3 ms·

"LIKE GOOD STUDENTS, COMPUTERS NEED TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THEIR WORKING" Is working used as a noun here or is that a typo? Just never heard that use of the word w

"LIKE GOOD STUDENTS, COMPUTERS NEED TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THEIR WORKING" Is working used as a noun here or is that a typo? Just never heard that use of the word working. Like ya, you can see I'm working vs you can see my working.

ajb 10y ago
A noun. Normally used to refer to the intermediate steps produced by a student doing mathematics.
- PeCaN 10y ago
  I've never seen that before. Using a gerund as a noun seems very unconventional and incorrect almost by definition. Simply ‘work’ reads much better—is it really frequently used as ‘working’ in mathematics‽
  - creamyhorror 10y ago
    Here in Singapore, "working" is the standard term used in schools to refer to the written steps in solving a maths problem (as ajb said). I guess this means it's simply BrE (which Singapore English is a cousin of). I know Americans use "work" for the same purpose instead. > Using a gerund as a noun seems very unconventional and incorrect almost by definition. In English, gerunds are nouns (by definition). In "his singing was terrible", singing is a noun. Furthermore, gerunds do often become used to refer to physical objects/results of actions: "writing", "reading" (e.g. readings for a class), "drawing", "booking" (of a ticket), "crossing" (on a road), "wiring", "etching", and others. Using "working" to refer to the written steps of working out a maths problem is just another example in that vein.
    - PeCaN 10y ago
      You're right, I got something backwards there! I suppose it's not that unnatural on second thought. Your examples are good, though the only ones that are moderately common in American English seem to be “drawing” and “crossing”.
giardini 10y ago
"LIKE GOOD STUDENTS, COMPUTERS NEED TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THEIR WORK." FTFY
- PeCaN 10y ago
  Alternatively… "LIKE GOOD STUDENTS, COMPUTERS NEED TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THEY'RE WORKING" heh.
  - daveguy 10y ago
    I think that means PhD students are not good students. :)
blacksmith_tb 10y ago
It is a little strange to my ear (possibly more common in British English), the OED has it all the way back to Chaucer though. More often I think of it as mechanism ("the workings of the economy are mysterious"), like clockwork(s).

ajb 10y ago

A noun. Normally used to refer to the intermediate steps produced by a student doing mathematics.

PeCaN 10y ago
I've never seen that before. Using a gerund as a noun seems very unconventional and incorrect almost by definition. Simply ‘work’ reads much better—is it really frequently used as ‘working’ in mathematics‽
- creamyhorror 10y ago
  Here in Singapore, "working" is the standard term used in schools to refer to the written steps in solving a maths problem (as ajb said). I guess this means it's simply BrE (which Singapore English is a cousin of). I know Americans use "work" for the same purpose instead. > Using a gerund as a noun seems very unconventional and incorrect almost by definition. In English, gerunds are nouns (by definition). In "his singing was terrible", singing is a noun. Furthermore, gerunds do often become used to refer to physical objects/results of actions: "writing", "reading" (e.g. readings for a class), "drawing", "booking" (of a ticket), "crossing" (on a road), "wiring", "etching", and others. Using "working" to refer to the written steps of working out a maths problem is just another example in that vein.
  - PeCaN 10y ago
    You're right, I got something backwards there! I suppose it's not that unnatural on second thought. Your examples are good, though the only ones that are moderately common in American English seem to be “drawing” and “crossing”.

giardini 10y ago

"LIKE GOOD STUDENTS, COMPUTERS NEED TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THEIR WORK." FTFY

PeCaN 10y ago
Alternatively… "LIKE GOOD STUDENTS, COMPUTERS NEED TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THEY'RE WORKING" heh.
- daveguy 10y ago
  I think that means PhD students are not good students. :)

blacksmith_tb 10y ago

It is a little strange to my ear (possibly more common in British English), the OED has it all the way back to Chaucer though. More often I think of it as mechanism ("the workings of the economy are mysterious"), like clockwork(s).