Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[river1974]

Dear teachers:

(a) The storage medium is determined as illegally reproduced when the second identification datum is different from the first identification datum.
(b) The storage medium is determined as being illegally reproduced when the second identification datum is different from the first identification datum.

My boss revised my original sentence (a) as sentence (b). Is (a) ungrammatical?

Thanks.

[bud]

I'm pretty sure it's fine (and natural) either way, River.

[river1974]

Thanks bud. I told my boss that "being" in sentence (b) could be omitted but he didn't think so. However, boss is always right. Sometimes I choose to believe my idea and leave his behind.

[BMO]

Is (b) correct at all? Somehow I think being is used to describe a temporary thing, like he is being selfish today (normally he is a generous oerson, but today he is not.) Please enlighten.

Thanks.

bmo

[asterix]

b.) is perfectly good English.
Question - Why does your boss hire you to write English if he thinks he can do it better himself?
Especially as, most times, he cannot do it better himself.

[bud]

I agree!!!

[BMO]

Thanks.

bmo

[river1974]

"My boss" here is not the one who pays me. Specifically, they are my supervisors. I have four supervisors, each of them is in charge of a specific type of case. My real boss, the owner of my company, pays them to revise each work required to be submitted to the USPTO or forwarded to our foreign agencies, to make sure that our works are competent and grammatical. Currently, all of my supervisors are Taiwanese, so sometimes I am not sure whether their revisions are appropriate.

[Blossom]

[river1974]

[Blossom]

River1974

You are an engineer. Do you stay in 3 star hotels when you travel? Are you a highly paid professional?

[river1974]

Blossom,
I would rather stay in a 3-star hotel than in a 5-star hotel for saving money, since I am not highly paid. But I think I am satisfied with my current salaries.