On 2015-08-11 09:56, chrysn wrote: > Package: lintian > Version: 2.5.34 > Severity: minor >
Hi, Thanks for reporting this bug. I am CC'ing debian-l10n-english for a bit of assistance. I got two "@English" for you. :) > The spelling-error-in-description correction "Allow to" -> "Allow one > to" is hard to understand without further explanation. > @English: Do you have a suggestion for how we explain this simpler than the below? I suspect the long (sentence theoretical) explanation is not going to help the average reader. My understanding of it is: Allow (when used with "to") is always a "transitive verb". That is, it must "apply" to an "object". Consider the following sentence: I allow my dog to go outside. Here "allow" is a "transitive" verb, which is applied to "my dog", which is the "object" (sentence structure wise). What the correction is complaining about is that it sees an instance of: I allow to go outside. This sentence is "invalid" and is missing something. It could have been a "passive voice" missing a verb and in wrong tense (e.g. "I am allowed to go outside") or it could be missing an "object" (a la the previous example above). Note: In the suggested correction, lintian always uses "one" as the "object". I am not sure if a place-holder might have been better. E.g. "allow to -> allow <missing-word> to" > With openscad, it reports the "Allow to open multiple files" menu line. Which, to my understanding, grammatically does not make a lot of sense. If it is a menu line, it might make sense to word it slightly different. An example could be: "Open multiple files" Menu lines tend to "imperative" anyway ("orders" to the computer). > I've checked with several native speakers and a dictionary, and nothing > gives me an indication on 'allow to' being wrong; at best, people have > suggested "Allow opening multiple files", but on a "either would work" > basis. > I am not sure there is a general consensus that "either would work" here. * @English, what is your take on this? > The report overview shows that the 'allow' case makes up roughly half of > the spelling-error-in-description cases. > > Could you clarify on this? > > Thanks > chrysn > Presumably, people are not in a hurry to fix spelling mistakes or/and (like you) were unsure on how to fix the particular spelling mistake. Thanks, ~Niels -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to debian-bugs-dist-requ...@lists.debian.org with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact listmas...@lists.debian.org