The most effective way to resolve the issue of contested usage in these sentences is to clarify the subject of each sentence to avoid ambiguity between the "pitcher" as a container and "pitcher" as a person. The fourth sentence, "We brought a pitcher of water for the baseball players, but the pitcher said that he wanted lemonade instead," is particularly problematic because it creates confusion about whether "pitcher" refers to the container or the player.
To resolve this, you can revise the sentence for clarity. For example:
- "We brought a pitcher of water for the baseball players, but one of the players said that he wanted lemonade instead."
This revision makes it clear that "one of the players" is the one who preferred lemonade, eliminating the confusion associated with the word "pitcher."
The overall goal is to ensure that the meaning is clear and that it is unmistakable whether "pitcher" refers to the container or the player.
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