Re: Dorky grammar question

[dmbrown -at- brown-inc -dot- com]

If the RuleSet object describes a set of things, and those things are rules 
that define the widget, then the RuleSet object describes a set of 
rules_that_define_the_widget.

If the widget is undefined until the entire set is populated, then it's a 
set (of rules) that defines the widget.

All I've been saying is that, out of context, you *cannot* know the intent, 
and you *cannot* say which is correct.

Out of context, the best you can do is provide a guideline:

  The word "define(s)" must agree with the thing doing the defining,
  whether it's "set" or "rules."

and guess at a solution:

  If you mean "set" use "defines"; if you mean "rules" use "define."

As it turns out, it was the set that defined the widget; but we only knew 
that *after* she provided the context in which the phrase appeared.

Her mom (who sounds a lot like my own) had the advantage of seeing the 
whole sentence, and probably the paragraph in which it lay.

--David

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