Re:Windows 7 patch for Meltdown enabled arbitrary reads and ...
by keir-rex on Tuesday March 27, 2018 @08:02PM
(#16693947)
Grammar police warning: The comma in “if it doesn’t crash, the bug is present” actually makes the intention more difficult to understand.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Windows 7 patch for Meltdown enabled arbitrary reads and ...
by kazinator on Tuesday March 27, 2018 @08:16PM
(#16694025)
The comma placement "if clause1, clause2" is extremely common. In the above sentence, there is no other place it can go, other than nowhere at all.
"if, it doesn't crash ..." nope
"if it, doesn't ..." nope
"if it doesn't, crash ... " nope
"if it doesn't crash, the " yep!
"if it doesn't crash the, bug ..." nope
"if it doesn't crash the bug, is ..." nope
"if it doesn't crash the bug is, present" nope.
When it is present, it does help to separate the if and then, particularly in the absence of the word "then".
Without the comma, the prefix "if it doesn't crash the bug" can be scanned as a viable clause, only to find that the suffix becomes a fragment.
Re:Windows 7 patch for Meltdown enabled arbitrary reads and ...
by sova on Tuesday March 27, 2018 @08:23PM
(#16694066)
You brute-forced comma placement. I tip, to you, my hat.
Re:Windows 7 patch for Meltdown enabled arbitrary reads and ...
by ralphie02 on Tuesday March 27, 2018 @09:11PM
(#16694328)
Thank you for this and everyone who has downvoted an incorrect and misleading statement
Re:Windows 7 patch for Meltdown enabled arbitrary reads and ...
by CiPHPerCoder on Tuesday March 27, 2018 @08:43PM
(#16694157)
"If x, y" is a shorthand for "If x then y" in spoken language.
Re:Windows 7 patch for Meltdown enabled arbitrary reads and ...
by caseymarquis on Tuesday March 27, 2018 @11:37PM
(#16695060)
That's the grammatically correct place to put the comma. Fairly sure you're actually grammatically required to have a comma there.