G
grammatim
Thanks! In the sprinters question, I like "faster" better than
"quicker." What do you say?
"quicker." What do you say?
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G
Gordon Bentley-Mix
Peter,
In my mind there is an extremely fine but important difference between
"fast" and "quick". Fast is related to top speed, whereas quick has more to
do with agility or acceleration.Therefore, while the two sentences are highly
similar, they are not identical.
As for my preference, it depends on what information is being requested. If
the question is about who had the greater maximum speed, then "faster" is the
logical choice. However, if the question is about who could reach a certain
speed soonest, then "quicker" wins. (Pun intended ;-P)
For example, the Bugatti Veyron is billed as being the fastest production
car in the world by virtue of its top speed approaching 300 km/h. However,
there are several production cars which reach 100 km/h in less time and,
therefore, are quicker.
Similarly, something like a Lotus Esprit could probably traverse a winding,
hilly route in less time than a Veyron, and in this instance, I would
classify the Esprit as quicker - although the Veyron is indisputably faster.
Don't you just *love* English? The subtleties are spectacular! No wonder
non-native speakers - no matter how well schooled - find it so difficult, and
software - no matter how well designed - struggles so much.
(Hmm... "software struggles"... is that correct? Word seems to think so.<eg>)
--
Cheers!
Gordon Bentley-Mix
Word MVP
Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post all
follow-ups to the newsgroup.
In my mind there is an extremely fine but important difference between
"fast" and "quick". Fast is related to top speed, whereas quick has more to
do with agility or acceleration.Therefore, while the two sentences are highly
similar, they are not identical.
As for my preference, it depends on what information is being requested. If
the question is about who had the greater maximum speed, then "faster" is the
logical choice. However, if the question is about who could reach a certain
speed soonest, then "quicker" wins. (Pun intended ;-P)
For example, the Bugatti Veyron is billed as being the fastest production
car in the world by virtue of its top speed approaching 300 km/h. However,
there are several production cars which reach 100 km/h in less time and,
therefore, are quicker.
Similarly, something like a Lotus Esprit could probably traverse a winding,
hilly route in less time than a Veyron, and in this instance, I would
classify the Esprit as quicker - although the Veyron is indisputably faster.
Don't you just *love* English? The subtleties are spectacular! No wonder
non-native speakers - no matter how well schooled - find it so difficult, and
software - no matter how well designed - struggles so much.
(Hmm... "software struggles"... is that correct? Word seems to think so.<eg>)
--
Cheers!
Gordon Bentley-Mix
Word MVP
Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post all
follow-ups to the newsgroup.
G
grammatim
That's exactly the distinction I arrived at for "fast" vs. "quick
(ly)." It also fits Tony's intuition about something that "happens
quickly" rather than "happens fast" -- I wonder whether he could be
persuaded to come back and reconsider his rejection of "he ran fast."
(ly)." It also fits Tony's intuition about something that "happens
quickly" rather than "happens fast" -- I wonder whether he could be
persuaded to come back and reconsider his rejection of "he ran fast."
G
Gordon Bentley-Mix
You can but ask. However, I suspect that Tony's preference is biased more by
cultural factors than anything else. It's been my experience that Americans
are quite happy with "fast" in most contexts, while Brits (and their
antipodean cousins) prefer "quickly". The latter sounds 'plummy', the former
'scummy'. ;-D
--
Cheers!
Gordon Bentley-Mix
Word MVP
Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post all
follow-ups to the newsgroup.
cultural factors than anything else. It's been my experience that Americans
are quite happy with "fast" in most contexts, while Brits (and their
antipodean cousins) prefer "quickly". The latter sounds 'plummy', the former
'scummy'. ;-D
--
Cheers!
Gordon Bentley-Mix
Word MVP
Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post all
follow-ups to the newsgroup.
T
Tony Jollans
As for my preference, it depends on what information is being requested.
Using the car example, the Bugatti is a fast car because it has a high top
speed; it is faster than the Lotus because it has a higher top speed than
the Lotus. Because of its capability it can be driven fast, and it can be
driven faster than the Lotus. These have been, and remain, facts:
imperfectly (grammatically). The Lotus was driven (or could have been
driven) more quickly up a mountain road, while the Bugatti was (or could
have been) driven more quickly over a long straight road; these are complete
actions, grammatically perfect.
Now, the people. Coe did run a mile in a shorter time than Bannister ever
did, and, so, could be said to be the faster runner - he (showed he) had the
capacity to reach a higher top speed. Both could run (as close as English
gets to a present imperfect) fast, but Coe could run faster. Considering
individual events in which either of them took part, however, I would say
that Coe ran (perfect) more quickly.
--
Enjoy,
Tony
www.WordArticles.com
That's exactly the distinction I arrived at for "fast" vs. "quick
(ly)." It also fits Tony's intuition about something that "happens
quickly" rather than "happens fast" -- I wonder whether he could be
persuaded to come back and reconsider his rejection of "he ran fast."
If
the question is about who had the greater maximum speed, then "faster" is
the
logical choice. However, if the question is about who could reach a
certain
speed soonest, then "quicker" wins. (Pun intended ;-P)
Using the car example, the Bugatti is a fast car because it has a high top
speed; it is faster than the Lotus because it has a higher top speed than
the Lotus. Because of its capability it can be driven fast, and it can be
driven faster than the Lotus. These have been, and remain, facts:
imperfectly (grammatically). The Lotus was driven (or could have been
driven) more quickly up a mountain road, while the Bugatti was (or could
have been) driven more quickly over a long straight road; these are complete
actions, grammatically perfect.
Now, the people. Coe did run a mile in a shorter time than Bannister ever
did, and, so, could be said to be the faster runner - he (showed he) had the
capacity to reach a higher top speed. Both could run (as close as English
gets to a present imperfect) fast, but Coe could run faster. Considering
individual events in which either of them took part, however, I would say
that Coe ran (perfect) more quickly.
--
Enjoy,
Tony
www.WordArticles.com
That's exactly the distinction I arrived at for "fast" vs. "quick
(ly)." It also fits Tony's intuition about something that "happens
quickly" rather than "happens fast" -- I wonder whether he could be
persuaded to come back and reconsider his rejection of "he ran fast."
G
Gordon Bentley-Mix
Beautiful mate!
--
Cheers!
Gordon Bentley-Mix
Word MVP
Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post all
follow-ups to the newsgroup.
--
Cheers!
Gordon Bentley-Mix
Word MVP
Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post all
follow-ups to the newsgroup.
L
L. Mohan Arun
In response to the irritating "grammatim"
"(2) L. Mohan Arun is not competent to assert what is
and what is not a grammatical sentence of English (witness his
repeated insistence that "software" can legitimately take a plural
verb)."
I never asked you to assess my competence and your self-made judgement
is uncalled for. And *you* are not competent either, unless you can
prove your qualifications.
"This thread from the start has had nothing to do with using Word. "
Again, very irritating, because it is about Word grammar.
i have tons more quirks in Word grammar which I havent had time to
report. I am not saying the grammar checker is perfect, which may be a
difficult goal to achieve. But I am pointing out specific instances
which can be taken into consideration in refining the grammar checker
in Word further.
"(2) L. Mohan Arun is not competent to assert what is
and what is not a grammatical sentence of English (witness his
repeated insistence that "software" can legitimately take a plural
verb)."
I never asked you to assess my competence and your self-made judgement
is uncalled for. And *you* are not competent either, unless you can
prove your qualifications.
"This thread from the start has had nothing to do with using Word. "
Again, very irritating, because it is about Word grammar.
i have tons more quirks in Word grammar which I havent had time to
report. I am not saying the grammar checker is perfect, which may be a
difficult goal to achieve. But I am pointing out specific instances
which can be taken into consideration in refining the grammar checker
in Word further.
L
L. Mohan Arun
In response to the irritating "grammatim"
"(2) L. Mohan Arun is not competent to assert what is
and what is not a grammatical sentence of English (witness his
repeated insistence that "software" can legitimately take a plural
verb)."
I never asked you to assess my competence and your self-made judgement
is uncalled for. And *you* are not competent either, unless you can
prove your qualifications.
"This thread from the start has had nothing to do with using Word. "
Again, very irritating, because it is about Word grammar.
i have tons more quirks in Word grammar which I havent had time to
report. I am not saying the grammar checker is perfect, which may be a
difficult goal to achieve. But I am pointing out specific instances
which can be taken into consideration in refining the grammar checker
in Word further.
"(2) L. Mohan Arun is not competent to assert what is
and what is not a grammatical sentence of English (witness his
repeated insistence that "software" can legitimately take a plural
verb)."
I never asked you to assess my competence and your self-made judgement
is uncalled for. And *you* are not competent either, unless you can
prove your qualifications.
"This thread from the start has had nothing to do with using Word. "
Again, very irritating, because it is about Word grammar.
i have tons more quirks in Word grammar which I havent had time to
report. I am not saying the grammar checker is perfect, which may be a
difficult goal to achieve. But I am pointing out specific instances
which can be taken into consideration in refining the grammar checker
in Word further.
L
L. Mohan Arun
Test cases
You can contrast this to other web design software - they are several
hundreds of megabytes in size.
-No error is being pointed out by Word. I am referring to "other
software" so software is plural in the sense used here. So how do you
explain Word accepts software as plural here?
If you like watching Sandra Bullock play the role of the eccentric
stalker then you must
- Why is play being pointed out as a grammar error? If I change it to
playing then it accepts. I dont see anything wrong with 'play'
The default code generated by the SiteMasher Pro tool works with all
browsers.
- The whole sentence gets flagged. If I remove the word "default" then
it accepts. Cant see what is wrong with the use of default here.
If this description made you want to watch this movie, then well and
good.
- Why is good being flagged?
Reference http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv36.shtml
Other popular software that are known to produce CFG files for storing
configuration data include the following.
- Since I am referring to "other software" software needs to be plural
in sense here.
If I replace 'are' with 'is' it doesn’t sound right.
This software covers the gamut of functions ranging from planning to
reporting.
- Why is "reporting" getting flagged?
The download is less than 5 MB in size and not several hundred
megabytes in size as the other architecture design software usually
are.
- Here Word accepts "are" for software?
All the features found in the paid "build your website" tools and html
editor software are available in the free X web site design tool.
- Here, the "are" is for the features, but is being flagged by Word
2003. If I remove "and html editor software" then it will accept the
'are".
But XCart32 shopping cart has a nil or very low learning curve if at
all, because it is very easy to use and simplistic and flexible too.
- If I remove "very" then it would accept.
.. I had hoped that the 2008-2009 academic year would see the
introduction of the on-line essay submission process.
- Why is "year" flagged?
Simply drag and drop the required page elements on to the web page you
are building, and ShopTopPro then automatically creates the web page
code necessary.
- Why is "creates" flagged?
When you have completed the cart creation process and have done all
the web pages you need, then you can save and transfer all the files o
the Host who will host the website for a nominal hosting charge.
-"All the" is getting flagged - Now I know there is "o" instead of the
"to" – but that’s not the point. Remove the "d" in the word
"completed" and word would accept "all the files".
, the campus library allows students access to university owned
computers
- Why is "students" getting flagged? It is not possessive here.
You can contrast this to other web design software - they are several
hundreds of megabytes in size.
-No error is being pointed out by Word. I am referring to "other
software" so software is plural in the sense used here. So how do you
explain Word accepts software as plural here?
If you like watching Sandra Bullock play the role of the eccentric
stalker then you must
- Why is play being pointed out as a grammar error? If I change it to
playing then it accepts. I dont see anything wrong with 'play'
The default code generated by the SiteMasher Pro tool works with all
browsers.
- The whole sentence gets flagged. If I remove the word "default" then
it accepts. Cant see what is wrong with the use of default here.
If this description made you want to watch this movie, then well and
good.
- Why is good being flagged?
Reference http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv36.shtml
Other popular software that are known to produce CFG files for storing
configuration data include the following.
- Since I am referring to "other software" software needs to be plural
in sense here.
If I replace 'are' with 'is' it doesn’t sound right.
This software covers the gamut of functions ranging from planning to
reporting.
- Why is "reporting" getting flagged?
The download is less than 5 MB in size and not several hundred
megabytes in size as the other architecture design software usually
are.
- Here Word accepts "are" for software?
All the features found in the paid "build your website" tools and html
editor software are available in the free X web site design tool.
- Here, the "are" is for the features, but is being flagged by Word
2003. If I remove "and html editor software" then it will accept the
'are".
But XCart32 shopping cart has a nil or very low learning curve if at
all, because it is very easy to use and simplistic and flexible too.
- If I remove "very" then it would accept.
.. I had hoped that the 2008-2009 academic year would see the
introduction of the on-line essay submission process.
- Why is "year" flagged?
Simply drag and drop the required page elements on to the web page you
are building, and ShopTopPro then automatically creates the web page
code necessary.
- Why is "creates" flagged?
When you have completed the cart creation process and have done all
the web pages you need, then you can save and transfer all the files o
the Host who will host the website for a nominal hosting charge.
-"All the" is getting flagged - Now I know there is "o" instead of the
"to" – but that’s not the point. Remove the "d" in the word
"completed" and word would accept "all the files".
, the campus library allows students access to university owned
computers
- Why is "students" getting flagged? It is not possessive here.
G
grammatim
Test cases
You can contrast this to other web design software - they are several
hundreds of megabytes in size.
-No error is being pointed out by Word. I am referring to "other
software" so software is plural in the sense used here. So how do you
explain Word accepts software as plural here?
These are two separate sentences, and the difficulty here is that
"they" has no antecedent, because there is no plural noun preceding it
in the excerpt shown.
Neither of the sentences you typed there is ungrammatical, but they do
not form a coherent whole.
If you like watching Sandra Bullock play the role of the eccentric
stalker then you must
- Why is play being pointed out as a grammar error? If I change it to
playing then it accepts. I dont see anything wrong with 'play'
There is nothing wrong with "play" in that sentence fragment. As I
told you before, computer grammar checkers are not infallible, and you
should not be relying on them as your only editor.
The default code generated by the SiteMasher Pro tool works with all
browsers.
- The whole sentence gets flagged. If I remove the word "default" then
it accepts. Cant see what is wrong with the use of default here.
There is nothing wrong with that sentence.
If this description made you want to watch this movie, then well and
good.
- Why is good being flagged?
Because the grammar checker is unfamiliar with the cliche' "well and
good."
Referencehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/lea...
Other popular software that are known to produce CFG files for storing
configuration data include the following.
- Since I am referring to "other software" software needs to be plural
in sense here.
If I replace 'are' with 'is' it doesn’t sound right.
The "are" needs to change to "is." "Software" is a mass noun and does
not have a plural form and does not take plural concord -- whether or
not it is notionally (semantically) referring to one or more than one
program.
This software covers the gamut of functions ranging from planning to
reporting.
- Why is "reporting" getting flagged?
Because computer grammar checkers are not infallible, and you should
not be relying on them as your only editor. Perhaps it expects that
the only form of verb that appears after "to" is the infinitive, but
that's obviously not correct.
The download is less than 5 MB in size and not several hundred
megabytes in size as the other architecture design software usually
are.
- Here Word accepts "are" for software?
Perhaps because the sentence is fairly complex and it lost track of
the subject of the verb.
Computer grammar checkers are not infallible, and you should not be
relying on them as your only editor.
All the features found in the paid "build your website" tools and html
editor software are available in the free X web site design tool.
- Here, the "are" is for the features, but is being flagged by Word
2003. If I remove "and html editor software" then it will accept the
'are".
Computer grammar checkers are not infallible, and you should not be
relying on them as your only editor. Here it _may_ be reflecting the
solution to the difficult problem of what to do with a conjoined
subject where one conjunct is singular and the other is plural: some
say to make the verb agree with whichever conjunct is closest to the
verb, i.e. the second one. But the better advice is to rewrite the
sentence to avoid the problem. However, here the original sentence is
ok, because the two conjuncts are not the subject of the verb, but the
object of the preposition. It would be clearer if you repeated "in"
after "and.".
But XCart32 shopping cart has a nil or very low learning curve if at
all, because it is very easy to use and simplistic and flexible too.
- If I remove "very" then it would accept.
There should be "the" before "XCart32," I don't know what "if at all"
goes with, and "simplistic" is the wrong word (unless you intend to
insult the product) -- it should be "simple."
. I had hoped that the 2008-2009 academic year would see the
introduction of the on-line essay submission process.
- Why is "year" flagged?
Because computer grammar checkers are not infallible, and you should
not be relying on them as your only editor.
Simply drag and drop the required page elements on to the web page you
are building, and ShopTopPro then automatically creates the web page
code necessary.
- Why is "creates" flagged?
Because computer grammar checkers are not infallible, and you should
not be relying on them as your only editor.
It should be "onto," not "on to," and "necessary" should be before
"web page."
When you have completed the cart creation process and have done all
the web pages you need, then you can save and transfer all the files o
the Host who will host the website for a nominal hosting charge.
-"All the" is getting flagged - Now I know there is "o" instead of the
"to" – but that’s not the point. Remove the "d" in the word
"completed" and word would accept "all the files".
In some varieties of English (not mine), "all of the" is used rather
than "all the." Note that it occurs twice in this sentence.
You absolutely cannot remove the d from "completed" -- you can change
"have completed" to "complete."
, the campus library allows students access to university owned
computers
- Why is "students" getting flagged? It is not possessive here.
Because computer grammar checkers are not infallible, and you should
not be relying on them as your only editor.
G
grammatim
In response to the irritating "grammatim"
"(2) L. Mohan Arun is not competent to assert what is
and what is not a grammatical sentence of English (witness his
repeated insistence that "software" can legitimately take a plural
verb)."
I never asked you to assess my competence and your self-made judgement
is uncalled for. And *you* are not competent either, unless you can
prove your qualifications.
If you set yourself up as writing in English for publication, then you
must demonstrate competence in writing the language.
What would you consider "proof" of my qualifications? A copy of my
birth certificate, showing that I was born in New York City more than
half a century ago? Copies of mail addressed to me to show that I have
never lived outside the United States? School and university
transcripts? My c.v. showing hundreds of publications in linguistics?
"This thread from the start has had nothing to do with using Word. "
Again, very irritating, because it is about Word grammar.
This newsgroup is about how to use Word. It is not about the
intricacies of English grammar, or the poor quality of computer
grammar checkers.
i have tons more quirks in Word grammar which I havent had time to
report. I am not saying the grammar checker is perfect, which may be a
difficult goal to achieve. But I am pointing out specific instances
which can be taken into consideration in refining the grammar checker
in Word further.
Then you should be complaining to the Microsoft Corporation, not to a
newsgroup of Word users.
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