Somebody teach MS English
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ProgramX installing. Joe Smith types a message.
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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
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.
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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.
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."
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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."
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:
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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:
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
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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.
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."
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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
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!
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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:
What colour is the dog?
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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!
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!
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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.
Which means something entirely different.
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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!
And I'm a real person, honest!
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And I'm a real person, honest!
That what you were bound to say ;)
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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.
Is Microsoft's grammar above a second grade level? Maybe, maybe not. Is their grammar appropriate to the target audience? Probably. Which is more important? Show me the money, baby.
Software Zen:
delete this;
Fold With Us![^] -
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.
Tim Schwallie wrote:
"Program X is being installed."
:confused: Isn't that "passive voice"? What's wrong with that?
Tim Schwallie wrote:
"Joe Smith is typing a message."
:confused: Isn't that a gerund? What's wrong with that?
Stupidity is an International Association - Enrique Jardiel Poncela Die deutsche Sprache sollte sanft und ehrfurchtsvoll zu den toten Sprachen abgelegt werden, denn nur die Toten haben die Zeit, diese Sprache zu lernen. - Mark Twain
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Tim Schwallie wrote:
"Program X is being installed."
:confused: Isn't that "passive voice"? What's wrong with that?
Tim Schwallie wrote:
"Joe Smith is typing a message."
:confused: Isn't that a gerund? What's wrong with that?
Stupidity is an International Association - Enrique Jardiel Poncela Die deutsche Sprache sollte sanft und ehrfurchtsvoll zu den toten Sprachen abgelegt werden, denn nur die Toten haben die Zeit, diese Sprache zu lernen. - Mark Twain
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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
yep give this guy a cookie. the screwy 'run' verb. he runs today -> he is running today he currently runs -> he is currently running what does he like to do? he runs. How does he run? he runs well. I is living in the US. ..bugga... I live in Chicago. Go Cubs! Go Soxs!
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ProgramX installing. Joe Smith types a message.
Tim Schwallie wrote:
ProgramX installing.
This isn't a sentence. You wouldn't say "Dog Farting" you would say (the) dog is farting.
Tim Schwallie wrote:
Joe Smith types a message.
This provides less information than "Joe Smith is typing a message". The latter tells you that Joe is typing right now - the former merely that Joe types a message at some point in time. Somebody teach you English bad, dude. All your base are belong to us.
Take a chill pill, Daddy-o .\\axxx (That's an 'M')
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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.
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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.
Replace ProgramX with another noun such as a person's name: Little Johny is being chased Little Johny chasing Well that's different. Now what?
- S 50 cups of coffee and you know it's on! A post a day, keeps the white coats away!
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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.
A fun rant this has been. And now, everyone who sees these comments and Program is being installed... or Joe is writing a message. will have a little something in the back of their head say: "Damn you MS!!!! Damn you!!!!" or 'To be or not to be' what was Shakey really writing about? ;P
