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I would go wth 1 or 3. All of them are fine, but 4 seems unnessecary.
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There is no reason to put ' ' around receive, so those first two are out.
"He pushed the receive button and the words flashed into life before his disbelieving eyes." I would pick 3.
I don't think it would be 4 because a capital R in receive makes it sound special like if anyone said receive button, everyone would think of this button, specifically. I wouldn't use a capital in that situation either actually, but I wouldn't think it was weird either. Receive isn't a proper name.
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I know what you mean,tricky one ! Probably 1. it looks the most acceptable..Or you could think of a different way of saying that he recieved the message.
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no. 3 seems to me the right one.
Is the question about use of the R button as noun? I think not.
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I would do 3. Because the object is the button, the and recieve are just describing which button is being pushed.
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I would go with 3 as the word 'receive' is a descriptor for the word 'button' rather than a proper noun. It is like - he preferred the blonde girl. You wouldn't put commas around the word 'blonde' or capitalise it as it is merely a descriptor for the word 'girl'.
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But the hair isn't labelled blonde whilst the button is labelled receive. It just didn't read right during editing and I can't put my finger on why that is.
JD
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SOmetimes if you look at a thing for too long it just seems wrong even if it isn't. Try another example:
He went through the toilet door.
The door might have been market 'Toilet' (or it might have had one of those cuesy signs) but you wouldn't write: he went through the 'Toilet' door, would you?
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And what about in the instance of 'he pushed the button marked receive'?
JD
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If you really want to use a capitcal letter maybe try this.
He pushed the button marked with the word "Receive" plastered in the center of it.
He pushed the button marked with the word 'Receive' plastered in the center of it.
That way you are saying this is how it was labeled, so you are justified in using the capital letter.
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Yeah I wouldn't say that I'm championing any particular version. I've been editing none stop recently and, like FE says, it's easy to find problems where there are none.
Thanks for all of the comments.
JD
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And what about in the instance of 'he pushed the button marked receive'?
If you wrote as above then it would be correct to put the word 'receive' into commas and even to capitalise it because you would be quoting what someone else had written or printed on the button. It wouldn't be correct to do so if you were only describing which button he pushed.
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Excellent. Thanks for the clarification. I still don't know why I coulnd't get my head around it.
JD
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If you just leave it as 'button', wouldn't it be understood that he pushed the receive button because 'the words flashed into life'?
ie. He pushed the button and the words danced before his disbelieving eyes.
... hope this helps,
Grampa
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That's a good point but, in the context of the words surrounding it, the type of button it is needs to be clarified.
Thanks to all for the help. I really should learn when to step back for a bit and come to it later on.
JD
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You 'don't want to 'quote' what you have said' like this since you are forming a quote within a quote using single ' marks. The proper way would be to use a double quote with a single quote contained within it as follows: You "don't want to 'quote' what you have said" ....
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Fair enough. The post was actually about the words in the ' ' but I understand what you mean. I shall try and be more accurate in my posts from now on.
JD
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Great idea for an article.
Of course there are a million and one ways to say it.
They are all OK, but I think what makes them awkward is the adjective disbelieving. You are trying to convey 3 separate ideas.
He pushes the Receive button
words appear
he is surprised.
Instead of using an adjective to convey he surprise, I might consider a new sentence or even an expression of surprise.
He pushed the Receive button and the display flashed into life. He couldn't believe his eyes. Everton 3-0 Chelsea !!! :-)
Shava
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I would do 2.
Rachael
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What a sensible approach in asking for help/guidance. For me I would go for option '3'.
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Hey
How about something along the lines of "After he pressed the 'receive' button, words flashed into life before his disbelieving eyes."?
Hope my opinion is useful!
audreyhepburn
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Either number 1 or 3...
Probably 3. I think the quotation marks (and capitalization) is unnecessary because it is just showing what the button says, not what the button is for(although most people would probably guess what it was for...but that is not my point.) number 3 it is :)
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I would use one or three.
2 and 4 are unnecassary.
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