Re: Bug#582109: debian-policy: document triggers where appropriate
On 10-04-13 12:37, Simon McVittie wrote:
> <hat class="native-en_GB-speaker">
>
> On 10/04/13 11:24, Wouter Verhelst wrote:
>> On 10-04-13 12:07, Raphael Hertzog wrote:
>>>> + whitespace, everything after the first hash character (<tt>#</tt>)
>>>
>>> whitespaces ? (with "s")
>>
>> No, absolutely not. The word "whitespace" does not have a plural form,
>> since it is not a noun (you cannot say "a whitespace", for instance).
>
> I've mostly seen whitespace used as a "mass noun", like water or sand:
> you can say "whitespace is ignored" or "a sequence of whitespace", but
> not "a whitespace" or "whitespaces", in the same way that it's correct
> to say "some sand", "a piece of sand" or "a cubic metre of sand", but
> not "a sand" or "sands".
>
> (It's also an adjective: "a whitespace character".)
Right. I had a feeling that my statement about the grammatical reasons
for my "no" wasn't entirely correct -- but at the very least I was sure
about it not having a plural form :-)
--
Copyshops should do vouchers. So that next time some bureaucracy
requires you to mail a form in triplicate, you can mail it just once,
add a voucher, and save on postage.
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