![]() | Chapter 5: Text | ![]() ![]() |
5.4. Text with lists |
The useful substitution "[list of description]" prints out, as an English sentence, a list of all the objects which match the given description. For instance,
"The places you can go are [list of rooms]."
Any description can be given and, as we shall see, descriptions can be very flexible indeed:
"Mr Darcy glares proudly at you. He is wearing [list of things worn by Darcy] and carrying [list of things carried by Darcy]."
And, if this were from a dramatisation of the novel by Miss Fielding rather than Miss Austen, we might find:
Mr Darcy glares proudly at you. He is wearing a pair of Newcastle United boxer shorts and carrying a self-help book.
If the description matches nothing - for instance, if Darcy has empty hands - then "nothing" is printed. A more insidious problem is that the list may end up either singular or plural. We might be expecting that the example above will produce something like:
The places you can go are Old Bailey, Bridget's Flat and TV Centre.
But if there is only one room, then the result would be:
The places you can go are Bridget's Flat.
which is wrong. We can get around this with careful wording and a slightly different substitution:
"Near here [is-are list of rooms]."
which uses "is" or "are" as appropriate. Lastly, we can also make the items listed take the definite article by writing:
"Mr Darcy impatiently bundles [the list of things carried by Darcy] into your hands and stomps out of the room."
which might result in
Mr Darcy impatiently bundles the self-help book and the Christmas card into your hands and stomps out of the room.
| ![]() Objects which automatically include a description of their component parts whenever they are examined. |
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| ![]() ![]() A lawn made up of several rooms, with part of the description written automatically. |
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