Grammar and logic

[ERD50]

Or, in simple terms -

I've donated my body to the local medical school; Mother did so also.

- 'Mother did also', could be read as:

'Mother also donated her body to the local medical school' (context tells us this is the correct meaning)

or

'Mother also donated my body to the local medical school' (possible, but not likely, based on context, plus it may be illegal!)


At which point, DW says "You know what I meant!'.

-ERD50

 

[GregLee]

Or, in simple terms - - 'Mother did also', could be read as:

'Mother also donated her body to the local medical school' (context tells us this is the correct meaning)

or

'Mother also donated my body to the local medical school' (possible, but not likely, based on context, plus it may be illegal!)

That's right. (One might also wonder why it works this way.) By the way, Wikipedia has an entry for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloppy_identity.