The syntactically dangerous all and plural in specifications

被引:31
|
作者
Berry, DM [1 ]
Kamsties, E
机构
[1] Univ Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada
[2] Univ Duisburg Essen, Duisburg, Germany
关键词
D O I
10.1109/MS.2005.22
中图分类号
TP31 [计算机软件];
学科分类号
081202 ; 0835 ;
摘要
The simplest way to write a sentence describing a property of each member of a set is to use each, which is grammatically singular. When using each as a subject of a sentence, the verb of the sentence must be singular. Consequently, also the complement of the sentence must be singular. When the complement is singular, the grammatical implication is that the complement applies to each member of the set. Thus, the simplest way to be precise about intention is to talk about properties of each member of the set and use all when the intention is to talk about properties of the whole set.
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页码:55 / 57
页数:3
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