From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.io!.POSTED.blaine.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Alan Mackenzie Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: emacs-30 baaf97ce1a1: ; Fix some ungrammatical uses of "allows to" Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2024 18:14:59 +0000 Message-ID: References: <86h6b1ewop.fsf@gnu.org> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Injection-Info: ciao.gmane.io; posting-host="blaine.gmane.org:116.202.254.214"; logging-data="26758"; mail-complaints-to="usenet@ciao.gmane.io" Cc: Sean Whitton , emacs-devel@gnu.org To: Eli Zaretskii Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane-mx.org@gnu.org Fri Aug 30 20:16:08 2024 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane-mx.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([209.51.188.17]) by ciao.gmane.io with esmtps (TLS1.2:ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:256) (Exim 4.92) (envelope-from ) id 1sk6AK-0006sq-2M for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane-mx.org; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 20:16:08 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1] helo=lists1p.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.90_1) (envelope-from ) id 1sk69b-00087t-Cj; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 14:15:23 -0400 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:470:142:3::10]) by lists.gnu.org with esmtps (TLS1.2:ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:256) (Exim 4.90_1) (envelope-from ) id 1sk69U-00086w-2q for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 14:15:16 -0400 Original-Received: from mail.muc.de ([193.149.48.3]) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtps (TLS1.2:ECDHE_RSA_AES_256_GCM_SHA384:256) (Exim 4.90_1) (envelope-from ) id 1sk69Q-0007Fk-4c for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 14:15:14 -0400 Original-Received: (qmail 74242 invoked by uid 3782); 30 Aug 2024 20:15:00 +0200 Original-Received: from muc.de (p4fe15e8f.dip0.t-ipconnect.de [79.225.94.143]) (using STARTTLS) by colin.muc.de (tmda-ofmipd) with ESMTP; Fri, 30 Aug 2024 20:14:59 +0200 Original-Received: (qmail 23521 invoked by uid 1000); 30 Aug 2024 18:14:59 -0000 Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <86h6b1ewop.fsf@gnu.org> X-Submission-Agent: TMDA/1.3.x (Ph3nix) X-Primary-Address: acm@muc.de Received-SPF: pass client-ip=193.149.48.3; envelope-from=acm@muc.de; helo=mail.muc.de X-Spam_score_int: -18 X-Spam_score: -1.9 X-Spam_bar: - X-Spam_report: (-1.9 / 5.0 requ) BAYES_00=-1.9, RCVD_IN_VALIDITY_CERTIFIED_BLOCKED=0.001, RCVD_IN_VALIDITY_RPBL_BLOCKED=0.001, SPF_HELO_PASS=-0.001, SPF_PASS=-0.001, T_SCC_BODY_TEXT_LINE=-0.01 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no X-Spam_action: no action X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.29 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-mx.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane-mx.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.io gmane.emacs.devel:323210 Archived-At: Hello, Eli. On Fri, Aug 30, 2024 at 20:40:22 +0300, Eli Zaretskii wrote: > > commit baaf97ce1a1f14e1b999ad17084022a725fbcccc > > Author: Sean Whitton > > AuthorDate: Fri Aug 30 11:43:35 2024 +0100 > > Commit: Sean Whitton > > CommitDate: Fri Aug 30 11:47:35 2024 +0100 > > > > ; Fix some ungrammatical uses of "allows to" > > > > * doc/emacs/anti.texi (Antinews): > > * etc/NEWS: > > * etc/NEWS.29: > > * lib/cdefs.h: > > * lisp/tab-bar.el (tab-bar-select-restore-windows): > > * lisp/vc/vc-git.el (vc-git-print-log-follow): > > * m4/gnulib-common.m4 (gl_CHECK_FUNCS_SET_RESULTS): > > (gl_CHECK_FUNCS_ANDROID): Fix ungrammatical uses of "allows to". > It is wrong to fix problems in Gnulib files in our repository, because > those fixes will be overridden when the files are next time imported > from Gnulib. Problems in Gnulib should be reported to the Gnulib list > instead. > More generally, "allows to" is AFAIK not necessarily a grammatical > mistake, it's a stylistic preference. So this kind of changes should > not have been made automatically and without discussion. No, Eli, as a native English speaker, I can definitively say "allows to" is wrong. It's a fairly subtle point, but instantly marks its writer as a non-native speaker. "Allow" takes a direct object (which may be a gerund), not an infinitive. Further complicating the structure, that direct object may be the person or agent who is being permitted or enabled, not necessarily the action that is so enabled. For example: Wrong: This allows to add text properties to the text. Correct: (i) This allows the addition of text properties to the text. (ii) This allows adding text properties to the text. (iii) This allows text properties to be added to the text. (iv) This allows the programmer to add text properties to the text. -- Alan Mackenzie (Nuremberg, Germany).