Thanks to those who've helped with this. I apologize for being off-topic.
Syed.Hosain at aeris.net wrote: > Ah! Here is additional stuff in the Microsoft Manual of Style that > illustrates my concerns about using gerunds in body text. Hope this > helps! > > Gerunds > A gerund is the -ing form of a verb used as a noun. Use > gerunds to form the titles of procedural Help topics. > > Correct > Managing Hardware and Software > Installing New Software > > Incorrect > How to Install New Software > > Gerunds can sometimes create ambiguity, especially for a > worldwide audience. Include whatever words are necessary to make your > meaning clear, or rewrite the sentence. > > Ambiguous > You can change files using the Template utility. > > Clearer > You can change files by using the Template utility. > You can change files that use the Template utility. > > Using gerunds to describe general concepts, such as "clustering" > and "networking", can be a problem for localization. Not all grammars > allow gerunds to be used in this way, so a single word may be translated > as a phrase. In Dutch, for example, "imaging" is translated as "image > processing", and "licensing" is translated as "the granting of > licenses". Further, not all gerunds are translatable in all languages, > so some loss of meaning is inevitable. If you must use gerunds to > describe concepts, work with your localization program manager or > localization vendor to keep the impact of such words to a minimum. > > Z > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Syed Zaeem Hosain (Syed.Hosain at aeris.net) >> Sent: Monday, July 21, 2008 1:00 PM >> To: 'Jim Owens'; Framer's List >> Subject: RE: need IBM Stryle Guide reference >> >> Hi, Jim. >> >> I do not have the IBM style Guide, but some other references below ... > hope this helps. >> Both "The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th Edition" and the "MLA Style > Manual and Guide to Scholarly >> Publishing" are silent on the topic of gerunds. At least, there is no > index entry for gerund. (MLA = >> Modern Language Association of America.) >> >> But the "Microsoft Manual of Style for Technical Publishing, 3rd > Edition" says: >> Use a gerund (-ing form) rather than an infinitive (to form) in > titles of procedural topics, >> especially in print. After some brief context-setting information to > help the reader decide if she has >> found the right topic, the heading that introduces the procedure > itself should be an infinitive >> phrase. >> >> Style of indexed keywords >> Follow most of the same general style guidelines as those used > for printed indexes: >> * Use gerunds (the -ing form) rather than infinitives (the to > form) or the present tense of >> verbs for task-oriented entries, unless they are unsuitable, as they > may be for languages, systems, or >> localized versions. >> * Avoid generic gerunds that users are unlikely to look up: > using, changing, creating, getting, >> making, doing, and so on. >> >> Also, separately (not what you asked about though), I have concerns > about using gerunds in body since >> they can change the meaning of the text - and can be particularly > confusing for non-native English >> readers. So, "use them very sparingly in body text" is my approach. >> >> Z >> >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com > [mailto:framers-bounces at lists.frameusers.com] On Behalf >> Of >>> Jim Owens >>> Sent: Monday, July 21, 2008 12:04 PM >>> To: Framer's List >>> Subject: need IBM Stryle Guide reference >>> >>> Referring to the IBM Style Guide, a correspondent has informaed me: >>> >>> "Do not use gerunds in headings. IBM rule" >>> >>> but my 2004 copy of the IBM Style Guide says explicitly to use > gerunds >>> in headings (under "Headings and subdivisions of text"). Is there a >>> later edition in which this has changed? > > >
