carry/copy

[diamondcutter]

A laptop has a screen and a keyboard and it opens like a notebook. The smallest laptops weigh about 1.08 kilos, but some people prefer to carry information from their computer on a pen drive, which they can carry anywhere.


(From Kid’s Box 6, by Caroline Nixon, CUP)


1.I wonder if the first “carry” above means “copy”.

2.I’d like to know if the “computer” can also be in its plural form: computers. And the same for "pen drive"?

 

[PeterCW]

A laptop has a screen and a keyboard and it opens like a notebook. The smallest laptops weigh about 1.08 kilos, but some people prefer to carry information from their computer on a pen drive, which they can carry anywhere.


(From Kid’s Box 6, by Caroline Nixon, CUP)


1.I wonder if the first “carry” above means “copy”.

2.I’d like to know if the “computer” can also be in its plural form: computers. And the same for "pen drive"?

Judging by the title I assume that this passage is targeted at children and that the author is deliberately avoiding even vaguely technical terms. I don't think that "copy" would work in this sentence. As a matter of style I would always try to avoid this sort of repetition in a sentence, you could substitute "keep" for the first "carry" and / or "take" for the second.

Singular and plural both work for me but ss a matter of personal preference I would say "computers" and "pen drives" if referring to the majority of users but keep to the singular if it is a minority.

 

[diamondcutter]

Thanks, Peter.

I wonder if I could use “download” to replace the first “carry”.

 

[Tarheel]

Some people prefer to download information from their computer onto a pen drive.

Is that what you meant?

 

[jutfrank]

1. No, it means 'carry', in the sense of 'transport it from one place to another'. The main idea of the passage is portability. Pen drives can easily fit in a small pocket. I think the word from may be confusing you—it doesn't have the sense of 'away from', as I suspect you think it does. It just says what kind of information (i.e. in digitalised form).

2. The singular works fine. There may be some mismatch caused by the general sense of the plural people, but the writer is imagining (and therefore asking the reader to imagine) one typical person with only one computer. The same follows for the singular pen drive—people typically carry only one pen drive at a time.

 

[diamondcutter]

Hi teachers.

I wonder if it’s possible that “carry information from their computer” in #1 means “carry information from one computer to another”.

 

[teechar]

I wonder if it’s possible that “carry [information from their computer]” in #1 means “carry information from one computer to another”.

No. You're misreading it. See square brackets.
In that sentence, "information from their computer" just means files, pictures, spreadsheets, software or whatever kind of data.

 

[teechar]

As a matter of style I would always try to avoid this sort of repetition in a sentence. You could substitute "keep" for the first "carry" and / or "take" for the second.

Yet another comma splice error from PeterCW. Ah well, maybe he'll learn one day.

 

[emsr2d2]

... you could substitute "keep" for the first "carry" and/or "take" for the second.

Singular and plural both work for me but [STRIKE]ss[/STRIKE] as a matter of personal preference I would say "computers" and "pen drives" if referring to the majority of users but keep to the singular if it is a minority.

Two more corrections above.