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Thread: Does "was chewing on the ear of a third" mean "(Sow 44733) was chewing on the ear ?

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    NewHopeR is offline Senior Member
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    Default Does "was chewing on the ear of a third" mean "(Sow 44733) was chewing on the ear ?

    Does "was chewing on the ear of a third" mean "(Sow 44733) was chewing on the ear of a third"?

    And "sported abrasions" means "had abrasions"?

    Context:

    ELDRIDGE, Iowa — Sow 44733 had broken the shoulder of one of her pen mates, rousted another who was huddled in the corner and was chewing on the ear of a third.
    Other sows in the pen sported abrasions, torn ears and bloody tail stumps — all souvenirs of her attentions.

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    Default Re: Does "was chewing on the ear of a third" mean "(Sow 44733) was chewing on the ear

    She was chewing the ear of a third pig.
    Yes, they had abrasions.
    I'm not a teacher, but I write for a living. Please don't ask me about 2nd conditionals, but I'm a safe bet for what reads well in (American) English.

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    NewHopeR is offline Senior Member
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    Default Re: Does "was chewing on the ear of a third" mean "(Sow 44733) was chewing on the ear

    Quote Originally Posted by Barb_D View Post
    She was chewing the ear of a third pig.
    Yes, they had abrasions.
    Thank you.

    "who was huddled in the corner and was chewing the ear of a third" looks like the rousted pig (the second was chewing on the third".

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    Rover_KE is offline Moderator
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    Default Re: Does "was chewing on the ear of a third" mean "(Sow 44733) was chewing on the ear

    I know what you mean, but it's pretty clear that #44733 was doing all the aggressive stuff.

    A comma after 'and' would remove the ambiguity.

    Rover
    NewHopeR and Barb_D like this.

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