[Date Prev][Date Next] [Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: Debconf rewrite project: review the rfr.txt mail



Christian Perrier <bubulle@debian.org> wrote: [...]
> (<missing correct word> is the word for the French "temps" when
> talking about conjugation: "present", "future", etc.....what is the
> generic English word for that ?)

Tense?  I think the problem is that chains of tenses (probably not the
right technical phrase - where you use a certain tense in connection
with another tense in a particular structure) are different in English
and French.

[...]
> The missing comma is also French heritage as we nearly never put a
> comma before "et".....so is the missing "the" article in such
> conditions.

It's only used in English where the clauses before and after are
independent.  For a longer explanation, Strunk's online and not too
far wrong about this (unlike some other topics, where its age shows):
http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk.html#4

Hope that helps,
-- 
MJ Ray - see/vidu http://mjr.towers.org.uk/email.html
Webmaster/web developer, statistician, sysadmin, online shop maker,
developer of koha, debian, gobo, gnustep, various mail and web s/w.
Workers co-op @ Weston-super-Mare, Somerset http://www.ttllp.co.uk/



Reply to: