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Subject:RE: Setup vs Set up [was Log in vs. login] From:Slager Timothy J <Timothy -dot- Slager -at- dematic -dot- com> To:Chris Despopoulos <despopoulos_chriss -at- yahoo -dot- com>, "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Wed, 23 Jan 2013 13:41:33 +0000
It's misspelled as a verb, but that doesn't necessarily make it one. One can say "set up the computer" and misspell it "setup." Change the computer to a pronoun and try again: "Set up (or setup) it." No one would call that grammatical, nor would they argue that substituting a pronoun for a noun changes the verb form. So "set up" it is, no matter how often misspelled.
Rather than bewail the trajectory of English usage, just give the pronoun test. :)
tims
-----Original Message-----
From: techwr-l-bounces+timothy -dot- slager=dematic -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+timothy -dot- slager=dematic -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On Behalf Of Chris Despopoulos
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2013 5:30 AM
To: techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
Subject: Setup vs Set up [was Log in vs. login]
Anybody notice how "setup" has turned into a verb? I see it more and more, not just in emails but also in professionally authored marketing copy. Computers are reducing the language... Pretty soon we'll be communicating exclusively via Unix commands.
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