She left Frances to finish her packing.

NIK   Wed Jun 27, 2007 1:24 am GMT
She left Frances to finish her packing.
Does it mean she asked Frances to finish her packing? Or she left Frances and finished the packing herself?

I've posted this sentence before. There are mixed opinions. I don't know which interpretation is correct.
Presley.   Wed Jun 27, 2007 1:51 am GMT
In other words: She left and made Frances finish packing for [her].
Gabriel   Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:10 am GMT
Josh has become a moderator? Excellent!
NIK   Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:41 am GMT
Well, this is a dictionary sentence from Collins Cobuild. I don't know which interpretation is preferred by native speakers.
furrykef   Wed Jun 27, 2007 3:38 am GMT
I prefer the interpretation that Frances is doing the packing, but I believe the sentence is a bit ambiguous.

- Kef
Dawie   Wed Jun 27, 2007 11:23 am GMT
The sentence is completely ambiguous and has two completely different meanings depending on context.
I ate spam   Wed Jun 27, 2007 11:47 am GMT
I agree, I first assumed that she left Frances to do her own packing, but obviously since she's female she probably made him do it. What they do the say about assumptions being the mother of all...

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furrykef   Wed Jun 27, 2007 7:42 pm GMT
I don't think "Frances" is male; they're both female. I know, I think it's an odd name, too... but it's "Francis" that's a masculine name.
I ate spam   Thu Jun 28, 2007 11:05 am GMT
Hard to tell with American names. Americans aren't very conservative when naming their children, although Brit celebrities are even worse, apple, brooklin etc.

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