TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: Important vs. Importantly: Which is correct? From:"Tim Trese" <ttrese -at- mindspring -dot- com> To:<TECHWR-L -at- LISTS -dot- RAYCOMM -dot- COM> Date:Sat, 1 Jan 2000 13:02:18 -0500
Installers may "gesture obscenely" and "swear violently," but it would be
awkward to say that they "need importantly." What you're trying to say is
that their need is important. That's a noun and its adjective, so reword
accordingly:
"Installers need to know this same information, but more important is their
need to know how to..."
May I respectfully and playfully suggest that you are wasting time worrying
about grammar before you have fully conceptualized the process you want to
describe? If the installers truly NEED both pieces of information to
complete a task, then those pieces of information are of EQUAL importance.
Perhaps one piece of information is NEEDED, while the other is data the
installers DESIRE to make their jobs easier.
Happy New Year, and thanks for the writing exercise.
Tim Trese
"Irregardless, as technical writers, we should all be orientated toward more
perfect and economical utilization of the English language."
----------
From: sfederkilroy -at- micros -dot- com
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 1999 13:0:27
X-Message-Number: 13
Which word is more grammatically correct in the following:
"Installers need to know this same information, but more <important>
<importantly>, they need to know how to..."
From what I have found in the dictionary, it looks like either one is
acceptable. Is one really better that the other?
