In a technical description I've written "When the following conditions exist" and listed Condition 1 to N. When I said "When the following conditions exist", I meant "all the following" conditions should exist. Do be specific/accurate, should I have to modify my writing as "When all the following condition exist" Or "When the following conditions exist" itself will implicitly mean "all the following"?
1 Answer
A technical document, should be precise and unambiguous.
Write either "When all the following conditions exist," "When one of the following conditions exists", "When some of the following conditions exist", "When at least two of the following conditions exist", etc, to say precisely what you mean.
"When the following conditions exist" could mean "all" or "any". Sometimes it is obvious from the context which is meant, but sometimes it is not.
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So, "When the following conditions exist" can also mean "all" right? In my case it pretty obvious that, "When the following conditions exist" is always "all" Mar 1, 2019 at 12:07
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As @alephzero states - in technical documentation it's better to be precise than to leave anything to interpretation. It may be obvious to you that's what you mean, but it might not be to all (especially if translated). I don't think it's a leap to read it as 'if any of the following conditions exist' but it might depend on context.– SmockMar 1, 2019 at 13:37