Re: "May", "can", "might"

From: Bruce Momjian <bruce(at)momjian(dot)us>
To: PostgreSQL-development <pgsql-hackers(at)postgreSQL(dot)org>
Subject: Re: "May", "can", "might"
Date: 2007-01-31 22:00:02
Message-ID: 200701312200.l0VM02S26574@momjian.us
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I have made these adjustments to the documentation. Do people want the
error message strings also updated? It will probably make the
translation easier/clearer in the future, but it does involve some error
message wording churn. CVS HEAD only, of course.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

bruce wrote:
> Standard English uses "may", "can", and "might" in different ways:
>
> may - permission, "You may borrow my rake."
>
> can - ability, "I can lift that log."
>
> might - possibility, "It might rain today."
>
> Unfortunately, in conversational English, their use is often mixed, as
> in, "You may use this variable to do X", when in fact, "can" is a better
> choice. Similarly, "It may crash" is better stated, "It might crash".
>
> I would like to clean up our documentation to consistently use these
> words. Objections?
>
> (Who says were obsessive?) :-)
>
> --
> Bruce Momjian bruce(at)momjian(dot)us
> EnterpriseDB http://www.enterprisedb.com
>
> + If your life is a hard drive, Christ can be your backup. +

--
Bruce Momjian bruce(at)momjian(dot)us
EnterpriseDB http://www.enterprisedb.com

+ If your life is a hard drive, Christ can be your backup. +

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