[5325] in Athena Bugs
LS grammar revisited
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (cfields@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Wed Jun 27 14:52:27 1990
From: cfields@ATHENA.MIT.EDU
Date: Wed, 27 Jun 90 14:52:11 -0400
To: bugs@MIT.EDU
From: "Jonathan I. Kamens" <jik@pit-manager.MIT.EDU>
To: cfields@ATHENA.MIT.EDU
Cc: bugs@ATHENA.MIT.EDU
In-Reply-To: bugs[5284]
From: cfields@ATHENA.MIT.EDU
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 90 20:59:18 EDT
What's wrong:
> There are a large number of options. By default, the value
What should have happened:
> There is a large number of options. By default, the value
> Not convinced.
> First of all, explain says that "a number of" can be replaced by
> "many", and "There is many options" doesn't make sense.
> Second, your corrected version sounds stupid. :-)
> Show me an English textbook that says you're right, and I'll change
> it....
First of all, you expect me to trust "explain," a _UNIX_ utility, for
_grammar_?
Second, I agree that my corrected version does sound stupid.
I looked in a book on grammar. It revealed that "a number of" is in
fact special cased to be plural. Probably because singular sounds
stupid. So I lose.
I would prefer explain's suggestion however (in spite of the fact it is
a UNIX utility :) :
> There are many options. By default, the value
But hey, since it's not even ungrammatical...
