Read the following two sentences. (1) Gre eng rass gr ow son themoun tain. (2) Green grass grows on the mountain. How does the principle of proximity explain why the second sentence makes sense immediately, but the first sentence does not?

The principle of proximity states that things close together seem to be grouped together. In other words it is our tendency to group things based on how close they are to each other. In the case of the sentences the first sentence is spaced out in a way we would normally not see while the second sentence is spaced out in a way we are accustomed to seeing, thus allowing us to make sense of the sentence immediately.