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#21
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Quirk in W2003 grammar
I never suggested it wasn't - or couldn't be - an adverb; I merely think
it's the wrong adverb in context. I do not like, and would not normally use, "he ran fast", whatever the OED says. I might use "... need to drive so fast". The difference is so subtle that it seems only I can see it g. I must, of course, bow to the OED, and accept it as being correct. -- Enjoy, Tony www.WordArticles.com "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message ... Will you accept the authority of the Oxford Dictionary? http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexper...uster/a/adverb Interestingly, http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&f...as+adverb&aqi= turns up quite a few sites that use "fast" as an *example* of an adverb. The fact that it doesn't end in -ly doesn't make it only an adjective any more than ending in -ly makes "leisurely," "friendly," or "lonely" an adverb. Many adverbs don't end in -ly, and some have the same form as an adjective. See "Adjective and adverb with the same form" at http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/le...rnitv217.shtml (note: a BBC Web site, not U.S.). More at http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/dur.../gramch25.html -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA http://word.mvps.org "Tony Jollans" My forename at my surname dot com wrote in message ... There's nothing wrong with "fast" as an adverb That doesn't mean that it is correct here. Perhaps it's a difference between English and American, and I will concede that such usage of "fast" is not uncommon, but it jars horribly with me. I suspect the issue is of not recognizing "download" as a possible noun (only as a verb), which means it is making the verb agree with "movie" or "file" (or "movie file"). I agree, and I was only guessing at how a machine might think; it's probably given up the fight by the time it's got as far as "happens", but if it is recognising (or treating) "downloads" as a verb, what can it think "happens" might be, that wouldn't give rise to a grammar error of some sort? -- Enjoy, Tony www.WordArticles.com "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message ... There's nothing wrong with "fast" as an adverb, but I don't see how any grammar checker could parse "happens" as a noun since there is no way it could be used as such. I suspect the issue is of not recognizing "download" as a possible noun (only as a verb), which means it is making the verb agree with "movie" or "file" (or "movie file"). -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA http://word.mvps.org "Tony Jollans" My forename at my surname dot com wrote in message ... it should be "happen very fast" Actually it should be "happen very quickly" ;-) The grammar checker is far from perfect and, whilst it will probably improve over time, is likely to remain so. In general, it struggles with constructs of the sort you are using as examples, which can't easily be parsed. Not knowing quite how to interpret the sentence, Word has to make some guesses. Given that the sentence has several possible nouns, several possible verbs, no obvious adjectives, and appears somewhat odd on the surface, my *guess* is that it assumes "movie" to be an adjective, downloads" to be the verb, and "happens" to be a noun, which assumptions allow it to consider the sentence to be valid. Yes, it happens to be wrong, but we all make mistakes, one of which would be relying on machine interpretations of language. -- Enjoy, Tony www.WordArticles.com "L. Mohan Arun" wrote in message ... I am sick and tired of the irritable and provoking replies in this thread so my grammar has slipped up. This thread is not about my grammar, it is about Word 2003 grammar. More issues with Word 2003 grammar These downloads is super-fast and free. - Grammar error not recognized even though "download" is not a mass noun. The movie file downloads happens very fast - No grammar issue recognized but it should be "happen very fast" |
#22
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Quirk in W2003 grammar
Okay, I will accept that you are making a distinction of usage rather than
grammar, and I'll bow to that since context certainly does determine the suitability of given words. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA http://word.mvps.org "Tony Jollans" My forename at my surname dot com wrote in message ... I never suggested it wasn't - or couldn't be - an adverb; I merely think it's the wrong adverb in context. I do not like, and would not normally use, "he ran fast", whatever the OED says. I might use "... need to drive so fast". The difference is so subtle that it seems only I can see it g. I must, of course, bow to the OED, and accept it as being correct. -- Enjoy, Tony www.WordArticles.com "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message ... Will you accept the authority of the Oxford Dictionary? http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexper...uster/a/adverb Interestingly, http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&f...as+adverb&aqi= turns up quite a few sites that use "fast" as an *example* of an adverb. The fact that it doesn't end in -ly doesn't make it only an adjective any more than ending in -ly makes "leisurely," "friendly," or "lonely" an adverb. Many adverbs don't end in -ly, and some have the same form as an adjective. See "Adjective and adverb with the same form" at http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/le...rnitv217.shtml (note: a BBC Web site, not U.S.). More at http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/dur.../gramch25.html -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA http://word.mvps.org "Tony Jollans" My forename at my surname dot com wrote in message ... There's nothing wrong with "fast" as an adverb That doesn't mean that it is correct here. Perhaps it's a difference between English and American, and I will concede that such usage of "fast" is not uncommon, but it jars horribly with me. I suspect the issue is of not recognizing "download" as a possible noun (only as a verb), which means it is making the verb agree with "movie" or "file" (or "movie file"). I agree, and I was only guessing at how a machine might think; it's probably given up the fight by the time it's got as far as "happens", but if it is recognising (or treating) "downloads" as a verb, what can it think "happens" might be, that wouldn't give rise to a grammar error of some sort? -- Enjoy, Tony www.WordArticles.com "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message ... There's nothing wrong with "fast" as an adverb, but I don't see how any grammar checker could parse "happens" as a noun since there is no way it could be used as such. I suspect the issue is of not recognizing "download" as a possible noun (only as a verb), which means it is making the verb agree with "movie" or "file" (or "movie file"). -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA http://word.mvps.org "Tony Jollans" My forename at my surname dot com wrote in message ... it should be "happen very fast" Actually it should be "happen very quickly" ;-) The grammar checker is far from perfect and, whilst it will probably improve over time, is likely to remain so. In general, it struggles with constructs of the sort you are using as examples, which can't easily be parsed. Not knowing quite how to interpret the sentence, Word has to make some guesses. Given that the sentence has several possible nouns, several possible verbs, no obvious adjectives, and appears somewhat odd on the surface, my *guess* is that it assumes "movie" to be an adjective, downloads" to be the verb, and "happens" to be a noun, which assumptions allow it to consider the sentence to be valid. Yes, it happens to be wrong, but we all make mistakes, one of which would be relying on machine interpretations of language. -- Enjoy, Tony www.WordArticles.com "L. Mohan Arun" wrote in message ... I am sick and tired of the irritable and provoking replies in this thread so my grammar has slipped up. This thread is not about my grammar, it is about Word 2003 grammar. More issues with Word 2003 grammar These downloads is super-fast and free. - Grammar error not recognized even though "download" is not a mass noun. The movie file downloads happens very fast - No grammar issue recognized but it should be "happen very fast" |
#23
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Quirk in W2003 grammar
Which of these does either of you prefer:
"Who was faster, Bannister or Coe?" "Who was quicker, Bannister or Coe?" (You don't need to be able to say _why_ you prefer one or the other, only that one of them "feels" better than the other -- or not.) On Feb 15, 4:03*pm, "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: Okay, I will accept that you are making a distinction of usage rather than grammar, and I'll bow to that since context certainly does determine the suitability of given words. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USAhttp://word.mvps.org "Tony Jollans" My forename at my surname dot com wrote in l... I never suggested it wasn't - or couldn't be - an adverb; I merely think it's the wrong adverb in context. I do not like, and would not normally use, "he ran fast", whatever the OED says. I might use "... need to drive so fast". The difference is so subtle that it seems only I can see it g. I must, of course, bow to the OED, and accept it as being correct. -- Enjoy, Tony |
#24
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Quirk in W2003 grammar
But there it's a matter of adjectives, not adverbs. I personally have no
objection to "he ran fast," so you'll have to take this up with Tony. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA http://word.mvps.org "grammatim" wrote in message ... Which of these does either of you prefer: "Who was faster, Bannister or Coe?" "Who was quicker, Bannister or Coe?" (You don't need to be able to say _why_ you prefer one or the other, only that one of them "feels" better than the other -- or not.) On Feb 15, 4:03 pm, "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: Okay, I will accept that you are making a distinction of usage rather than grammar, and I'll bow to that since context certainly does determine the suitability of given words. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USAhttp://word.mvps.org "Tony Jollans" My forename at my surname dot com wrote in l... I never suggested it wasn't - or couldn't be - an adverb; I merely think it's the wrong adverb in context. I do not like, and would not normally use, "he ran fast", whatever the OED says. I might use "... need to drive so fast". The difference is so subtle that it seems only I can see it g. I must, of course, bow to the OED, and accept it as being correct. -- Enjoy, Tony |
#25
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Quirk in W2003 grammar
As Suzanne says, these are adjectives, but there is still a difference; in
isolation, I prefer the first, although either could be acceptable, dependent upon the wider context. I might need to sleep on it before expressing a cogent defence, though :-) -- Enjoy, Tony www.WordArticles.com "grammatim" wrote in message ... Which of these does either of you prefer: "Who was faster, Bannister or Coe?" "Who was quicker, Bannister or Coe?" (You don't need to be able to say _why_ you prefer one or the other, only that one of them "feels" better than the other -- or not.) On Feb 15, 4:03 pm, "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: Okay, I will accept that you are making a distinction of usage rather than grammar, and I'll bow to that since context certainly does determine the suitability of given words. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USAhttp://word.mvps.org "Tony Jollans" My forename at my surname dot com wrote in l... I never suggested it wasn't - or couldn't be - an adverb; I merely think it's the wrong adverb in context. I do not like, and would not normally use, "he ran fast", whatever the OED says. I might use "... need to drive so fast". The difference is so subtle that it seems only I can see it g. I must, of course, bow to the OED, and accept it as being correct. -- Enjoy, Tony |
#26
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Quirk in W2003 grammar
Part of my point is that the difference between "fast" and "quickly"
in the initial sentence doesn't turn on part of speech, but on lexical choice; part of my point is to show how a tiny linguistics experiment can help clear up the question about the initial sentence by looking at the data from a different angle. On Feb 15, 5:57*pm, "Tony Jollans" My forename at my surname dot com wrote: As Suzanne says, these are adjectives, but there is still a difference; in isolation, I prefer the first, although either could be acceptable, dependent upon the wider context. I might need to sleep on it before expressing a cogent defence, though :-) -- Enjoy, Tony *www.WordArticles.com "grammatim" wrote in message ... Which of these does either of you prefer: "Who was faster, Bannister or Coe?" "Who was quicker, Bannister or Coe?" (You don't need to be able to say _why_ you prefer one or the other, only that one of them "feels" better than the other -- or not.) On Feb 15, 4:03 pm, "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: Okay, I will accept that you are making a distinction of usage rather than grammar, and I'll bow to that since context certainly does determine the suitability of given words. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USAhttp://word.mvps.org "Tony Jollans" My forename at my surname dot com wrote in l... I never suggested it wasn't - or couldn't be - an adverb; I merely think it's the wrong adverb in context. I do not like, and would not normally use, "he ran fast", whatever the OED says. I might use "... need to drive so fast". The difference is so subtle that it seems only I can see it g. I must, of course, bow to the OED, and accept it as being correct. -- Enjoy, Tony- |
#27
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Quirk in W2003 grammar
Part of my point is that the difference between "fast" and "quickly"
in the initial sentence doesn't turn on part of speech, but on lexical choice; I completely agree. When I first posted it, I didn't give it a lot of thought; it wasn't the main point, and I did add a smiley; it was just something that seemed correct to me. Both you and Suzanne are better linguists than I, and I wouldn't argue (much) in my own defence, but, having slept on it, I think the difference between "fast" and "quickly" is related to whether one is describing a completed action, similar to the difference between the imperfect and perfect tenses. part of my point is to show how a tiny linguistics experiment can help clear up the question about the initial sentence by looking at the data from a different angle. I agree completely here too! I am reminded of Enoch Powell, an English politician of thirty or so years ago, who, when asked about his precise speech, replied that he translated everything into latin before saying it, and if it wouldn't translate, it must be wrong. I don't think I would dream of doing anything like that, even if I could, but it would certainly be a way of looking from a different angle. -- Enjoy, Tony www.WordArticles.com "grammatim" wrote in message ... Part of my point is that the difference between "fast" and "quickly" in the initial sentence doesn't turn on part of speech, but on lexical choice; part of my point is to show how a tiny linguistics experiment can help clear up the question about the initial sentence by looking at the data from a different angle. On Feb 15, 5:57 pm, "Tony Jollans" My forename at my surname dot com wrote: As Suzanne says, these are adjectives, but there is still a difference; in isolation, I prefer the first, although either could be acceptable, dependent upon the wider context. I might need to sleep on it before expressing a cogent defence, though :-) -- Enjoy, Tony www.WordArticles.com "grammatim" wrote in message ... Which of these does either of you prefer: "Who was faster, Bannister or Coe?" "Who was quicker, Bannister or Coe?" (You don't need to be able to say _why_ you prefer one or the other, only that one of them "feels" better than the other -- or not.) On Feb 15, 4:03 pm, "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: Okay, I will accept that you are making a distinction of usage rather than grammar, and I'll bow to that since context certainly does determine the suitability of given words. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USAhttp://word.mvps.org "Tony Jollans" My forename at my surname dot com wrote in l... I never suggested it wasn't - or couldn't be - an adverb; I merely think it's the wrong adverb in context. I do not like, and would not normally use, "he ran fast", whatever the OED says. I might use "... need to drive so fast". The difference is so subtle that it seems only I can see it g. I must, of course, bow to the OED, and accept it as being correct. -- Enjoy, Tony- |
#28
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Quirk in W2003 grammar
For once, Peter, I agree with you completely on all points. (And I mean that
sincerely.) -- Cheers! Gordon Bentley-Mix Word MVP Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup. "grammatim" wrote: On Feb 13, 2:49 am, "L. Mohan Arun" wrote: Disagree - IT IS a problem with W2003 grammar. And I still say software is a term that needs to be plural not singular. Or both. It is not a matter for "disagreement." It is a matter of the way the English language is spoken. You do not get to decide to change English. I am not saying to change English - I am not interested in that. The purpose of this discussion is that I think "software" can be both singular or plural in meaning. The purpose of this posting is not about usage of English, but about Word 2003 grammar. You can take a look at the thread subject before you post any more of your answers or please dont answer at all. You are correct that "software" can be either singular or plural in meaning. You are incorrect in supposing that the verb number agreees with the meaning of the word rather than the form of the word. I am a native speaker of English, I have a graduate degree in linguistics, and I have worked as an editor for nearly forty years. On this one particular point, "Word2003 grammar" is correct. Specifically I am saying that both these sentences with the word "software" are NOT getting flagged as errors in W2003 grammar This Software pieces is great These pieces of Software is great You now completely change the topic, because the subject of the verb is no longer "software," but "pieces"; of course the verb (as well as the determinter "these") must be plural, and if "Word2003 grammar" does not recognize that, then it's a pretty basic flaw in "Word2003 grammar." It is blindly taking "software" as singular even though I have qualified it with "pieces". So it IS something to do with W2003 grammar with the word "software" You have not understood English grammar. What it should be reacting to is not "software" at all, because "software" is not the subject of the verb; "pieces" is. To prove this type this in w 2003 "There are other softwares for doing this." "Softwares" term is flagged as error - right click - you will find "software" as an option. Select that and it now complains about the "are". Have you bothered to look in your English grammar book for the concept "mass noun"? How is it possible that you studied English as a Second Language and were never taught about mass nouns vs. count nouns? Regarding those two errors, the computer is absolutely correct. I have to say that you seem to be getting irritable with this thread because you are indulging on a direct personal attack rather than being an objective contributor. If this thread irritates you, then why you are posting at all? Let others reply if at all they do. Yes, I am getting irritable, because you continue to misstate the most elementary facts of English grammar. Bottom line: Both the words "download" and "software" needs fixing in Grammar in W2003 Grammar checkers don't operate on words. They operate on grammar. Yeah so? What I meant is that the grammar implementation in W2003 that involves these words are not perfect in my opinion. Any linguist knows that computerized grammar checkers are basically failures. Human language is far too complex for any computer to handle. (Yet humans master their own language by the time they're about three years old.) You had not previously brought up the word "download," and I most definitely do not want to know what your problem with it is. Who said I wanted *you* to know what my problem is - This is a public thread where others can read and understand about W2003 grammar issues. I am not asking *you* in particular about any problem with the word "download" in W2003 grammar. You were rude to Suzanne, one of the nicest people anywhere, and then you ignored her second reply, so she wisely withdrew from the thread, leaving it to me, who am known to be able to be rude to people who provoke rudeness. If you really wanted to say that "software" is a mass or uncountable noun you could have given an authoritative link like this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_noun I am not interested in *YOUR* opinion about English grammar or whether Word 2003 grammar is correct or not, as you yourself may have English as second language. Your arrogance is unbelievable. Maybe you should save your attacks for the people who took your (or your parents') money for teaching you English, and failing so utterly. |
#29
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Quirk in W2003 grammar
Thanks! In the sprinters question, I like "faster" better than
"quicker." What do you say? On Feb 16, 5:28*am, Gordon Bentley-Mix gordon(dot)bentleymix(at)gmail (dot)com wrote: For once, Peter, I agree with you completely on all points. (And I mean that sincerely.) -- Cheers! Gordon Bentley-Mix Word MVP Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup. "grammatim" wrote: On Feb 13, 2:49 am, "L. Mohan Arun" wrote: Disagree - IT IS a problem with W2003 grammar. And I still say software is a term that needs to be plural not singular. Or both. It is not a matter for "disagreement." It is a matter of the way the English language is spoken. You do not get to decide to change English. I am not saying to change English - I am not interested in that. The purpose of this discussion is that I think "software" can be both singular or plural in meaning. The purpose of this posting is not about usage of English, but about Word 2003 grammar. You can take a look at the thread subject before you post any more of your answers or please dont answer at all. You are correct that "software" can be either singular or plural in meaning. You are incorrect in supposing that the verb number agreees with the meaning of the word rather than the form of the word. I am a native speaker of English, I have a graduate degree in linguistics, and I have worked as an editor for nearly forty years. On this one particular point, "Word2003 grammar" is correct. Specifically I am saying that both these sentences with the word "software" are NOT getting flagged as errors in W2003 grammar This Software pieces is great These pieces of Software is great You now completely change the topic, because the subject of the verb is no longer "software," but "pieces"; of course the verb (as well as the determinter "these") must be plural, and if "Word2003 grammar" does not recognize that, then it's a pretty basic flaw in "Word2003 grammar." It is blindly taking "software" as singular even though I have qualified it with "pieces". So it IS something to do with W2003 grammar with the word "software" You have not understood English grammar. What it should be reacting to is not "software" at all, because "software" is not the subject of the verb; "pieces" is. To prove this type this in w 2003 "There are other softwares for doing this." "Softwares" term is flagged as error - right click - you will find "software" as an option. Select that and it now complains about the "are". Have you bothered to look in your English grammar book for the concept "mass noun"? How is it possible that you studied English as a Second Language and were never taught about mass nouns vs. count nouns? Regarding those two errors, the computer is absolutely correct. I have to say that you seem to be getting irritable with this thread because you are indulging on a direct personal attack rather than being an objective contributor. If this thread irritates you, then why you are posting at all? Let others reply if at all they do. Yes, I am getting irritable, because you continue to misstate the most elementary facts of English grammar. Bottom line: Both the words "download" and "software" needs fixing in Grammar in W2003 Grammar checkers don't operate on words. They operate on grammar. Yeah so? What I meant is that the grammar implementation in W2003 that involves these words are not perfect in my opinion. Any linguist knows that computerized grammar checkers are basically failures. Human language is far too complex for any computer to handle. (Yet humans master their own language by the time they're about three years old.) You had not previously brought up the word "download," and I most definitely do not want to know what your problem with it is. Who said I wanted *you* to know what my problem is - This is a public thread where others can read and understand about W2003 grammar issues. I am not asking *you* in particular about any problem with the word "download" in W2003 grammar. You were rude to Suzanne, one of the nicest people anywhere, and then you ignored her second reply, so she wisely withdrew from the thread, leaving it to me, who am known to be able to be rude to people who provoke rudeness. If you really wanted to say that "software" is a mass or uncountable noun you could have given an authoritative link like this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_noun I am not interested in *YOUR* opinion about English grammar or whether Word 2003 grammar is correct or not, as you yourself may have English as second language. Your arrogance is unbelievable. Maybe you should save your attacks for the people who took your (or your parents') money for teaching you English, and failing so utterly.- |
#30
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Quirk in W2003 grammar
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. "grammatim" wrote: Thanks! In the sprinters question, I like "faster" better than "quicker." What do you say? On Feb 16, 5:28 am, Gordon Bentley-Mix gordon(dot)bentleymix(at)gmail (dot)com wrote: For once, Peter, I agree with you completely on all points. (And I mean that sincerely.) -- Cheers! Gordon Bentley-Mix Word MVP Uninvited email contact will be marked as SPAM and ignored. Please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup. "grammatim" wrote: On Feb 13, 2:49 am, "L. Mohan Arun" wrote: Disagree - IT IS a problem with W2003 grammar. And I still say software is a term that needs to be plural not singular. Or both. It is not a matter for "disagreement." It is a matter of the way the English language is spoken. You do not get to decide to change English. I am not saying to change English - I am not interested in that. The purpose of this discussion is that I think "software" can be both singular or plural in meaning. The purpose of this posting is not about usage of English, but about Word 2003 grammar. You can take a look at the thread subject before you post any more of your answers or please dont answer at all. You are correct that "software" can be either singular or plural in meaning. You are incorrect in supposing that the verb number agreees with the meaning of the word rather than the form of the word. I am a native speaker of English, I have a graduate degree in linguistics, and I have worked as an editor for nearly forty years. On this one particular point, "Word2003 grammar" is correct. Specifically I am saying that both these sentences with the word "software" are NOT getting flagged as errors in W2003 grammar This Software pieces is great These pieces of Software is great You now completely change the topic, because the subject of the verb is no longer "software," but "pieces"; of course the verb (as well as the determinter "these") must be plural, and if "Word2003 grammar" does not recognize that, then it's a pretty basic flaw in "Word2003 grammar." It is blindly taking "software" as singular even though I have qualified it with "pieces". So it IS something to do with W2003 grammar with the word "software" You have not understood English grammar. What it should be reacting to is not "software" at all, because "software" is not the subject of the verb; "pieces" is. To prove this type this in w 2003 "There are other softwares for doing this." "Softwares" term is flagged as error - right click - you will find "software" as an option. Select that and it now complains about the "are". Have you bothered to look in your English grammar book for the concept "mass noun"? How is it possible that you studied English as a Second Language and were never taught about mass nouns vs. count nouns? Regarding those two errors, the computer is absolutely correct. I have to say that you seem to be getting irritable with this thread because you are indulging on a direct personal attack rather than being an objective contributor. If this thread irritates you, then why you are posting at all? Let others reply if at all they do. Yes, I am getting irritable, because you continue to misstate the most elementary facts of English grammar. Bottom line: Both the words "download" and "software" needs fixing in Grammar in W2003 Grammar checkers don't operate on words. They operate on grammar. Yeah so? What I meant is that the grammar implementation in W2003 that involves these words are not perfect in my opinion. Any linguist knows that computerized grammar checkers are basically failures. Human language is far too complex for any computer to handle. (Yet humans master their own language by the time they're about three years old.) You had not previously brought up the word "download," and I most definitely do not want to know what your problem with it is. Who said I wanted *you* to know what my problem is - This is a public thread where others can read and understand about W2003 grammar issues. I am not asking *you* in particular about any problem with the word "download" in W2003 grammar. You were rude to Suzanne, one of the nicest people anywhere, and then you ignored her second reply, so she wisely withdrew from the thread, leaving it to me, who am known to be able to be rude to people who provoke rudeness. If you really wanted to say that "software" is a mass or uncountable noun you could have given an authoritative link like this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_noun I am not interested in *YOUR* opinion about English grammar or whether Word 2003 grammar is correct or not, as you yourself may have English as second language. Your arrogance is unbelievable. Maybe you should save your attacks for the people who took your (or your parents') money for teaching you English, and failing so utterly.- |
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