[ZPT] My First Post

[R. David Murray]

On Mon, 9 Apr 2001 richard@bizarsoftware.com.au wrote:
> OK, so why is one a noun and one a verb? That part of my post was all about
> consistency, or the lack thereof :)
> 
> And why does 'attributes', as a noun, still have to be plural?

Well, this is kind of silly, but...

'define' is normally a verb in English.  It probably doesn't get
used as a noun by anybody other than programmers, and even programmers
use it as a verb most of the time.  That tag is 'defining' things,
thus I hear it as a verb, even though the noun usage would also
make semantic sense in this context.  If you want the noun, you
should really be using 'definitions'.

'attributes' can only be a noun.  To make it parallel with
define-as-a-verb, you'd have to make it 'replace-attributes' or
something.  Unweildy.

At least having 'attributes' be plural keeps it number-parallel
with define, which is the plural form of the verb...although it's
really the imperative form as it is used here <grin>.

--RDM