grammar

[mjeays2551]

Sue Blake wrote:

>On Fri, May 30, 2003 at 02:36:25PM -0700, Matthew Hunt wrote:
>  
>
>>On Sat, May 31, 2003 at 07:20:26AM +1000, Sue Blake wrote:
>>
>>    
>>
>>>Recently I provided some IT staff with the documentation for a
>>>new piece of software. Many times it said things like "In case
>>>Foo, do Bar". The users (correctly in my view) read that as
>>>advice of a precaution worth taking, and took it.
>>>      
>>>
>>Could this be a .us-vs-.au issue?
>>    
>>
>
>Possibly. If so, I wonder which way the rest of the world goes.
>
>  
>
>>Here in the US, at least, it is
>>common for fire alarms to have instructions like "In case of fire, pull
>>handle." 
>>    
>>
>
>We had signs like that here for a while, and they were strictly
>speaking correct for our language. The presence of "of" changes
>the meaning and makes it clear, at least to someone in a calm
>state who can stop and process language patterns that are not
>part of every day speech (i.e. only found on emergency signs).
>Comedians had a field day with people pulling handles, smashing
>glass windows, etc, just in case the disaster might happen.
>But I agree, that usage is correct by my language. The phrase
>"in case of" and the phrase "in case" have very different meanings.
>
>  
>
>>And I interpreted your examples the way the author intended,
>>although I understand the ambiguity.  Certainly mothers here will
>>tell their kids to carry sweaters "in case it cools off."
>>    
>>
>
>Yes it's the same here. In Strine that would be: "Take your jumper
>with you in case it gets cold". The mother expects the kid to
>pick up the item right away and take it with them, despite the heat.
>She does not expect them to come home and pick it up later IF
>it gets cold. No, they take it anyway, IN CASE it gets cold.
>
>Tell me, how would you follow the following (hypothetical) instruction?
>
> In case you run out of memory, don't run all of the programs together.
>
>Is it something to do as a precaution, or a response to take when
>an unlikely situation occurs? I would read it as a precaution and
>make a workplace rule that we must follow it.
>
>Now if it said
>
> If you run out of memory, don't run all of the programs together.
>
>would the meaning be different? I believe so.
>If it is intended to mean the same thing, what would be the reason
>for avoiding the word "if"?
>
>
>  
>
Perhaps better rephrased as "To avoid running out of memory,
don't run all the programs together".  Even that sounds strange;
so how about "To avoid running out of memory, run the programs
separately".