If not, you can prepare yourself for this when you do come across it.
This was my second semester at Sjsu, and it was during my Bus 20 (Accounting) class that most of us stumbled upon this question. It was a very hot day, and the class was a noon class, which didn't help us concentrate. The professor was breezing through the chapter, and suddenly turned around and asked us, "Can anyone tell me why Greece is going to end up without capital ?"
This question was pretty straight forward for me, because I understood the right context in which the word "capital" was used in. Many of my friends had a question mark on their faces.
At this point, I shall define the term "capital" for you.
One of the definitions of the word "capital" is, "the city or town that is the official seat of government in a country, state, etc." (Capital, Online dictionary).
Another way one can define "capital" is as follows, "any form of wealth employed or capable of being employed in the production of more wealth" (Capital, Online Dictionary).
All in all, such sentences or questions which can be interpreted in two or more ways are know as Ambiguous sentences.
I think your example is really great. When i was first reading through what your teacher said i thought he meant that Greece wouldn’t have a capital in the sense of the first definition. If I was in your class I definitely would have been confused by what he said too. It is too bad your teacher didn’t realize he was being vague when he made that comment because had the majority of the class understood what he meant there probably would have been a student to answer the question. Your example just goes to show the importance of fully clarifying what you mean.
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