traditional dessert drinks

[sky3120]

"Traditional dessert drinks"

How can I understand that noun phrase and analyze it? Meaning is the same?


1) traditional + dessert drinks

2) traditional dessert + drinks

"A funny moive festival"

Is it important to analyze those noun phrases differently, considering context?

1) funny + moive festival

2) funny moive + festival


Please help me...

[emsr2d2]

"Traditional dessert drinks"

How can I understand that noun phrase and analyze it? Is the meaning is the same?


1) traditional + dessert drinks

2) traditional dessert + drinks

"A funny moive festival"

Is it important to analyze those noun phrases differently, considering context?

1) funny + moive festival

2) funny moive + festival


Please help me.

What is a "moive"?
And before 5jj says it - context is always important!

[Raymott]

Please help me...

In this case, the meaning is very probably:
traditional [dessert drinks] - dessert drinks that are traditional, and
[funny movie] festival - a festival of funny movies.
ems is right. There's no way of telling without the context. In some cases, you might have to "guess".

[konungursvia]

Maybe you do have to guess at times, but I find both of these cases clear. There are no drinks widely known to accompany traditional desserts: "I'll have a banana split with the usual glass of water?"
"An apple pie, with the traditional glass of root beer." No, that interpretation is right out.

But there are drinks which are traditionally served as digestifs, such as port and sherry. These are your 'traditional dessert drinks."

With the funny movie festival, I don't think it's possible for a festival itself to be billed as funny if it's a festival of horror or tragedy films. What's funny about a festival, as the sum of parts, when the parts aren't funny?

I think it's pretty clear we're dealing with a phase meant to denote a festival of comedies.

[sky3120]

Sorry. it was a movie, not a moive.

What I meant is that when "traditional" modifys "dessert drinks" and
"traditional dessert" modifys drinks, is there a meaning difference between them?

[konungursvia]

Yes, there can be a difference. But English has an order of adjectives that makes such ambiguities rare.

[Raymott]

Maybe you do have to guess at times, but I find both of these cases clear.

By "guess", I mean "use all the contextual information available to work out the most probable meaning." In this case, we agree on the most probable meanings. The need to "guess" is more applicable to those who don't know English as well as you or I do.

[sky3120]

You guys are so great and helpful. Thanks again.