Karel,
I noticed a mistake in this patch, in the change to su.1:
-allows to run commands with a substitute user and group ID.
+allows commands to be with a substitute user and group ID.
Should be:
+allows commands to be run with a substitute user and group ID.
Shall I resend the patch, or will you edit?
Thanks,
Michael
On Tue, 14 Jul 2020 at 11:58, Michael Kerrisk (man-pages)
<mtk.manpages@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> The wording "allow(s) to" is not grammatical English. Reword various
> pages to use a more correct form such "can be use to" or "allows
> the [noun] of".
>
> Aklong the way, fix a few nearby wording errors in some pages.
>
> Signed-off-by: Michael Kerrisk (man-pages) <mtk.manpages@xxxxxxxxx>
> ---
> disk-utils/fdisk.8 | 3 ++-
> disk-utils/sfdisk.8 | 3 ++-
> disk-utils/swaplabel.8 | 2 +-
> libblkid/libblkid.3 | 3 ++-
> login-utils/login.1 | 8 ++++----
> login-utils/su.1 | 6 +++---
> misc-utils/findmnt.8 | 2 +-
> sys-utils/hwclock.8.in | 3 ++-
> sys-utils/mount.8 | 6 +++---
> sys-utils/setarch.8 | 2 +-
> sys-utils/umount.8 | 6 ++++--
> term-utils/agetty.8 | 7 ++++---
> term-utils/script.1 | 2 +-
> text-utils/column.1 | 6 ++++--
> 14 files changed, 34 insertions(+), 25 deletions(-)
>
> diff --git a/disk-utils/fdisk.8 b/disk-utils/fdisk.8
> index f683bcaaa..9d6443873 100644
> --- a/disk-utils/fdisk.8
> +++ b/disk-utils/fdisk.8
> @@ -200,7 +200,8 @@ are deprecated.
>
> .SH SCRIPT FILES
> .B fdisk
> -allows to read (by 'I' command) sfdisk compatible script files. The script is
> +can be used to read (by 'I' command) sfdisk compatible script files.
> +The script is
> applied to in-memory partition table, and then it is possible to modify the
> partition table before you write it to the device.
> .PP
> diff --git a/disk-utils/sfdisk.8 b/disk-utils/sfdisk.8
> index 6c278afb6..f2346fb4f 100644
> --- a/disk-utils/sfdisk.8
> +++ b/disk-utils/sfdisk.8
> @@ -295,7 +295,8 @@ disk label (see the \fBEMPTY DISK LABEL\fR section below).
> .TP
> .BR \-Y , " \-\-label\-nested " \fItype
> Force editing of a nested disk label. The primary disk label has to exist already.
> -This option allows to edit for example a hybrid/protective MBR on devices with GPT.
> +For example,
> +this option allows you to edit a hybrid/protective MBR on devices with GPT.
>
> .TP
> .BR \-w , " \-\-wipe "\fIwhen
> diff --git a/disk-utils/swaplabel.8 b/disk-utils/swaplabel.8
> index b623a5020..c43a9b22a 100644
> --- a/disk-utils/swaplabel.8
> +++ b/disk-utils/swaplabel.8
> @@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ These values can also be set during swap creation using
> .BR mkswap (8).
> The
> .B swaplabel
> -utility allows to change the label or UUID on an actively used swap device.
> +utility can be used to change the label or UUID on an actively used swap device.
> .SH OPTIONS
> .TP
> .BR \-h , " \-\-help"
> diff --git a/libblkid/libblkid.3 b/libblkid/libblkid.3
> index a3795ab79..7fa1539b8 100644
> --- a/libblkid/libblkid.3
> +++ b/libblkid/libblkid.3
> @@ -24,7 +24,8 @@ filesystem labels/volume names, unique identifiers/serial numbers.
> A common use is to allow use of LABEL= and UUID= tags instead of hard-coding
> specific block device names into configuration files.
> .P
> -The low-level part of the library also allows to extract information about
> +The low-level part of the library also allows the extraction
> +of information about
> partitions and block device topology.
> .P
> The high-level part of the library keeps information about block devices in a
> diff --git a/login-utils/login.1 b/login-utils/login.1
> index 73c59462a..3f5a05ee7 100644
> --- a/login-utils/login.1
> +++ b/login-utils/login.1
> @@ -133,9 +133,9 @@ to tell
> that printing the hostname should be suppressed in the login: prompt.
> See also
> .B LOGIN_PLAIN_PROMPT
> -below if your server does not allow to configure
> +below if your server does not allow the
> .B login
> -command line.
> +command line to be configured.
> .TP
> \fB\-\-help\fR
> Display help text and exit.
> @@ -193,9 +193,9 @@ to stop display content specified by
> .B MOTD_FILE
> after the first accessible item in the list.
> Note that a directory is one item in this case.
> -This option allows to configure
> +This option allows
> .B login
> -semantic to be more compatible with pam_motd.
> +semantics to be configured to be more compatible with pam_motd.
> .RE
> .PP
> .B LOGIN_PLAIN_PROMPT
> diff --git a/login-utils/su.1 b/login-utils/su.1
> index 1589eb4a3..80949dae1 100644
> --- a/login-utils/su.1
> +++ b/login-utils/su.1
> @@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ su \- run a command with substitute user and group ID
> .RI [ user " [" argument ...]]
> .SH DESCRIPTION
> .B su
> -allows to run commands with a substitute user and group ID.
> +allows commands to be with a substitute user and group ID.
> .PP
> When called with no
> .I user
> @@ -122,7 +122,7 @@ This option is ignored if the option \fB\-\-login\fR is specified.
> .BR \-P , " \-\-pty"
> Create pseudo-terminal for the session. The independent terminal provides
> better security as user does not share terminal with the original
> -session. This allow to avoid TIOCSTI ioctl terminal injection and other
> +session. This can be used to avoid TIOCSTI ioctl terminal injection and other
> security attacks against terminal file descriptors. The all session is also
> possible to move to background (e.g., "su \-\-pty \- username \-c
> application &"). If the pseudo-terminal is enabled then su command works
> @@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ global logindef config file
> For security reasons
> .B su
> always logs failed log-in attempts to the btmp file, but it does not write to
> -the lastlog file at all. This solution allows to control
> +the lastlog file at all. This solution can be used to control
> .B su
> behavior by PAM configuration. If you want to use the pam_lastlog module to
> print warning message about failed log-in attempts then the pam_lastlog has to
> diff --git a/misc-utils/findmnt.8 b/misc-utils/findmnt.8
> index 128793451..dda6c13bf 100644
> --- a/misc-utils/findmnt.8
> +++ b/misc-utils/findmnt.8
> @@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ The standard columns always use the new version of the information from the
> mountinfo file, except the umount action which is based on the original
> information cached by
> .BR findmnt (8).
> -The poll mode allows to use extra columns:
> +The poll mode allows the use of extra columns:
> .RS
> .TP
> .B ACTION
> diff --git a/sys-utils/hwclock.8.in b/sys-utils/hwclock.8.in
> index e62b4ad09..9912b48d5 100644
> --- a/sys-utils/hwclock.8.in
> +++ b/sys-utils/hwclock.8.in
> @@ -281,7 +281,8 @@ parameters should be observed.
> .
> .TP
> .BI \%\-\-delay= seconds
> -This option allows to overwrite internally used delay when set clock time. The
> +This option can be used to overwrite the internally used delay
> +when setting the clock time. The
> default is 0.5 (500ms) for rtc_cmos, for another RTC types the delay is 0. If
> RTC type is impossible to determine (from sysfs) then it defaults also to 0.5
> to be backwardly compatible.
> diff --git a/sys-utils/mount.8 b/sys-utils/mount.8
> index 190335c23..d232896f6 100644
> --- a/sys-utils/mount.8
> +++ b/sys-utils/mount.8
> @@ -584,7 +584,7 @@ with a single
> .BR mount (2)
> system call, and the flags cannot be mixed with other mount options and operations.
>
> -Since util-linux 2.23 the \fBmount\fR command allows to do more propagation
> +Since util-linux 2.23 the \fBmount\fR command can be used to do more propagation
> (topology) changes by one mount(8) call and do it also together with other
> mount operations. This feature is EXPERIMENTAL. The propagation flags are applied
> by additional \fBmount\fR(2) system calls when the preceding mount operations
> @@ -891,9 +891,9 @@ explicitly define that the argument is the mount target.
> .TP
> .BI \-\-target\-prefix " directory"
> Prepend the specified directory to all mount targets.
> -This option allows to follow
> +This option can be used to follow
> .IR fstab ,
> -but mount operations is done on another place, for example:
> +but mount operations are done in another place, for example:
> .RS
> .RS
> .sp
> diff --git a/sys-utils/setarch.8 b/sys-utils/setarch.8
> index 7040ac003..7276fdd55 100644
> --- a/sys-utils/setarch.8
> +++ b/sys-utils/setarch.8
> @@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ modifies execution domains and process personality flags.
> The execution domains currently only affects the output of \fBuname \-m\fR.
> For example, on an AMD64 system, running \fBsetarch i386 \fIprogram\fR
> will cause \fIprogram\fR to see i686 instead of x86_64 as the machine type.
> -It also allows to set various personality options.
> +It can also be used to set various personality options.
> The default \fIprogram\fR is \fB/bin/sh\fR.
> .PP
> Since version 2.33 the
> diff --git a/sys-utils/umount.8 b/sys-utils/umount.8
> index 6f402fd67..a66d11961 100644
> --- a/sys-utils/umount.8
> +++ b/sys-utils/umount.8
> @@ -215,13 +215,15 @@ option on a line, anybody can umount the corresponding filesystem. For more det
> .BR mount (8)
> man page.
> .PP
> -Since version 2.34 \fBumount\fR command allows to perform umount operation also
> +Since version 2.34 the \fBumount\fR command can be used to
> +perform umount operation also
> for fuse filesystems if kernel mount table contains user's ID. In this case fstab
> user= mount option is not required.
> .PP
> Since version 2.35 \fBumount\fR command does not exit when user permissions are
> inadequate by internal libmount security rules. It drops suid permissions
> -and continue as regular non-root user. It allows to support use-cases where
> +and continue as regular non-root user.
> +This can be used to support use-cases where
> root permissions are not necessary (e.g., fuse filesystems, user namespaces,
> etc).
> .SH LOOP DEVICE
> diff --git a/term-utils/agetty.8 b/term-utils/agetty.8
> index 76ba9e280..902914197 100644
> --- a/term-utils/agetty.8
> +++ b/term-utils/agetty.8
> @@ -241,7 +241,8 @@ Call vhangup() to do a virtual hangup of the specified terminal.
> Try to keep the existing baud rate. The baud rates from the command line are
> used when agetty receives a BREAK character. If another baud rates specified
> then the original baud rate is also saved to the end of the wanted baud rates
> -list. It allows to return to the original baud rate after unexpected BREAKs.
> +list.
> +This can be used to return to the original baud rate after unexpected BREAKs.
> .TP
> \-t, \-\-timeout \fItimeout\fP
> Terminate if no user name could be read within \fItimeout\fP seconds.
> @@ -357,7 +358,7 @@ checks for \fI/etc/issue.d\fP directory. The directory is optional extension to
> the default issue file and content of the directory is printed after
> \fI/etc/issue\fP content. If the \fI/etc/issue\fP does not exist than the
> directory is ignored. All files \fBwith .issue extension\fP from the directory are
> -printed in version-sort order. The directory allow to maintain 3rd-party
> +printed in version-sort order. The directory can be used to maintain 3rd-party
> messages independently on the primary system \fI/etc/issue\fP file.
>
> Since version 2.35 additional locations for issue file and directory are
> @@ -413,7 +414,7 @@ S or S{VARIABLE}
> Insert the VARIABLE data from \fI/etc/os-release\fP. If this file does not exist
> then fall back to \fI/usr/lib/os-release\fP. If the VARIABLE argument is not
> specified, then use PRETTY_NAME from the file or the system name (see \\s).
> -This escape code allows to keep \fI/etc/issue\fP distribution and release
> +This escape code can be used to keep \fI/etc/issue\fP distribution and release
> independent. Note that \\S{ANSI_COLOR} is converted to the real terminal
> escape sequence.
> .TP
> diff --git a/term-utils/script.1 b/term-utils/script.1
> index 59c8b2572..8eda4a58b 100644
> --- a/term-utils/script.1
> +++ b/term-utils/script.1
> @@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ and to store additional information about the session.
> .PP
> Since version 2.35
> .B script
> -supports multiple streams and allows to log input and output to separate
> +supports multiple streams and allows the logging of input and output to separate
> files or all the one file. This version also supports new timing file
> which records additional information. The command
> .B scriptreplay \-\-summary
> diff --git a/text-utils/column.1 b/text-utils/column.1
> index 4c2de1cc5..18696954b 100644
> --- a/text-utils/column.1
> +++ b/text-utils/column.1
> @@ -67,7 +67,9 @@ Output is formatted to a width specified as number of characters. The original
> name of this option is \-\-columns; this name is deprecated since v2.30. Note that input
> longer than \fIwidth\fP is not truncated by default.
> .IP "\fB\-d, \-\-table\-noheadings\fP"
> -Do not print header. This option allows to use logical column names on command line, but keep the header hidden when print the table.
> +Do not print header.
> +This option allows the use of logical column names on the command line,
> +but keeps the header hidden when printing the table.
> .IP "\fB\-o, \-\-output\-separator\fP \fIstring\fP"
> Specify the columns delimiter for table output (default is two spaces).
> .IP "\fB\-s, \-\-separator\fP \fIseparators\fP"
> @@ -83,7 +85,7 @@ for the table header or to address column in option arguments.
> .IP "\fB\-R, \-\-table-right\fP \fIcolumns\fP"
> Right align text in the specified columns.
> .IP "\fB\-T, \-\-table-truncate\fP \fIcolumns\fP"
> -Specify columns where is allowed to truncate text when necessary, otherwise
> +Specify columns where text can be truncated when necessary, otherwise
> very long table entries may be printed on multiple lines.
> .IP "\fB\-E, \-\-table-noextreme\fP \fIcolumns\fP"
> Specify columns where is possible to ignore unusually long (longer than
> --
> 2.26.2
>
--
Michael Kerrisk
Linux man-pages maintainer; http://www.kernel.org/doc/man-pages/
Linux/UNIX System Programming Training: http://man7.org/training/
