On Sat, Jan 18, 2003 at 01:20:06AM +0000, Colin Watson wrote:
> On Fri, Jan 17, 2003 at 11:32:41PM +0100, Guenther Palfinger wrote:
> > page 81/sec. 11.7.5 User configuation files ("dotfiles"): "However, programs
> > that require dotfiles in order to operate sensibly (dotfiles that they do
> > not
> > create themselves automatically, that is) are a bad thing."
> >
> > "that is" should be at the beginning of the bracketed expression?
>
> No, this is a legitimate and clear construction in English.
I'll give you "legitimate", but not "clear". It's a fairly rare idiom.
The common use of "that is" is to introduce a rephrasing or clarification
(like "i.e." does). I find it hard to even explain what it means in this
case.
I think the whole sentence can be made much more clear by eliminating
the parentheses completely:
"However, programs that require dotfiles in order to operate sensibly
are a bad thing, unless they create the dotfiles themselves automatically."
This way the qualifier does not interrupt the main statement.
Richard Braakman
