Appoint

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi,

Is there ambiguity in the following sentence:

The court appointed her an attorney.

Can it be interpreted as:

“The court made her an attorney”.
“The court gave her an attorney”.

Thanks!

2

Yes, it isn’t clear. If you wanted to indicate that she was the attorney, you would have to say: The court appointed her as an attorney. If you wanted to say that she had the services of an attorney, you would say:The court appointed an attorney for her.

3

Makes sense.
Thanks Alan!