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[Closed] Grammar pedants - capitalisation

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[#7620661]

The internet suggests that adjectives derived from proper nouns need to be capitalised, except in some cases where the adjective has become more common than the original noun e.g. herculean or quixotic.

MS Word wants me to capitalise the word 'boolean'. Do you agree?


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:15 am
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1


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:16 am
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yes.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:17 am
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false


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:18 am
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Whaaa???


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:18 am
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True......OR false


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:19 am
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0xFFFF


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:19 am
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All examples I know of the word capitalise it. So I would go with Word on this one.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:20 am
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MS Word wants me to capitalise the word 'boolean'. Do you agree?

I would say, "depends".

I'd (probably) capitalise it in the phrase [i]"Boolean Logic"[/i] as that's a name.

But I wouldn't capitalise it if I was just saying something like [i]"x is a boolean value"[/i], for the same reason I wouldn't capitalise integer in [i]"x is an integer value"[/i]


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:22 am
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I would capatalise it. Similar to Volts in my mind. People at work write kv but I say it should be kV.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:24 am
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People at work write kv but I say it should be kV.

You'd be right, the [url= https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SI_derived_unit ]SI symbol is capitalised[/url].

However in long form I would write "volts" not "Volts" (likewise joules, coulomb, amp, watt)


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:30 am
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If MS Word told you to jump off a cliff...


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:30 am
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Depends if you want a primitive or an object...

OK - leaving the forum and back to Netbeans for me.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:33 am
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[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:35 am
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What's the worst that could happen? Some dullard on stw whinges at you for a minor linguistic infringement.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:36 am
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[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:38 am
 DrJ
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Speaking of Microsoft, you know when a program crashes and you get a box saying "Windows is looking for a solution to the problem" - has it EVER found one?


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:43 am
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I've had it happen, but it's rare.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 10:56 am
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It depends on your value of lambda...

[img] [/img]


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 11:30 am
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A feeble human attempt at cosmological mass-distribution formula?
You meatbags are so cute sometimes.

[url=

Vectron[/url].


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 11:39 am
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Whilst we are on the subject:

".. there is a large number of objects .."

Word wants me to change that to 'are', but I think it's wrong. The number is singular, and it is large.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 3:48 pm
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Are.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/number-of-people-is-or-are

Would you say "a large number of objects is"?


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 3:53 pm
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That example is different anyway. That's A number of people, which means more than one person ie plural.

I'm talking about 'THE number of objects', ie the number itself. As in 'the number of objects is large'.

However I can imagine that Word doesn't realise this.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 3:58 pm
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Word wants me to change that to 'are', but I think it's wrong.

You is wrong ๐Ÿ˜‰ It's are.

...'s got more soul.

Also, in your example, objects aren't the object, they're the subject.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 4:15 pm
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And it's more piratey.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 4:18 pm
 JoeG
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[s]molgrips[/s] Molgrips


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 4:23 pm
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The number of objects in the list are large.

I R baboon.

Wtf?


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 4:49 pm
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Is.

You wouldn't say "there are a large amount of data", but then equally you would say "there are a large number of bricks in a house". So I suspect the answer is a but more nuanced than just whether the subject is plural or not, because like 'objects', I'd say that data isn't plural, but is a collective noun (for anecdote :-p )?

There is a large collection
There are large collections
Still different because collection and collections, but it's still using is to refer to a group of things.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 4:50 pm
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there is a large number of objects

'the number of objects is large'

The number of objects in the list are large.

You are aware that these are three different sentences?
The grammatical subject of each sentence being subtly different in each case?

Edit: The verb structure of the sentence is determined by the subject. In the three examplea above the subjects would be : the objects, the number and the list respectively.

Is it coz' you is Welsh, isn't it? ๐Ÿ˜€


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 4:54 pm
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equally you would say "there are a large number of bricks in a house"

That I can see.

That does reflect my actual sentence.

What about 'there is a lot of objects'?

A lot is singular.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 4:59 pm
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What about 'there is a lot of objects'?

A lot is singular.

The "lot" is not the subject of the sentence.
The "objects" are. Which is plural. Therefore, there [b]are[/b] a lot of objects.

Just trust Bill Gates. He didn't get to be the richest man in the world by being a dumbass.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 5:03 pm
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I disagree. 'lot' is the subject in this case.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 5:05 pm
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I disagree. 'lot' is the subject in this case.

...except, in this case, "lot" is actually an adjective describing the quantity of objects.

You are actually chewkw and I claim my five pounds. ๐Ÿ™‚


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 5:08 pm
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perchypanther - Member

You are actually chewkw and I claim my five pounds.

[b]"LIKE"[/b]


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 5:19 pm
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Scrub that, I'm too tired/ill to go into it.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 5:26 pm
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List isn't the subject.

Aren't it?

I am actually chewkw and I'd like to give my five pounds back. ๐Ÿ˜ณ


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 5:28 pm
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It's all bolloxks, I are hate you all


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 6:16 pm
 hels
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George Boole was a person so "Boolean" gets proper noun status, so "Boolean" is correct.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 7:33 pm
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Is Ms Word fit? If so do what she says to get in her pants.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 8:11 pm
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It's all bolloxks, I are hate you all

Tsk, tsk. Should be......

It're all bolloxks, I is hate you all.

Have you learned nothing? ๐Ÿ˜‰


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 8:50 pm
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Not pedantry but trivia, George Boole formulated his logic notation and algebra while walking on the Town Field, in Doncaster, where he was teaching at the time. Me and the neighbours registered the field as a village green a few years back, so generations more can come up with their crazy theories while strolling on their lunch hour.


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 9:03 pm
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Giles? Yes, It is a word, and the joke does make sense...


 
Posted : 02/02/2016 9:29 pm