Under 48 hours remain!
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Kildorf
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I think it's kind of sad that there are now fewer than 24 hours remaining, yet the grammar of the original post's subject line is still being debated.
Posted on 2004-07-04 06:53:38
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Gayo
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Also, there is little to no ambiguity to be considered when handling the English language; most of said "ambiguity" is due to a general lack of understanding on the part of most people.
Okay, you are clearly not worth the trouble it would take to set you straight.
Posted on 2004-07-04 10:05:48
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Gayo
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ElD:
But "48 hours" can also be thought of as referring to a singular unit of time, rather than to forty-eight "hour" objects. It's a very common usage, and it's the source of all this confusion.
Also, you edited for spelling yet left "relavent." For shame.
Posted on 2004-07-04 10:10:57
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Thrasher
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If you consult Microsoft Word, "Under 48 hours remain." contains a grammatical error. "Under 48 hours remains." does not.
It accepted both "Less than 48 hours remain." and "Less than 48 hours remains."
I guess there is some ambiguity. My apologies, Gayo.
However, I still stand firm: The hours don't remain; under does.
Posted on 2004-07-04 10:32:40
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Interference22
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Quote:Originally posted by Thrasher
If you consult Microsoft Word, "Under 48 hours remain." contains a grammatical error. "Under 48 hours remains." does not.
It accepted both "Less than 48 hours remain." and "Less than 48 hours remains."
I guess there is some ambiguity. My apologies, Gayo.
However, I still stand firm: The hours don't remain; under does.
Asking MS word for grammatical corrections is like asking a Geologist what the rock formations are like on the third moon of Saturn: there's a limit to it's knowledge, and on a large scale of things it's a limit that's easy to hit.
Posted on 2004-07-04 13:52:21
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Alex
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As someone who uses it virtually all the time, I can say with absolute positivity that Microsoft Word doesn't know its arse from its elbow.
Quote:Originally posted by El Desconocido
Remain is not in fact singular or plural, it is a verb. The conjugation used for singular first person (I), singular second person (you) and plural third person (they, or in fact hours) is remain. Only singular third person (he, she, it) would use remains.
Yes, I know it's a verb, I was just trying to put it simply, thereby negating the need for half-page explanations.
The fact is that this is very simple. Like I said before, it all comes down to whether you're talking about a single object or a group of objects. If one object, ie one hour, then
"under one hour remains". But if a group of objects, ie 48 hours, then "under 48 hours remain". This is always the case.
The simplest way to illustrate this point:
The sheep remains
The sheep remain
Despite the word being the same, you can tell from these sentences which one is referring to a single sheep and which one is referring to a flock of sheep. This is because of the remain/remains thing.
But as El said, this is all third person, and the rules can be different in other situations, ie "you will remain here", but lets not get into that... :)
Posted on 2004-07-04 14:03:22
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el_desconocido
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Quote:Originally posted by Gayo
ElD:
But "48 hours" can also be thought of as referring to a singular unit of time, rather than to forty-eight "hour" objects. It's a very common usage, and it's the source of all this confusion.
Also, you edited for spelling yet left "relavent." For shame.
In the way grue used it, it is not a singular unit of time, but 48 of them. Under 48, or if one prefers, less than 48, describes the quantity of hours. Only if he had stated "Under 48 hours remains 2004-07-" would it be correct.
But shame is right... The spelling I changed was "revalent" to "relavent". ;)
El
Posted on 2004-07-04 17:57:02
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Thrasher
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Drat. Foiled again.
Posted on 2004-07-04 18:12:40
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zaril
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The remaining hours are less than 48.
Posted on 2004-07-04 20:01:02
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mcgrue
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7 Hours and 13 minutes remain by my reckoning.
Posted on 2004-07-04 22:14:00
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Technetium
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Alright, so where do I upload my piece of crap?
Posted on 2004-07-04 22:25:08
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athocreft
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Uhoh. I better get started.
Posted on 2004-07-04 22:42:10
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Interference22
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Damn you, Thrasher, this is a plot to make us HOVvers LATE by getting us to discuss grammar, isn't it? Bastard!
Posted on 2004-07-05 01:11:04
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Technetium
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Well, since I was getting antsy about the contest ending soon, I went and uploaded it to the files >> Verge 3 >> contests section. Hopefully that's the right place.
Posted on 2004-07-05 01:16:35
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mcgrue
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it is
Posted on 2004-07-05 02:35:12
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