Which prepositions should I use here ?
Working hours duration time should be below/under the one defined in/on parameter default.time.
Here the context was about programming languages parameters.
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Just to be sure, do you mean the position of another variable or the value?– NieszkaCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:03
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1The value of default.time parameter.– utxeeeCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:13
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1Then you definitely want 'less'. To describe relation in value use 'less/more', 'smaller than/ greater than'. To describe relation in position use 'underneath/above'.– NieszkaCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:17
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1@Nieszka: Very good point. I would prefer "below" over "underneath".– Fr0zenFyrCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:26
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@Fr0zenFyr: Ah, very true, for a minute there I forgot we were talking about documentation, not an essay.– NieszkaCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:28
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4 Answers
In terms of language, I would go for:
Working hours duration time should be below that defined by parameter default.time.
If you do mean the value (please see my comment on your question), then you need
Working hours should be less than those defined by parameter default.time.
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Ho Nieszka, why did you use "comment on your question" instead of "comment in your questions" ?– utxeeeCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:16
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You comment on something or make a comment about something. You can also think of it as my comment wasn't actually inside your question.– NieszkaCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:20
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1@utxeee: "comment in question" means that the comment is part of the question. "Comment on question" means that a comment about the question. Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:23
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+1 purely for paraphrasing to get rid of the word "duration", which in OP's construction serves no purpose other than to assert that the writer isn't a native English speaker (and possibly to annoy a few people who are! :) Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:35
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+1 "less than" was the first thing that came to my mind. Perfect for programmers (
<!) Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 22:09
There are many possibilities, including ones you haven't asked about. When I document software I've written, I like to use as few simple words as possible.
Working hours duration time should be less than the value of the parameter
default.time.
I'm a little concerned about "working hours duration time". I suspect that "time" is not needed, and an apostrophe is:
Working hours' duration should be...
answered Jun 19, 2012 at 19:54
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+1 for mentioning the unnecessary usage of "time"; duration is time in itself. Using "below" seems fine to me Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:06
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@Nieszka "Working hours" is sufficiently ambiguous to require "duration" as well. My working hours (in British English) are 9-5 or thereabouts; to unambiguously get "8 hours" you need to call it "working hours' duration".– Andrew Leach ♦Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:48
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Probably there is a typo in the fragment "When I document software I've written."– user19148Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:54
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@AndrewLeach: yes, I see your point. What would you say about 'work hours' then? Or 'work time'?– NieszkaCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 20:57
Use "below" and "of parameter".
There is no need to say "....duration time....", duration is time. "Duration of working hours should be..." is sufficient ("working hours duration" sounds awkward).
As a programmer, I prefer using symbolic representations: "working hours must be < [default.time]" but that's just me.
answered Jun 19, 2012 at 20:18
I would use:
Working hours duration time should be below that defined in parameter default.time.
You could use under, but the context indicates below to mean lower, rather than under, which has connotations of physically being underneath.
A definition is in a parameter, not on it.
answered Jun 19, 2012 at 19:40
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Thanks for your reply, but why have you changed one to that ?– utxeeeCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 19:48
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because you have already used duration time, so you don't then need to say 'the one that is defined', which is what your sentence means - instead you can just say 'that defined' Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 19:52
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Rory, I'm not able to upvote yet but if I was certainly you would have got it :D– utxeeeCommented Jun 19, 2012 at 19:53
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no worries - you can accept answers. See this for guidance: meta.stackexchange.com/q/5234/154443 Commented Jun 19, 2012 at 19:57
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