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I know that "only" and "just" and word-order are oft-mentioned topics on here, but word-order for phrases and meanings - don't both of these mean different things?

Here is an example of how word order in a sentence can change the meaning. These two sentences are from a geography site I'm developing:

Between 9am and 5pm, the local market is in full swing. Known for its variety of foreign foods, many people visit it...

The local market is in full swing between 9am and 5pm. Known for its variety of foreign foods, many people visit it...

If I'm correct, the first one implies it's only in full swing at the times specified, but the second one means it's always in full swing. I'm not sure how to phrase this best, due to the ambiguity and word-order.

What's the best way to rephrase this, and how can I avoid ambiguity when doing word-order when placing a word?

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    Both signs mean the same thing.
    – z7sg Ѫ
    Commented Sep 6, 2011 at 14:30
  • Agree, I suspect they mean the same thing and they just put the words above/below the times.
    – Jez
    Commented Sep 6, 2011 at 14:37
  • @AN Other: I re-formatted your question in order to make it easier to go through it.
    – Alenanno
    Commented Sep 6, 2011 at 14:38
  • I removed the first example as the main question is easiest to understand without it.
    – z7sg Ѫ
    Commented Sep 6, 2011 at 14:41
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    Also, both examples use a dangling modifier. "Known for its variety of foreign foods, many people ..." Tsk-tsk.
    – Robusto
    Commented Sep 6, 2011 at 14:43

1 Answer 1

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There is no way to completely remove ambiguity from English and anyway, we wouldn't want to do that as different interpretations of language can be interesting, humorous, challenging. Regarding your question I would interpret this version (I have fixed the dangling modifier):

The local market is in full swing between 9am and 5pm. Known for its variety of foreign foods, the market is visited by many people...

As meaning: "all stalls in the market are operating between 9am and 5pm but some stalls may also operate outside of these hours".

To state the opening times and a busy period I might say:

The market is open from 9am to 5pm but is busiest between 11am and 2pm.

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