James looked at Rick and he farted. Who farted?

>>7872969
James, obviously.
If it was written 'James look at Rick who farted', then it'd have been Rick

>>7872969
smelt dealt it

>>7872978
verily, he saith that whosoever doeth the crime be marked by opening the rhyme.

"Who farted?"

lol

Best opening line I've ever read.

James is clearly the subject of the sentence therefore he farted. The sentence is still complete if you remove "at Rick".

James looked and he farted.

If Rick was the intended producer of said fart then you don't know how to write a goddamn sentence.

The sentence is ambiguous.

>>7873089
>I looked at Rick and he farted.
durrr hirrrrrrrrr I am the person who farted im fucking retarded durrrrr

>>7872969

Rick. Closest proper noun to the pronoun is "Rick".

>>7873120

>I looked at Rick and I farted


You forgot to change the pronoun genius. Now your edit had been the original sentence then yes Rick would have been the one that farted.

>>7873148
That's not how grammar works.

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>>7872977
>>7873089
>>7873148
Absolutely incorrect.

>>7873114
>>7872978
These are correct.

>>7873470
>>not how grammar works
Can't wait to see where this thread goes. I didn't realize how deeply the 'seeming literary' plague ran round 'ere.

>>7873089
dis n-word knows.

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>>7873491

Goddamn you're dumb. Do you not even know basic grammar?

How can you not see that James is the subject of the sentence? How can you not see that "at Rick" is a prepositional phrase? The subject of a sentence will never be the prepositional phrase. The phrase "at Rick" in this sentence functions as an adjective to answer the question of "Which one?" in regards to James looking.

If we are to assume that the sentence is grammatically correct as written then the ONLY possibility is that James farted.

GODDAMN anons I am so disappoint in you right now!

>>7873536
The problem is that 'he' is also a subject and it is unclear which one it's referring to

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>>7873555

This has to be bait. I'm not doing it, I'm done. If you can't get it after >>7873536 then I'm sorry. I can't do it any longer. I can't even.

>>7873567
Independent clauses in one sentence can each have their own separate subject YOU FUCKING MORON

Try rewriting it:

James looked at Rick. He farted.

Who farted?

Huh? Starting to get it now, dumb shit?

>>7873582

The subject of the first sentence is still James so the pronoun of the second sentence should still be referring to James if grammatically correct.

James looked at Rick and he-james farted.
I fixed the english language

>>7873590
You can claim that all you want but the fact remains that it's an ambiguous construction

>>7872977
>>7873499
>>7873555
>>7873599
>>7873600

So much get in such a short thread. Could I have a get too please?

>>7873604
Get thee hence

>>7872969
Does it really matter?

>>7873660

In answering the question of who farted, no not really. I think the thread elucidates the necessity of learning grammar to help us deduce meaning from seemingly vague statements and to help avoid making vague statements in the first place.

>>7872969
The fart was a metaphor for the sexual tension between Rick and James, the author intended this to be homoerotic, but the audience misunderstood the depths of his depravity and thought it was a joke.