On 14-01-11 12:41 AM, Henry Gebhardt wrote:
> On Fri, Jan 10, 2014 at 07:56:58PM -0500, Stephan Sokolow wrote:
>> On 14-01-10 09:43 AM, Andrej N. Gritsenko wrote:
>>>>> 2) More complex case:
>>>
>>>>> Changing attributes of files: 1, 2, 3, ...
>>>>> ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
>>>>> Changing attributes of file 53
>>>
>>>>> Q: Is the 'of' correct word here or should it be 'for' instead?
>>>
>>>> That's a very tricky case to explain. Both are "valid enough" but
>>>> determining which is more valid requires an understanding of English
>>>> grammar and the nature of "attributes" that most native speakers lack.
>>>
>>>> ("on" would also be valid enough though less because it's intuitive and
>>>> more from seeing it used so often that it becomes normal.)
>>>
>>>> I can try to make a suggestion but first I need a clearer understanding
>>>> of which operations that message will and will not be displayed for. Is
>>>> it just for setting the mode bits or does it cover other attributes as
>>>> well?
>>>
>>> Well, changeable attributes may be (not valid for every file, it's why
>>> the "may" is used here):
>>> - mode bits
>>> - owner and group
>>> - displayable name
>>> - associated icon
>>> - "hidden" attribute
>>> - link's target
>>>
>>
>> Yeah, I think "of", "for", or "on" would all be equally correct. The
>> distinctions they embody don't really have a clear meaning in terms of
>> file attributes.
>>
>> "of" refers to something which "belongs to" the file, "for" refers to
>> something that "applies/refers to" the file, and "on" refers to
>> something that is "attached to (but not contained in)" the file. All
>> three are equally accurate ways to describe the relationship between a
>> file and its filesystem attributes.
>>
>> My only further advice would be that, in my personal, subjective
>> experience as a native English speaker, "for" and "on" feel *slightly*
>> more natural than "of" in that sentence.
>
> Interesting, a friend of mine and I had exactly the opposite reaction...
> So I guess either would work?
>
To be absolutely certain, we'd have to survey native English speakers
across various different English-speaking countries (Canadian English is
an odd middle-ground between American and British English which is
supposed to be closer to British but leans more toward American due to
cultural osmosis) but I did say that it felt only slightly more natural
so, yes, any one of the three would work.
>
> Henry
>
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