"He ate the cookies on the couch", for example, could mean that he ate those cookies that were on the couch (as opposed to those that were on the table), or it could mean that he was sitting on the couch when he ate the cookies.
"hiː ˈeɪt ðə kˈʊkiz ɔnðə kˈaʊtʃ", fɔːɹ ɛɡzˈæmpəl, kʊd mˈiːn ðæt hiː ˈeɪt ðoʊz kˈʊkiz ðæt wɜːɹ ɔnðə kˈaʊtʃ æz əpˈoʊzd tə ðoʊz ðæt wɜːɹ ɔnðə tˈeɪbəl, ɔːɹ ɪt kʊd mˈiːn ðæt hiː wʌz sˈɪɾɪŋ ɔnðə kˈaʊtʃ wɛn hiː ˈeɪt ðə kˈʊkiz.