Talk:Antarctica

I have 2 problems here: 1. I don't like 'continuously', and Derek ditto 'continuous'. How about 'in winter it is night all the time'? And 2. I don't think 'with another country' is desirable because it implies Antarctica is a country, which it is not, 'country' implying 'state': you can see in the history that's why I removed it in the first place. Ro Thorpe 10:09, 15 February 2008 (CST)

1. My change is only based on grammar. In that space you have to have an adverb not a adjective. I have nothing against rephrasing the sentence to use a different word. The phrase 'all the time' is OK as it is an adverb phrase. Actually I think 'night' isn't really correct as that infers a time of day. How about 'dark all the time'. As for 2. it again is grammar. However, the statement isn't really true. While not recognised, many states have laid claim to sections of the continent, so there are borders. Derek Harkness 20:34, 15 February 2008 (CST)

Yes, 'dark all the time' will do fine. As for the borders, good point: I reckon they tend not to be shown these days, but the claims remain, so I suggest we rewrite accordingly - Ro Thorpe 13:30, 16 February 2008 (CST)

Out of interest, why is there a problem with continuous, meaning "uninterrupted, without cessation"? I would certainly agree that continual ("regularly or frequently recurring") would have been problematic, but to me the use of "dark all the time" smacks of dumbing down. There's also a point about brevity, but to me that's a lesser "evil". And I want to be terribly, terribly clear that I'm writing this with a smile on my face. I've given a great deal of thought as to how I can make it sound less pompous (without seeming facetious or twee), but in the end it turns out I'm a talentless git and have to resort to the blunt. Please forgive me. David H. Barrett 19:27, 22 August 2008 (CDT)

You must understand the difference between an adjective and a adverb. An adjective modifies a noun or another adjective. An adverb modifies the verb. So in choosing the word we have to decide whither we are saying that the status of being night is what the adverb describes or the quality of the night which would be what an adjective would describe. Here we want to talking about it 'being night so we use the adverb continuously rather than the adjective continuous. The phrase "all the time" is also an adverbial phrase so describes the very to be rather than the night or dark's qualities.

To give extra examples, compare these phrases:

• "Peter is frequently ill." or "Peter is frequent ill."
• "Taxis cabs in New York are mostly yellow." or "Taxis cabs in New York are most yellow."
• "Trains in Japan are rarely late." or "Trains in Japan are rare late."
• "Beijing is continuously smoggy." or "Beijing is continuous smoggy."

Hope that makes it clear. If you have any other grammar questions, feel free to hit my talk page. Derek Harkness 07:24, 23 August 2008 (CDT)

An alternate phrase would be "constant darkness", or "constant daylight". George Swan 22:00, 23 August 2008 (CDT)

To reply to Derek, I'm fine with the difference between an adverb and an adjective, and to be honest I didn't really read the article to find the context for the problem under discussion. First mistake! However, I think George's proposed solution is better than "dark all the time" or "night all the time", which sounds (as I tried to put as politely as possible above, but may well have failed to do — apologies if so) a bit "clunky" to me. I've now actually gone out and read the article, and found the wording in question: "in winter it is dark all the time". Perhaps something along the lines of "winter brings constant darkness"? David H. Barrett 22:17, 23 August 2008 (CDT)