Only one of the following sentences cannot be disambiguated to parse as a grammatical, meaningful sentence in English, using standard grammatical rules. Which one is the non-grammatical sentence?

  1. A) Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo.

  2. B) The claim the horse he entered was a ringer was false.

  3. C) The rat the cat the dog chases hunts hides.

  4. D) The horse raced past the barn fell jumped.


Correct Option: D

AI Explanation

To answer this question, we need to analyze each sentence and determine if it can be parsed as a grammatical and meaningful sentence in English.

Option A) "Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo." - This sentence is grammatically correct and can be interpreted as "Buffalo buffalo (buffalo) buffalo." Here, "buffalo" is used as a noun and a verb, and the sentence means that buffalo from Buffalo buffalo (i.e., bully or intimidate) other buffalo from Buffalo. Therefore, this sentence is grammatical and meaningful.

Option B) "The claim the horse he entered was a ringer was false." - This sentence is grammatically correct and can be parsed as "The claim (that) the horse (that) he entered was a ringer was false." Here, the sentence is about a claim that the horse he entered was a ringer, and it states that the claim was false. Therefore, this sentence is grammatical and meaningful.

Option C) "The rat the cat the dog chases hunts hides." - This sentence is grammatically correct and can be interpreted as "The rat (that) the cat (that) the dog chases hunts hides." Here, the sentence describes a rat that is hunted by a cat that is chased by a dog. Therefore, this sentence is grammatical and meaningful.

Option D) "The horse raced past the barn fell jumped." - This sentence is not grammatically correct and cannot be easily disambiguated to form a meaningful sentence. It seems to be a combination of two separate actions, but it lacks the necessary grammatical structure to clarify the intended meaning. Therefore, this sentence is non-grammatical.

The correct answer is D) "The horse raced past the barn fell jumped" because it is the only sentence that cannot be disambiguated to parse as a grammatical, meaningful sentence in English using standard grammatical rules.

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