want to put a hyphen between the words Fish and And and And and Chips in my Fish-And-Chips sign' have been clearer if quotation marks had been placed before Fish, and between Fish and and, and and and And, and And and and, and and and And, and And and and, and and and Chips, as well as after Chips?"[4]
Syntactic ambiguity[edit]
Further information: Syntactic ambiguity
Demonstrations of ambiguity between alternative syntactic structures underlying a sentence.

We saw her duck.[5]
One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know.[6]
Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana