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Subject:Re: Help: "Increment" as verb From:Jim Grey <jimgrey -at- IQUEST -dot- NET> Date:Thu, 21 Dec 1995 18:11:00 EST
Connie Winch queries:
>I'm editing one of our manuals and have come across "increment" used as a
>verb. According to my American Heritage Dictionary, it's not a verb.
>However, I'm having a hard time thinking of a replacement. Any
>suggestions? It would be used in a sentence like this: "The software
>package automatically increments the transaction ID number after each
>entry."
Increment isn't a verb in my Merriam-Webster, either. But I have seen this
term used so often as a verb that I'd first consider whether I thought my
audience would understand the word to mean "increase by one." In my last
tech writing job, I decided that readers *would* understand increment (and
decrement) as verbs, and used those words in that manner. However, for
audiences that might not understand increment as a verb, I'd write: "After
each entry, the program increases the transaction ID number by one."
Peace,
jim grey
--
jim grey |beebeebumbleandthestingersmottthehoopleraycharlessingers
jimgrey -at- iquest -dot- net|lonniemackandtwangin'eddiehere'smyringwe'regoingsteadyta
