"Can not" vs. "cannot"

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    • "Can not" vs. "cannot"

      "These buildings can not be constructed in cities."

      I found this sentence in the Wiki. It contains a mistake that individuals with English as a Second Language often make, and also, sadly, many other English-speaking individuals whose education was lacking.

      The intent of the sentence is to specify that a player is unable/incapable of constructing "these buildings" in cities; that is, the construction of said buildings is impossible/prohibited.

      The correct sentence would read: "These buildings cannot be constructed in cities." or "These buildings can't be constructed in cities."

      Saying that something "can not" be done specifies that there is the option not to do it.

      For example, John says to Alan: "I don't want to go on another date with Mary because she doesn't share my interests." To which Alan replies: "Well, you can not go on another date with her." (With a slight pause after "can" and a slight emphasis on "not".) But it is more common to say "Well, you don't have to go on another date with her." (With a slight emphasis on "have".)

      So, while a player always has the option of not constructing certain buildings in cities ("can not"), he doesn't always have the option to do so; that is, sometimes, for certain buildings, no option to construct them in cities exists (it is impossible), and he cannot.

    • jubjub bird wrote:

      Fox-Company wrote:

      What....
      He's technically correct. As another example:
      You can not comment if you don't have anything to add.

      Vs

      You cannot comment if you don't have anything to add
      WHAT!?!??! i am confuse.
      "I have not failed, i have just found 10,000 ways that wont work." - Thomas Edison

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    • I don't think it matters much and even native English speakers will interpret them the same way, it's just that cannot is usually the preferred way of spelling it, as far as I know, and reduces the (unlikely) potential for confusion.

      You are allowed to not comment if you don't have anything to add.

      Vs

      You are not allowed to comment if you don't have anything to add.

    • I honestly don't see the difference between "can not' and "cannot". You suggest that "can not" implies that there is the "option" to not. That is not what "can not" implies. "can not" implies "can't" or "cannot". I mean if you smokin the dubers and got some sweet diggies, then giggies.

    • DxC wrote:

      if you smokin the dubers and got some sweet diggies, then giggies.
      Erm... come again?
      When the fake daddies are curtailed, we have failed. When their roller coaster tolerance is obliterated, their education funds are taken by Kazakhstani phishers, and their candy bars distributed between the Botswana youth gangs, we have succeeded.
      - BIG DADDY.

    • I know this sort of error is trivial, but it's the sort of thing that can get on the nerves of some people at the back of their heads. I'd be very pleased to see this fixed.

      That said, I don't think fixing things like this should exactly be the developer's highest priority.
      Her Ladyship Aragosta
      A.K.A. "The Backstab Person"

      Pan-Asian is a better doctrine than Axis when played correctly and you cannot change my mind.

      You just lost The Game.

      Join the Madness here:
      CoW Forum Players! Unite!

    • Heh... for starters, the thing is called a "wiki". Wikipedia itself says:

      A wiki (/ˈwɪki/ (listen) WIK-ee) is an online hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience,

      This wiki is far from it: it is edited and managed by someone at Bytro, and no one else has editing rights. It should be called a "help file" or something like that, not a wiki.

      Basic idea of a wiki is three basic goals/assumptions/ideas:

      • "A wiki invites all users—not just experts—to edit any page or to create new pages within the wiki web site, using only a standard 'plain-vanilla' Web browser without any extra add-ons."
      • "Wiki promotes meaningful topic associations between different pages by making page link creation intuitively easy and showing whether an intended target page exists or not."
      • "A wiki is not a carefully crafted site created by experts and professional writers and designed for casual visitors. Instead, it seeks to involve the typical visitor/user in an ongoing process of creation and collaboration that constantly changes the website landscape."
      None of these are upheld in the CoW "wiki". That's actually far worse than a space in cannot or not.
      When the fake daddies are curtailed, we have failed. When their roller coaster tolerance is obliterated, their education funds are taken by Kazakhstani phishers, and their candy bars distributed between the Botswana youth gangs, we have succeeded.
      - BIG DADDY.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by K.Rokossovski ().

    • Actually, a wiki can also be thought of as a piece of software that is designed for creating dynamic pages and easy mechanisms for linking within the wiki. It doesn't necessarily have to be open to the world to be considered a wiki. I think the cow wiki uses mediawiki, same as wikipedia. They probably have a group of people at Bytro that can update it.

      Btw, contrary to the OPs issue with "can not". "Can not" is perfectly fine to use in place of cannot. The definition of cannot is literally "can not".

    • german anime boy wrote:

      wow thats some amazing knowledge of grammar. ive never though about your point before very interesting
      Only interesting to people who are a stickler for grammar lol
      "I have not failed, i have just found 10,000 ways that wont work." - Thomas Edison

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    • DxC wrote:

      It doesn't necessarily have to be open to the world to be considered a wiki.
      Well that's what the definition says, as I quoted above.
      When the fake daddies are curtailed, we have failed. When their roller coaster tolerance is obliterated, their education funds are taken by Kazakhstani phishers, and their candy bars distributed between the Botswana youth gangs, we have succeeded.
      - BIG DADDY.

    • Kolonnos wrote:

      "These buildings can not be constructed in cities."

      I found this sentence in the Wiki. It contains a mistake that individuals with English as a Second Language often make, and also, sadly, many other English-speaking individuals whose education was lacking.

      The intent of the sentence is to specify that a player is unable/incapable of constructing "these buildings" in cities; that is, the construction of said buildings is impossible/prohibited.
      Thanks, I find it useful,
      now I understand better the difference.

    • Lord Crayfish wrote:

      Let's also talk about, "leaders in the whole world are appalled by this action".
      I do not approve simply because a single man wrote it in the Newspaper!
      "I have not failed, i have just found 10,000 ways that wont work." - Thomas Edison

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