Writing Pet Peeves


Below are a few issues in writing that John finds particularly annoying.  You would do well to heed his suggestions.

The plural of "code" is "code"

The word "code" (as in "source code") is both singular and plural. It is similar to "deer."
For example, "Bambi is a deer" is singular. But it's also plural as in "The deer were grazing in the meadow."
One doesn't put an 's' on the end to make it plural.  Upon seeing Bambi and her family you don't say "Look at the deers."
In the same way, it's incorrect to say "We finished the codes for all our modules."  The source code for multiple modules is still "code" not "codes."



"allows" requires a target

Example misuse: "The Bookmarklet allows to embed a tiny JavaScript program entirely in a hyperlink's URL."
Allows who? The user? The programmer? The web browser?



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