On Sun, Nov 02, 2008 at 12:50:20PM -0600, Tommy Reynolds wrote: > Uttered "Paul W. Frields" <stickster@xxxxxxxxx>, spake thus: > > > In the spirit of Elizabeth West's recent tips for better writing, > > here's one to consider: > > > > Avoid the gerund wherever possible. > > > > Gerunds are those words in English that end in "-ing." Sentences that > > use them tend to feature awkward construction, passive voice, and lack > > of conciseness. Gerunds also translate awkwardly in many languages. > > Gerunds tend to introduce inverted sentences; although many languages > do tend to such constructions (ala vin ordinare) many do not. > > Still, I like using gerunds for topics or outline headings. In these > cases gerunds are dynamic and forceful, setting a clear expectation > of the content. > > Gerunding in sentences, however, lead to weak sentences. Why work > harder when simpler is clearer? Gerunds in titles are great. Thanks for the reminder -- that's the only place where I actually *like* gerunds! -- Paul W. Frields http://paul.frields.org/ gpg fingerprint: 3DA6 A0AC 6D58 FEC4 0233 5906 ACDB C937 BD11 3717 http://redhat.com/ - - - - http://pfrields.fedorapeople.org/ irc.freenode.net: stickster @ #fedora-docs, #fedora-devel, #fredlug
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