Picking the wrong antecedent
Overheard on the bus today, a conversation between two graduate students, one of whom (A) previously lived in Mexico.
A: a lot of people get in cabs and never get out
B: oh
A: yeah there’s a lot of kidnapping
A: that seems scary
A: yeah, being kidnapped can be scary [or did she say "kidnapping can be scary"]
A: i mean, i (still) did a lot
B: you got kidnapped?!
A: no, I took taxis
I have to admit, this one took me for a loop. I had no idea what A meant when she said, “I still did a lot.” I thought that the only possible thing she could have meant was that she kidnapped people, but that’s ridiculous. I found it interesting that B felt it was possible that A meant she got kidnapped, even though that’s not technically possible given what verb phrase ellipsis is supposed to do. It is, of course somehow the most sensible solution semantically…assuming, of course, that you’ve forgotten about taking taxis, or considered it too far back to be a plausible antecedent. If, on the other hand, you’ve been the topic-setter for the past dozen or more turns (as A was) then it all makes sense.