Garden Path Sentences

Groucho Marx is credited with saying “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.”

A great line, and an example of what linguists call a “Garden Path Sentence.”  That’s a sentence that starts out appearing to say one thing and ends up meaning something else – sentences that often force the reader to go back and start over.

Garden Path Sentences are often accidental, but the quote above is an example of a clever use of language; the verb in the first phrase – flies - becomes a noun and the subject of the second, while like is transformed from an adjective to a verb.

Nobody diagrams sentences anymore, but Mrs. Simpson, my fifth grade teacher, would have loved this .

Here are a few more examples I found on line:

Sentence	Initial likely partial parse	Final parse
The old man the boat.	The man, who is old...	The boat is manned by the old.
The man whistling tunes pianos.	The man who is whistling melodies...	The whistling man tunes pianos.
The cotton clothing is made of grows in Mississippi.	The clothing, which is made of cotton, is made of...	The cotton that clothing is made of grows in Mississippi.
The complex houses married and single soldiers and their families.	The houses (meaning buildings or families), which are complicated, got married to...	Single and married soldiers and their families are housed in the complex.
The author wrote the novel was likely to be a best-seller.	The author composed the novel...	The author wrote that the novel in question was likely to be a best-seller.
The tomcat curled up on the cushion seemed friendly.	The tomcat curled itself up on the cushion...	The tomcat that was curled up on the cushion seemed friendly.
The man returned to his house was happy.	The man came back to his house...	Returned to his house, the man was happy.
The government plans to raise taxes were defeated.	The government is planning to raise taxes...	The government's plans to raise taxes were defeated.
The sour drink from the ocean.	The drink that was sour...	Those that are sour drink from the ocean.
Fish people are used to fishing may be gone.	Mermaids are employed in ...	The fish that people expect to catch are dying out.