Sentences are constructed in such a way as to trick the reader into expecting a certain construction. In the above sentence, we first interpret raced as the preterit verb of the subject horse. When we arrive at fell, we must reinterpret our initial construction. Much research has been conducted using variations on garden-path sentences. For example, Ferreira and Henderson caution against overinterpreting longer reading times to mean more complex processing.
Subjects tend to speed up as they read longer sentences.
Thus, comparing data among variations in garden-path constructions requires strict control for similar length. They also propose suggestions for integrating the concept of intensity into their computer model, CCReader, as a ratio of expenditures to resources. The editors call for more work in this area with the potential goal of pupillometric measures of reading compared to listening. The last five articles in this collection go beyond the sentence level to examine higher-level processing. Even though the first sequence is illogical, processing infers the logical association between fire and water.