Hi, all
In the following sentence:
The Goverment cracked down on him for accepting food stamps
did the Goverment want him to start to accept food stamps ?
Thanks !
Does “Hi, all” mean “Hi, all native-speakers” there?
Hello Alex,
To “crack down on” is “to take severe measures against”.
Thus the government wanted to stop him accepting food stamps.
Best wishes,
MrP
Or maybe the government cracked down on him in other ways. The acceptance of the food stamps may have been the catalyst.
Here, your explanation would be less ambiguous.
The Goverment cracked down on his accepting food stamps/acceptance of food stamps.
We are not informed about the ways in which the government cracked down on him. Thus “other ways” is an empty variable.
We do however know that the the government cracked down on him “for accepting food stamps”.
MrP
We do however know that the the government cracked down on him “for accepting food stamps”.
And that’s all we know. We don’t know this “the government wanted to stop him accepting food stamps.” We don’t know if he was still accepting them at the time of the crackdown. He may have been accepting foodstamps much earlier and the government acted after the fact. So, yes, all we know is the government cracked down on him for accepting foodstamps.
Compare:
The Goverment cracked down on his accepting food stamps/acceptance of food stamps.
The Goverment cracked down on him for accepting food stamps.
.
I don’t see any difference in meaning in the two sentences, Molly.
.
We’re talking about potential ambiguity here, Mr M. Which sentence would, unambiguously, tell your reader that the government’s intention in cracking down was to stop the guy accepting food stamps?
[i]The Goverment cracked down on his accepting food stamps/acceptance of food stamps.
The Goverment cracked down on him for accepting food stamps.[/i]
.
Both of them. Ambiguity exists in every non-contextual utterance for those who have nothing better to do than imagine it.
.
“To crack down on X” implies “to want to stop X”, old chap.
But in any case, it would probably be better to wait and see if Alex has any further questions.
MrP
Hi, Mr. Pedantic
I have no further questions, it is as clear as day.
Thank you for your help 
Alex.
Not, unambiguously, for me.
Does the thread belong to Alex?
I stake no claims to it If you’d like to “hijack” it, feel free to do so.
Not sure where “hijack” comes in if the rest of the post are on-topic. This is a discussion forum, isn’t it? If you want to see real hijacking of posts, watch MrP carefully.
You’re welcome, Alex! Have a pleasant Wednesday.
It’s all yours, M.
Remember to turn off the lights when you leave.
MrP
I’ll turn off the lights after the lightweights have left. :lol: