Receiving an error - grammar?

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Is this following grammatically correct?

"I have been receiving the following error for over a week"

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Type: Question • Score: 10 • Views: 1,717 • Replies: 26

[+3] - izzythepush - 03/20/2015[quote="layman"] Would either of you care to specify just what it is you disagree with and why?[/quote] Error is acceptable shorthand for error message.
[+3] - izzythepush - 03/20/2015You're the only who claims not to know.
[+3] - izzythepush - 03/20/2015Quoting Bertrand Russell doesn't make you look any less of a fool. Maybe you'd like to provide us with your alternative (non computer related) scenario so you can show us how wise you are.

@pexel,

Quote:

"I have been receiving the following error for over a week"

No, it doesn't make sense. If I had to guess, it is probably intended to refer to an "error message," such as one might get from a computer operating system.

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@pexel,

There is nothing wrong with the logic, the grammar or the usage in that sentence. I don't know why someone would think so?

1 Reply

There's nothing wrong grammatically with the sentence, but we don't know if it's appropriate. We need context.

Is it a mistake? error in addition? error message? received in error (wrong person?)

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@Ragman,

Quote:

There is nothing wrong with the logic, the grammar or the usage in that sentence. I don't know why someone would think so?

To me there is, Ragman. A person may commit an error. A person may observe/identify an error. But how would one "receive" an error? I've never encountered such usage before.

1 Reply

@pexel,

There is nothing wrong grammatically. The problem is meaning or context.
Imagine someone saying "I drove my left shoe yesterday."
The sentence could mean many things, some even painful. Very Happy

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@layman,

computers deliver error messages all the time.

1 Reply

@Ragman,

Quote:

computers deliver error messages all the time.

Sure, and that's exactly what I said in my first post.

Receiving an "error message" makes perfect sense. But, standing alone, receiving an "error" does not. Not to me anyway.

1 Reply

@layman,

The question was asked,

Quote:

Is this following grammatically correct?

The answer is yes.

1 Reply

@Ragman,

Quote:

The question was asked,
Quote:

Is this following grammatically correct?

The answer is yes

Yes, and I didn't try to answer that question, because I didn't think that's what he was limiting his question to. There is something missing there, and I'm sure that's what generated his question, however he might have phrased it.

After that I was responding to your post, not his. You said:

Quote:

There is nothing wrong with the logic, the grammar or the usage in that sentence. I don't know why someone would think so?

To me the usage and/or the "logic" are wrong. Do you disagree?

1 Reply

@layman,

layman wrote:

To me the usage and/or the "logic" are wrong. Do you disagree?

I disagree.

0 Replies

Quote:

To me the usage and/or the "logic" are wrong. Do you disagree?

I disagree.

However, I can see you gave up the awful spelling of useage.

There's hope..

1 Reply

@timur,

I want to thank you and contrex for your responses. Would either of you care to specify just what it is you disagree with and why?

What does it mean, without saying more, to say you have been "receiving an error?"

2 Replies

@layman,

layman wrote:

Would either of you care to specify just what it is you disagree with and why?

Error is acceptable shorthand for error message.

1 Reply

@layman,

When the last part of the sentence is:

Quote:

"I have been receiving the following error for over a week"

. . .

why else would there be a context which refers to a timeframe? Unlikely would there be a situation where an error happens for a week in a non-computer scenario. It's possible but not probable.

Perhaps there's a scenario where someone is handing in homework or has a computer program and receiving test grades that indicate an error...but the end result (the logic involved) is the same....e.g. they're receiving an error.

1 Reply

@Ragman,

Quote:

Unlikely would there be a situation where an error happens for a week in a non-computer scenario.

I'm not sure what your question is, Ragman. That's pretty much what I said in the very first post I made, so I agree.

My only point was that the "sentence" requires you to infer something (which may or may not be correct) and is therefore unclear. Without a different noun phrase, such as "error message" as opposed to the unadorned "error," it just makes no sense to me. The use of language I'm used to reading/hearing would not say someone was "receiving an error" in any normal context. Something is missing. It may be contained in the sentence immediately preceding this one, for all I know, but it's not there in what was posted.

It would not be correct usage in my opinion even if there was some other information that helped you make the necessary inference. The "correct" usage would still be to say "error message" (or some variant, such as "error notification/identification) rather than just "error," the way I see it. You are not receiving an "error." You are receiving some type of "notice" I'm presuming.

1 Reply

@layman,

Language changes, shorthand becomes the norm. Nobody catches the omnibus any more.

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@izzythepush,

izzythepush wrote:

layman wrote:

Would either of you care to specify just what it is you disagree with and why?

Error is acceptable shorthand for error message.

Yep. Especially in spoken form. The OP sentence may be a transcription of a dialog. But even if it isn't, we elide words all the time. We can say, "Let's grab a coffee." Coffee isn't countable and we should say "a cup of coffee," but it's perfectly understandable and acceptable to elide "a cup of" because the context makes the meaning unmistakable.

1 Reply

@FBM,

Quote:

Error is acceptable shorthand for error message....Yep. Especially in spoken form.

Does anyone here claim to KNOW, based on the language presented, that it is indeed an "error message" that is being referred to? I sure don't. I said at the outset that would be my best guess, but it's still just a guess.

2 Replies

@layman,

It's not uncommon to infer intended messages from shortened expressions, I think, but it would definitely help if the OP would provide more context.

0 Replies

Receiving an error - grammar?

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