Thread:DoccocaubaiCAN/@comment-12690164-20150502125414/@comment-26235098-20150503141530

DoccocaubaiCAN wrote: Catinthedark wrote:

Hi Cat.

To the grammar corrections, what are you thinking about the sentence below I found in the Level 931:

"The jellies are worth 36,000 points (18 double jellies x 2,000 points per double jelly = 36,000 points). Hence, an additional 2,000 points are required to earn one star".

It must be:

"The jellies are worth 36,000 points (18 double jellies x 2,000 points per double jelly = 36,000 points). Hence, additional 2,000 points are required to earn one star".

If you think it is incorrect, alert me again.

This case was very subtle. In fact, I did not revert it right away... just thought about it a long while.

A certain-number-of points is best treated as singular, in this context. It would sound ok to say "Additional points are required" (no number there!) but it sounds really awful to say "additional 45 points are" required. The reason, I think, is the additional causes us to treat the number of points that follows as a number, rather than as points. Or you could say it compounds the noun into an amount here. I don't know that this makes much sense, and I don't have a better technical explanation.

I do know, however, that there is nothing, absolutely nothing wrong with "an additional 45 points is required", and it sounds better than any of the alternatives, better than "an addition of 45 points" too. That version is correct, but sounds weird, semantically. As though we are trying to perform arithmetic, rather than earn points.

Doc, there were other corrections, such as capitalizing Level everywhere, that I reverted. These "corrections" are at best superfluous. However, in this case, the capitalization is in contrast to the existing style. Please preserve the existing style.

Another correction involved punctuation around a relative clause... This was outright incorrect. I can't remember it off the top of my head.

The aspects you were correcting were indeed subtle, and really best left to someone who knows the language better.

I did see some correct fixes to typo's (sutble --> subtle, and fulfil --> fulfill). These were perfect! This kind of edit, where there is a clear spelling mistake, is an example of a useful edit! :) :)