Skip to content
  • Categories
  • Recent
  • Tags
  • Popular
  • World
  • Users
  • Groups
Skins
  • Light
  • Cerulean
  • Cosmo
  • Flatly
  • Journal
  • Litera
  • Lumen
  • Lux
  • Materia
  • Minty
  • Morph
  • Pulse
  • Sandstone
  • Simplex
  • Sketchy
  • Spacelab
  • United
  • Yeti
  • Zephyr
  • Dark
  • Cyborg
  • Darkly
  • Quartz
  • Slate
  • Solar
  • Superhero
  • Vapor

  • Default (No Skin)
  • No Skin
Collapse
Code Project
  1. Home
  2. The Lounge
  3. Somebody teach MS English

Somebody teach MS English

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved The Lounge
51 Posts 28 Posters 5 Views 1 Watching
  • Oldest to Newest
  • Newest to Oldest
  • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • T Tim Schwallie

    Let's see....the MS Installer displays the following during installation, "Program X is being installed." Sorry folks, in my English classes, all my teachers would have put a big red mark around that one. MS Communicator tells us politely, "Joe Smith is typing a message." Not a chance. Whomever writes these programs, please learn English above the second grade level.

    L Offline
    L Offline
    Lost User
    wrote on last edited by
    #2

    OK smart guy - enlighten us with your newfangled 'right way' of sentence writin' What would your corrected versions look like? Cheers, Drew.

    T 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • L Lost User

      OK smart guy - enlighten us with your newfangled 'right way' of sentence writin' What would your corrected versions look like? Cheers, Drew.

      T Offline
      T Offline
      Tim Schwallie
      wrote on last edited by
      #3

      ProgramX installing. Joe Smith types a message.

      realJSOPR R RaviBeeR L Y 5 Replies Last reply
      0
      • T Tim Schwallie

        Let's see....the MS Installer displays the following during installation, "Program X is being installed." Sorry folks, in my English classes, all my teachers would have put a big red mark around that one. MS Communicator tells us politely, "Joe Smith is typing a message." Not a chance. Whomever writes these programs, please learn English above the second grade level.

        N Offline
        N Offline
        NeverHeardOfMe
        wrote on last edited by
        #4

        Nonsense. The so-called "laws of grammar" were not handed to us on tablets of stone by a fearsome God, but were the somewhat arbitrary musings of a bunch of Victorian academics who had nothing better to do and who, IMHO, had no right to dictate to anyone what "proper" Englsih is. English, like all languages, is in constant flux and evolution, and why anyone thinks it good, proper or wise to try and fix it in aspic as it was spoken over a hundred years ago is beyond me. There is absolutely nothing wrong with either example. And I am far from convinced about your use of "Whomever"...

        T 1 Reply Last reply
        0
        • T Tim Schwallie

          ProgramX installing. Joe Smith types a message.

          realJSOPR Offline
          realJSOPR Offline
          realJSOP
          wrote on last edited by
          #5

          Tim Schwallie wrote:

          ProgramX installing.

          Technically, the program itself is being installed - it is not installing itself. Strike 1.

          Tim Schwallie wrote:

          Joe Smith types a message.

          Your version is wrong. It is technically correc t to say that so-and-so is typing a message. Strike 2. You're a moron. Strike 3 (but thanks for playing our game).

          "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
          -----
          "...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001

          J T 2 Replies Last reply
          0
          • realJSOPR realJSOP

            Tim Schwallie wrote:

            ProgramX installing.

            Technically, the program itself is being installed - it is not installing itself. Strike 1.

            Tim Schwallie wrote:

            Joe Smith types a message.

            Your version is wrong. It is technically correc t to say that so-and-so is typing a message. Strike 2. You're a moron. Strike 3 (but thanks for playing our game).

            "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
            -----
            "...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001

            J Offline
            J Offline
            Jim Crafton
            wrote on last edited by
            #6

            John, would you please tell Tim what he's won as a participants prize for playing "Can You Write Better Than A Second Grader" today?

            ¡El diablo está en mis pantalones! ¡Mire, mire! Real Mentats use only 100% pure, unfooled around with Sapho Juice(tm)! SELECT * FROM User WHERE Clue > 0 0 rows returned Save an Orange - Use the VCF! VCF Blog

            1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • T Tim Schwallie

              ProgramX installing. Joe Smith types a message.

              R Offline
              R Offline
              Roger Wright
              wrote on last edited by
              #7

              :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Is this the new Ebonics?

              "A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"

              T 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • realJSOPR realJSOP

                Tim Schwallie wrote:

                ProgramX installing.

                Technically, the program itself is being installed - it is not installing itself. Strike 1.

                Tim Schwallie wrote:

                Joe Smith types a message.

                Your version is wrong. It is technically correc t to say that so-and-so is typing a message. Strike 2. You're a moron. Strike 3 (but thanks for playing our game).

                "Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass..." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997
                -----
                "...the staggering layers of obscenity in your statement make it a work of art on so many levels." - Jason Jystad, 10/26/2001

                T Offline
                T Offline
                Tim Schwallie
                wrote on last edited by
                #8

                and I take it you still write Joey is running like a moron. Yes, the sentence is technically correct. Though, I learned in the age where 'to-be' verb usage faced a docking in points on papers. And so the usage of 'to-be' verbs became instilled as an indicator for a lack of intelligence in the minds of many. Since you like baseball, I just moved to first base cause the first base umpire called a balk.

                J C 2 Replies Last reply
                0
                • T Tim Schwallie

                  Let's see....the MS Installer displays the following during installation, "Program X is being installed." Sorry folks, in my English classes, all my teachers would have put a big red mark around that one. MS Communicator tells us politely, "Joe Smith is typing a message." Not a chance. Whomever writes these programs, please learn English above the second grade level.

                  M Offline
                  M Offline
                  MarkB777
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #9

                  Tim Schwallie wrote:

                  "Program X is being installed."

                  Umm theres nothing wrong with that phrase...

                  Mark Brock "We're definitely not going to make a G or a PG version of this. It's not PillowfightCraft." -- Chris Metzen Click here to view my blog

                  T C 2 Replies Last reply
                  0
                  • N NeverHeardOfMe

                    Nonsense. The so-called "laws of grammar" were not handed to us on tablets of stone by a fearsome God, but were the somewhat arbitrary musings of a bunch of Victorian academics who had nothing better to do and who, IMHO, had no right to dictate to anyone what "proper" Englsih is. English, like all languages, is in constant flux and evolution, and why anyone thinks it good, proper or wise to try and fix it in aspic as it was spoken over a hundred years ago is beyond me. There is absolutely nothing wrong with either example. And I am far from convinced about your use of "Whomever"...

                    T Offline
                    T Offline
                    Tim Schwallie
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #10

                    yep....nothing wrong with it. I just hate 'to-be' verbs used so loosely. Regarding "Whomever",,,,always mess that one up...so I let the fingers type what they feel like. "Whomever...Whoever...Whatever..." :) now where's the spell checker?

                    C 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • R Roger Wright

                      :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Is this the new Ebonics?

                      "A Journey of a Thousand Rest Stops Begins with a Single Movement"

                      T Offline
                      T Offline
                      Tim Schwallie
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #11

                      yes MS is being insulting your'uh intelligence.

                      1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • T Tim Schwallie

                        ProgramX installing. Joe Smith types a message.

                        RaviBeeR Offline
                        RaviBeeR Offline
                        RaviBee
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #12

                        Tim Schwallie wrote:

                        ProgramX installing.

                        And that, in your opinion, is a grammatically correct sentence? /ravi

                        My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • M MarkB777

                          Tim Schwallie wrote:

                          "Program X is being installed."

                          Umm theres nothing wrong with that phrase...

                          Mark Brock "We're definitely not going to make a G or a PG version of this. It's not PillowfightCraft." -- Chris Metzen Click here to view my blog

                          T Offline
                          T Offline
                          Tim Schwallie
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #13

                          correct, nothing wrong with it..."to-be" verbs didn't sit well with me. and so staying in context of installation: Program X installer currently installing Program X seemed like a pain so I could handle: ProgramX installing... and so on....so goes the rant.

                          P 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • T Tim Schwallie

                            Let's see....the MS Installer displays the following during installation, "Program X is being installed." Sorry folks, in my English classes, all my teachers would have put a big red mark around that one. MS Communicator tells us politely, "Joe Smith is typing a message." Not a chance. Whomever writes these programs, please learn English above the second grade level.

                            M Offline
                            M Offline
                            martin_hughes
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #14

                            There's nothing wrong with either, they're both answers to questions in the present tense: Q. "What is ProgramX doing?" A. "ProgramX is installing." Q. "What is Joe Smith doing?" A. "Joe Smith is typing a message."

                            Top Secret Plan for World Domination

                            T 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • M martin_hughes

                              There's nothing wrong with either, they're both answers to questions in the present tense: Q. "What is ProgramX doing?" A. "ProgramX is installing." Q. "What is Joe Smith doing?" A. "Joe Smith is typing a message."

                              Top Secret Plan for World Domination

                              T Offline
                              T Offline
                              Tim Schwallie
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #15

                              yep nothing wrong. Here's the rant: What is Joe Smith doing outside? MS would write the answer as: Joe Smith is running. I had teachers who would drill not to use 'to-be' verbs. Hence, they would say to write: Joe Smith runs. Of course this would prepare us for writing more complex sentences like: Joe Smith runs with the dog. Instead of the MS way: Joe Smith is running with the dog. And now I is growing tired of this rant. :zzz:

                              M S 2 Replies Last reply
                              0
                              • T Tim Schwallie

                                yep nothing wrong. Here's the rant: What is Joe Smith doing outside? MS would write the answer as: Joe Smith is running. I had teachers who would drill not to use 'to-be' verbs. Hence, they would say to write: Joe Smith runs. Of course this would prepare us for writing more complex sentences like: Joe Smith runs with the dog. Instead of the MS way: Joe Smith is running with the dog. And now I is growing tired of this rant. :zzz:

                                M Offline
                                M Offline
                                Marcus_Idle
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #16

                                Tim You're from the United States, right? Native speaker? Two tenses Joe Smith runs = he usually runs, running is his thing. He may not be running right now. Joe Smith is running = yep, there he goes. Cheers -Marcus

                                M T P 3 Replies Last reply
                                0
                                • T Tim Schwallie

                                  Let's see....the MS Installer displays the following during installation, "Program X is being installed." Sorry folks, in my English classes, all my teachers would have put a big red mark around that one. MS Communicator tells us politely, "Joe Smith is typing a message." Not a chance. Whomever writes these programs, please learn English above the second grade level.

                                  E Offline
                                  E Offline
                                  El Corazon
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #17

                                  I hate to burst your bubble, shake your faith, or what have you.... English is a living language and especially in respect to the digital age. It is also not correct to xerox a paper, or google a phrase. xerox and google are nouns not verbs. My 2nd wife gave me hell over "re-entrantcy" but it is a valid property for parallel code. We also Mc-ify our words. Common usage matters more than perfect English. My English teacher hated "won't" -- but because it is used, it is correct, because all of our language is drifting. I speak a basterdized version of American English which is 90 some percent "pure" and less than 10 percent localized common usage. Some of that common usage is southwest US with Texan and Mexican influences and some of that is technobabble geek-speak. Common usage language is aimed at the 7th grade or lower English level. What do you expect? the majority of your user base of most software has a McJob and probably finished school and promptly forgot everything. That is the purrpose of school right? now back to making re-entrant code. :) :)

                                  _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb) John Andrew Holmes "It is well to remember that the entire universe, with one trifling exception, is composed of others."

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • M Marcus_Idle

                                    Tim You're from the United States, right? Native speaker? Two tenses Joe Smith runs = he usually runs, running is his thing. He may not be running right now. Joe Smith is running = yep, there he goes. Cheers -Marcus

                                    M Offline
                                    M Offline
                                    martin_hughes
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #18

                                    Marcus Idle? Idle is right! Member since: Tuesday, October 15, 2002 (5 years, 11 months) Article count: 0 Post count: 1 I call shenanigans! And Cylon!

                                    Top Secret Plan for World Domination

                                    M 2 Replies Last reply
                                    0
                                    • T Tim Schwallie

                                      yep nothing wrong. Here's the rant: What is Joe Smith doing outside? MS would write the answer as: Joe Smith is running. I had teachers who would drill not to use 'to-be' verbs. Hence, they would say to write: Joe Smith runs. Of course this would prepare us for writing more complex sentences like: Joe Smith runs with the dog. Instead of the MS way: Joe Smith is running with the dog. And now I is growing tired of this rant. :zzz:

                                      S Offline
                                      S Offline
                                      Steve Thresher
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #19

                                      What colour is the dog?

                                      P 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • M martin_hughes

                                        Marcus Idle? Idle is right! Member since: Tuesday, October 15, 2002 (5 years, 11 months) Article count: 0 Post count: 1 I call shenanigans! And Cylon!

                                        Top Secret Plan for World Domination

                                        M Offline
                                        M Offline
                                        Marcus_Idle
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #20

                                        OK, so I dip into codeproject now and then, and I don't post a lot (at all). If that's against the law, OK, sue me! Life's busy! But hey, this is my second post today! OK, I'll put an article up before Christmas! I promise!

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • T Tim Schwallie

                                          correct, nothing wrong with it..."to-be" verbs didn't sit well with me. and so staying in context of installation: Program X installer currently installing Program X seemed like a pain so I could handle: ProgramX installing... and so on....so goes the rant.

                                          P Offline
                                          P Offline
                                          peterchen
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #21

                                          Which means something entirely different.

                                          Burning Chrome ^ | Linkify!| FoldWithUs! | sighist

                                          1 Reply Last reply
                                          0
                                          Reply
                                          • Reply as topic
                                          Log in to reply
                                          • Oldest to Newest
                                          • Newest to Oldest
                                          • Most Votes


                                          • Login

                                          • Don't have an account? Register

                                          • Login or register to search.
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          0
                                          • Categories
                                          • Recent
                                          • Tags
                                          • Popular
                                          • World
                                          • Users
                                          • Groups