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Old 27-Aug-2004, 04:27
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Default Can this sentence have two different meanings?

He didn’t marry her because she was rich.
I think the sentence should be understood in this way: he married her, not because she was rich.
But can it be understood in another way like this: he didn’t marry her. The reason is she had too much money?
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Old 27-Aug-2004, 10:58
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Default Re: Can this sentence have two different meanings?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jenny Lau
He didn’t marry her because she was rich.
I think the sentence should be understood in this way: he married her, not because she was rich.
But can it be understood in another way like this: he didn’t marry her. The reason is she had too much money?
Well, I believe the difference in meaning is more along the lines of Did he marry her or not?

'because' means, for this reason
1. He didn't marry her because she was rich. (He married her)

'because' means, the reason being
2. He didn't marry her, because she was rich. (He didn't marry her)

I'd reword 2.,

Because she was rich, he didn't marry her. (He didn't marry her)

All the best, :D
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Old 27-Aug-2004, 14:33
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Also, it's possible to rephrase it as either "It was because she was rich that he didn't marry her" or "It wasn't because she was rich that he married her".
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