Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[wren]

"If the survey conditions are ready at the site, he should estimate the survey period according to the requirements of the project and carry out the survey against the Survey Plan."

I read about this sentence, but have doubt about it. Actually the survey is supposed to be carried out according to the plan. I always think "against" means "in opposition to". Can "against" be used as synonym of "according to"?

Thanks.

[Mister Micawber]

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According to the dictionaries I have just consulted, it cannot, really; it seems to me to be too much of a stretch in meaning-- nevertheless, I understand the intended use:

...carry out the survey against the Survey Plan = carry out the survey while comparing it with the original plan to ensure accuracy.

I suppose that the dictionary entries of compared with and before the background of enter into this use.
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_________________
"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences." � Gertrude Stein
...............
Canadian-American who teaches English for a living at Mr Micawber's

[Anuradha Chepur]

Very Interesting!!!!

Intuitively, your sentence sounds normal eventhough the intended use is opposite of what the word means. I want to add another point here. The word 'against' means 'in opposition to', but it also means 'in contact with' (lean against the wall), and in collision (ran against a tree, meaning ran into a tree). So this preposition is bi-directional , and the acceptability of your sentence may be a result of this discrepancy.

[wren]