That Puzzle
A puzzle from English class (but not for your typical ESL student).
The following sentence is, in fact, grammatically correct, but punctuation is needed to make sense of it. I sure couldn't do it and neither could my students. Can you add the necessary punctuation (, . ? ; : ' " etc.) and give me an explanation? Leave a comment with your answer, or email me. 10 points will be awarded to the person who has the most fun trying to solve it :) I'll post the answer next week. Here is is:
He said that that that that that man said was correct.
Now it's next week. The answer is below. No more points can be awarded.
posted by BenandJess @ 03:52
6 comments
6 Comments:
What can I get with the 10 points? No matter...I'll try anyway...
"He said that...that..."
"That?"
"That!"
"That man said, 'Was correct.'"
He said that that 'that' that that man used was wrong.
If you don't understand this sentence, you could be one of the many who are a bit hazy on how and when to use the word 'that'. It has many uses. The one that people most often get wrong is the use of 'that' as opposed to 'which'.
The difference is this. 'Which' introduces relative clauses - ones that give additional information about something in the sentence, and that can be added or removed without affecting the statement made in the main clause.
Thanks Ben! Nothing gets me going like punctuation. ;0)
Let me know if I'm right!!!!!
Crystal Ferreira
amrine_ferreira@yahoo.com
Josh Ferreira's guess:
He said that, that that, that that man said was correct.
Okay, I give up.
-Josh
Oops, I typed mine in MS word. Misquote. This is the correct version.
He said that that 'that' that that man said was correct.
It took us forever to figure this out Ben, and we're still not sure that it's right.
Crystal and I tried to cheat, but we only found this same puzzle posted elsewhere and no solution.
-Josh
Congratulations to Crystal for getting the correct answer in under the wire!
He said that that "that" that that man said was correct.
Explanation: Imagine, if you will, a class of English students has just taken a test. Student A filled in the blanks for questions 1 and 2 with the word "that", but he was only correct for question 1. The teacher informs the student of this fact. But student B could not hear the teacher, and asks for clarification. So student C pipes up and says, "He said that that 'that' that that man said was correct."
Like Crystal said, the multiple uses of the word make it so confusing. A similar but less confusing sentence might say: He said that this answer which that man said was correct. Get it?
As for the points, Crystal gets 10, of course. Although Josh confessed to cheating, you'll notice that there were no rules to begin with, thus no way to cheat. You did a great job! Having fun was the only criterion, and you passed with flying colours (I gotta stop spelling things like the Brits).
Josh, you still get 10 points for being married to such a wonderfully intelligent woman.
And Kindle, you get 10 points as well for having the most creative answer. With 10 points you can buy more things than you'll find at the Chuck E. Cheese prize counter! Hugs and pats on the back are only 1 point each, but a chic European kiss on both cheeks will cost you 2. (anyone who wants a free catalogue can just email me)
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