Re: "and then," or simply "then"?

["Tom Johnson" <tomjohnson1492 -at- gmail -dot- com>]

>
> > *In the imperative mood, as in how-to steps, then is OK without the
> > conjunction.*
> >
> > Insert the CD, then install the printer software.
> >
>
> It is this one that is precisely the construction that the original poster
> asked about. And this is the one that is unquestionably unacceptable if one
> is intending to write grammatical American English.
>
> Such a construction is using "then" as a conjunction, and that is what
> makes
> it wrong. It is never going to be right. "Then" is not a conjunction.
>
> Anyone who's writing for Apple presently could diplomatically advise them
> of
> this fact. If I were, I would certainly do so. It is apparent that its
> style
> guide was not prepared by a competent editor.
>
>

I too raised an eyebrow over this when I first discovered it. However,
somehow the world has continued to move forward. I still love my iPod Nano
if its manuals contain this construction. :) Hopefully they will one day see
the light

(By the way, I once had a professor who plugged his ears when he heard
someone use "hopefully" like I just did. He has forever ruined the word for
me -- along with "impact" as a verb not involving the packing down of dirt;
the use of "only" before a verb (as in "the search only returns five
results," rather than "the search returns only five results"); and using
"like" when I really should use "as.")

Tom

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