I would note that lack of clarity in 5e rules is to some degree intentional, as they wanted 5e to get away from rather gamist design of 3e and 4e, but they sometimes make the mistake of trying to have it both ways -- they try to be simultaneously clear and informal, and manage to be neither (the reason you construct formal languages is because doing so assists in giving text clear and unequivocal meaning).
I would note that lack of clarity in 5e rules is to some degree intentional, as they wanted 5e to get away from rather gamist design of 3e and 4e, but they sometimes make the mistake of trying to have it both ways -- they try to be simultaneously clear and informal, and manage to be neither (the reason you construct formal languages is because doing so assists in giving text clear and unequivocal meaning).