[Docs] Add some English quirks

A few common errors I see when doing review that deserves mention.
This commit is contained in:
A Thousand Ships
2025-09-30 17:23:59 +02:00
committed by Lukas Tenbrink
parent 58415cfe1b
commit 27e2858fe3

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@@ -37,6 +37,53 @@ There are 3 rules to describe classes:
See the :ref:`content guidelines <doc_content_guidelines>` for information
on the types of documentation you can write in the official documentation.
English language quirks to be aware of
--------------------------------------
English has a few quirks that even experienced users of English slip up on,
so they are listed here to help avoiding these common mistakes.
The noun adjunct
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When you use a noun to modify another noun, as if it was an adjective, it is called
a "noun adjunct". In most cases this first noun should be singular, so for example
"a list of nodes" is also a "node list", not a "nodes list". This also applies even if
the modified noun is plural, so "the lists of nodes" is also the "node lists",
not the "nodes lists".
Deverbals
~~~~~~~~~
English has many words called deverbals, where two words in a phrase are combined into
one noun. Examples of this are a "cleanup" from "to clean up", a "setup" from "to set up", etc.
The combined word is not a replacement for the original phrase, so it's "Clean up the nodes",
not "Cleanup the nodes", and "Performs a cleanup", not "Performs a clean up".
Initialisms and a/an
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many words that are used in the documentation are initialisms, formed by taking the first letter of each word
in a phrase like "Frames Per Second" becoming "FPS". In most cases these are pronounced by just saying each letter
instead of blending the sounds together like a normal word. This, combined with how English letters are
pronounced, means that many of these words should use "an" and not "a" like you might expect.
So it's "an RID", not "a RID", because "RID" is pronounced like "aR-I-Dee". The English letters that are
pronounced with a vowel before the consonant, and should use "an" and not "a" are: `F`, `H`, `L`, `M`, `N`, `R`,
`S`, and `X`.
There are some exceptions to this, like "MIDI", where the word comes from the letters of a phrase, but aren't pronounced this
way. If you are unsure what to do, try saying the word out loud.
Before file extensions the general rule is to always use "a" and write the extension with a leading ``.``, for example "a ``.obj`` file".
And/or with lists
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When listing things and add a noun at the end the noun should be plural if using "and" and singular if using "or", so it should be:
"The Forward+ and Mobile renderers" or "The Forward+ or Mobile renderer". Also combine "either" with "or", not "and",
and "both" with "and", not "or".
.. _doc_docs_writing_guidelines_clear_english_rules:
7 rules for clear English
@@ -257,6 +304,15 @@ sentence, and keep it short:
The **AtlasTexture's** used region.
.. note::
When adding the ``'s`` to plural nouns that end in an ``s`` it becomes just ``'``, so you write "nodes'",
not "nodes's". This applies even if the final ``s`` of the plural wasn't added to make it plural, so it's
"axes'", not "axes's".
You *do* however still add the ``'s`` for plural nouns that do not end in an ``s``, so it's "children's",
not "children'". You can use either for singular nouns that end in an ``s``, though ``'s`` is generally preferred.
Use the Oxford comma to enumerate anything
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~