John Milstone <john_sw_orla...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> And the statement "The three-phase power cables were checked and > connected directly to the electrical outlet." doesn't address who connected > the wires directly to the electrical outlet, or when it happened. > Ah. You misunderstand. This is the academic use of passive voice. In a scientific paper, where it says: "The three-phase power cables were checked and connected directly to the electrical outlet." In plain English we would say: "We checked the three-phase power cables and we connected them directly to the electrical outlet." They would not say this if they themselves had not done it. If Rossi had done it, they would have said he did. You never report someone else's action as your own in a scientific paper. You want it to mean that the testers did this themselves at the time of the > test. . . > I don't want it to mean that; I know it means that. 'Cause I have read and edited hundreds of scientific papers and computer manuals and other boring technical documents for 40 years. You have to learn to read scientific papers. Also you have to get used to people from other countries who call "wires" "cables." - Jed
