I don't think I can help you much, Taka, but I think that if the writer meant that univirsities are public as well then it modifies them both and if it's only the schools that are public then it modifies "schools" only. I don't know if there's such thing "public unibersities" so I can't tell for sure

Hi,

The situation in Britain is that a 'public school' is in fact a private one. These are usually exclusive and expensive places to send your child. They are primarily boarding schools, meaning the students live, eat  and sleep there. Perhaps the most famous is Eton. The other kind of schools are termed 'state schools'.

Taka, perhaps you are asking more generally about adjectives that precede two nouns linked by 'and'. As a general rule, I feel the adjective would apply to both, unless the meaning and context made it apparent that it only applied to the first noun.

There is a magazine,  for example, called 'Beautiful Homes and Gardens'. I would expect articles about both beautiful homes and beautiful gardens.

Best wishes, Clive

Hi Taka,

I tend to read the paragraphs you offer as just exercises in grammar, which is perhaps a bad habit. Now that I'v read this to think about the meaning, it seems to me that the author could have just omitted the word 'public'. Although it's possible, I don't see any sign that he is making the finer kind of distinction you suggest, about excluding private schools.

Betst wishes, Clive

(Back to grammar - 'in classroom' should be 'in class', or 'in classrooms' or 'in the classroom'.)

Taka,

   The reason I quoted from the website is that Canada was mentioned.  And I thought that maybe your question required more than a grammatical speculation,--speculation is the only way to approach this one.  I thought you might have had a practical need to know, not a theoretical need.

Are you not a teacher with responsibilities to students, some of which responsibilities may be advising students on international study opportunities in Canada?