Explain the ambiguities of the following two sentences. They...

Explain the ambiguities of the following two sentences. They can each be understood either as having a direct and indirect object or as having an object and a predicative complement:
i He called me a nurse.
ii I found her a good lawyer.

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Key Concepts

Ditransitive Construction

This concept refers to verbs that can take two objects, typically a direct object (the theme) and an indirect object (the recipient). In the context of the sentences provided, one interpretation treats the verb as assigning two roles: the first noun phrase as the direct object and the second as the indirect object that receives some designation or role. This reading highlights how the verb can imply a transfer or assignment from the subject to both objects.

Predicate Complement (Object Complement) Construction

This concept involves a structure where a verb takes a single object followed by a complement that describes or renames that object. In the ambiguous sentences, the second noun phrase can be interpreted as a predicative or object complement that further specifies the state, quality, or identity of the first object. This analysis focuses on how the complement predicates an attribute of the object rather than serving as a secondary argument in a ditransitive construction.

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