From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Alan Mackenzie Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: To non-native English writers: expunging the solecism "This allows to do something." Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2016 21:06:02 +0000 Message-ID: <20160124210602.GA7711@acm.fritz.box> NNTP-Posting-Host: plane.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1453669439 26964 80.91.229.3 (24 Jan 2016 21:03:59 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 24 Jan 2016 21:03:59 +0000 (UTC) To: emacs-devel@gnu.org Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sun Jan 24 22:03:51 2016 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by plane.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1aNRp7-0002Ab-TJ for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Sun, 24 Jan 2016 22:03:50 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:33381 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1aNRp7-00065F-DI for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Sun, 24 Jan 2016 16:03:49 -0500 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:55517) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1aNRp4-00064w-3q for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sun, 24 Jan 2016 16:03:46 -0500 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1aNRp0-00073V-Tf for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sun, 24 Jan 2016 16:03:46 -0500 Original-Received: from mail.muc.de ([193.149.48.3]:44800) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1aNRp0-00073R-Jq for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sun, 24 Jan 2016 16:03:42 -0500 Original-Received: (qmail 71558 invoked by uid 3782); 24 Jan 2016 21:03:40 -0000 Original-Received: from acm.muc.de (p579E86A0.dip0.t-ipconnect.de [87.158.134.160]) by colin.muc.de (tmda-ofmipd) with ESMTP; Sun, 24 Jan 2016 22:03:34 +0100 Original-Received: (qmail 7799 invoked by uid 1000); 24 Jan 2016 21:06:03 -0000 Content-Disposition: inline User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.24 (2015-08-30) X-Delivery-Agent: TMDA/1.1.12 (Macallan) X-Primary-Address: acm@muc.de X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: FreeBSD 9.x X-Received-From: 193.149.48.3 X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:198727 Archived-At: Hello, Emacs. For some time I have been irritated by sentences of the form "This allows to do something" in our source and documentation. Such a sentence formation is NOT ENGLISH. The verb "allow" absolutely requires a direct object, not an infinitive verb. This direct object can be one of various things: (i) The person or other agent being allowed, followed by an infinitive verb: "This allows YOU to do something." "This allows EMACS to do something." (ii) The activity being allowed, as a gerund: "This allows DOING something." "This allows THE DOING OF something." (iii) The object of the activity being allowed, followed by a passive voice infinitive verb: "This allows SOMETHING to be done." Depending on the exact sentence, the best formulation can be any of these three alternatives. Nothing about natural languages is simple. The same considerations also apply to "permit", "enable", and "prevent" (although the preposition after "prevent" is always "from", never "to"). I have done my best to expunge these solecisms from our source and documentation files (including NEWS). PLEASE take care to avoid adding any new ones! Thanks! -- Alan Mackenzie (Nuremberg, Germany).