• I played this Sudoku until it was available at [URL], but . . .

    From HenHanna@NewsGrouper@user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,sci.lang,alt.usage.english on Fri Nov 28 17:06:56 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles


    I played this Sudoku until it was available at
    https://www.brainbashers.com/bbtesters.asp but since yesterday
    afternoon the page changed

    ____________________

    Since the above text is not quite grammatically correct, I gave it to my AI
    to see if it can explain its peculiarity (or characteristic usage pattern).

    My AI insists that it is grammatical and idiomatic, etc.

    For example, it says:

    ---------- This usage shows strong command of English temporality, not a literal Italian-influenced error (e.g., finch|- directly translating to "until" fits naturally here).


    Very puzzling!
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Ross Clark@benlizro@ihug.co.nz to rec.puzzles,sci.lang,alt.usage.english on Sat Nov 29 08:42:09 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

    On 29/11/2025 6:06 a.m., HenHanna@NewsGrouper wrote:

    I played this Sudoku until it was available at
    https://www.brainbashers.com/bbtesters.asp but since yesterday
    afternoon the page changed

    ____________________

    Since the above text is not quite grammatically correct, I gave it to my AI to see if it can explain its peculiarity (or characteristic usage pattern).

    My AI insists that it is grammatical and idiomatic, etc.

    For example, it says:

    ---------- This usage shows strong command of English temporality, not a literal Italian-influenced error (e.g., finch|- directly translating to "until" fits naturally here).


    Very puzzling!


    Who cares what "your" AI says? What do "you" find not quite
    grammatically correct?

    The only possible grammatical fault I would find is that I would say
    "has changed" at the end. Usage of the perfect tense in English is
    tricky. Americans seem to use it less than the rest of us, so maybe this
    is an Americanism. Or maybe an Italianism.

    But the first clause is a little puzzling. I wouldn't use "play" as the
    word for what you do to a Sudoku. They're puzzles, so "work on" or
    "solve" might be better.

    Now the "temporality". What's written above suggests that the writer
    worked on this particular puzzle for a period of time BEFORE it became available at... How can you work on it if it's not available? Did he
    have a different source?

    My small Italian-English dictionary suggests that finch|- can also mean
    "as long as", i.e. the period of his working on the puzzle coincided
    with its availability at .... Since that time, the site has changed, so
    that Sudoku is no longer available. That's his problem.

    Asking AI for advice about grammar is your problem.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From HenHanna@NewsGrouper@user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,sci.lang,alt.usage.english on Fri Nov 28 21:16:27 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles


    Ross Clark <benlizro@ihug.co.nz> posted:

    On 29/11/2025 6:06 a.m., HenHanna@NewsGrouper wrote:

    I played this Sudoku until it was available at
    https://www.brainbashers.com/bbtesters.asp but since yesterday
    afternoon the page changed

    ____________________

    Since the above text is not quite grammatically correct, I gave it to my AI to see if it can explain its peculiarity (or characteristic usage pattern).

    My AI insists that it is grammatical and idiomatic, etc.

    For example, it says:

    ---------- This usage shows strong command of English temporality, not a literal Italian-influenced error (e.g., finch|- directly translating to "until" fits naturally here).


    Very puzzling!


    Who cares what "your" AI says? What do "you" find not quite grammatically correct?

    The only possible grammatical fault I would find is that I would say
    "has changed" at the end. Usage of the perfect tense in English is
    tricky. Americans seem to use it less than the rest of us, so maybe this
    is an Americanism. Or maybe an Italianism.

    But the first clause is a little puzzling. I wouldn't use "play" as the
    word for what you do to a Sudoku. They're puzzles, so "work on" or
    "solve" might be better.


    PLAY is appropriate, because you play the Puzzle on the site... whch provides a GUI.


    Now the "temporality". What's written above suggests that the writer
    worked on this particular puzzle for a period of time BEFORE it became available at... How can you work on it if it's not available? Did he
    have a different source?

    My small Italian-English dictionary suggests that finch|- can also mean
    "as long as", i.e. the period of his working on the puzzle coincided
    with its availability at .... Since that time, the site has changed, so
    that Sudoku is no longer available. That's his problem.

    Asking AI for advice about grammar is your problem.



    The person from Italy(?) clearly meant (and should have written)


    I played this Sudoku while it was available at
    https://www.brainbashers.com/bbtesters.asp but
    since yesterday afternoon the page .......


    I was curious to see
    if a direct (or literal) translation from his native Italian (?)
    caused the grammatical error.


    _________________

    Previously I noticed that:

    Germans make such errors about the word Quotation (?)

    Russians make such errors about the word Joke (or Ethnicity?)

    Italians make such errors about .........

    Some French make such errors about [delicious Wife] .........
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Tony Cooper@tonycooper214@gmail.com to rec.puzzles,sci.lang,alt.usage.english on Fri Nov 28 17:00:51 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

    On Sat, 29 Nov 2025 08:42:09 +1300, Ross Clark <benlizro@ihug.co.nz>
    wrote:

    On 29/11/2025 6:06 a.m., HenHanna@NewsGrouper wrote:

    I played this Sudoku until it was available at
    https://www.brainbashers.com/bbtesters.asp but since yesterday >> afternoon the page changed

    ____________________

    Since the above text is not quite grammatically correct, I gave it to my AI >> to see if it can explain its peculiarity (or characteristic usage pattern). >>
    My AI insists that it is grammatical and idiomatic, etc.

    For example, it says:

    ---------- This usage shows strong command of English temporality, not a literal Italian-influenced error (e.g., fincho directly translating to "until" fits naturally here).


    Very puzzling!


    Who cares what "your" AI says? What do "you" find not quite
    grammatically correct?

    The only possible grammatical fault I would find is that I would say
    "has changed" at the end. Usage of the perfect tense in English is
    tricky. Americans seem to use it less than the rest of us, so maybe this
    is an Americanism. Or maybe an Italianism.

    But the first clause is a little puzzling. I wouldn't use "play" as the
    word for what you do to a Sudoku. They're puzzles, so "work on" or
    "solve" might be better.

    It's probably not grammatical, but I would say "I did the Sudoku". I
    do "play" Scrabble online, because it's interactive. What the
    computer opponent can affect what I do next.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Peter Moylan@peter@pmoylan.org to rec.puzzles,sci.lang,alt.usage.english on Sat Nov 29 09:24:22 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

    On 29/11/25 06:42, Ross Clark wrote:

    But the first clause is a little puzzling. I wouldn't use "play" as
    the word for what you do to a Sudoku. They're puzzles, so "work on"
    or "solve" might be better.

    I do the on-line puzzles at
    https://www.thesenior.com.au/puzzles/
    There's sudoku, a crossword, and a couple of other things that I don't
    bother with. For each of them, there's a button to click labelled "Play puzzle".

    I feels wrong to me to play a crossword, but that's the word the site
    designers chose.
    --
    Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
    Newcastle, NSW
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Hibou@vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid to rec.puzzles,sci.lang,alt.usage.english on Sat Nov 29 07:08:32 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

    Le 28/11/2025 |a 17:06, HenHanna@NewsGrouper a |-crit :

    I played this Sudoku until it was available at
    https://www.brainbashers.com/bbtesters.asp but since yesterday
    afternoon the page changed

    ____________________

    Since the above text is not quite grammatically correct, I gave it to my AI to see if it can explain its peculiarity (or characteristic usage pattern).

    My AI insists that it is grammatical and idiomatic, etc.

    For example, it says:

    ---------- This usage shows strong command of English temporality, not a literal Italian-influenced error (e.g., finch|- directly translating to "until" fits naturally here).


    Very puzzling!


    English is a harder puzzle than Sudoku. (Not really; pens|-e claire,
    paroles claires.)

    I was doing a Sudoku puzzle at <url>, but yesterday the page changed and
    it disappeared.

    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From occam@occam@nowhere.nix to rec.puzzles,sci.lang,alt.usage.english on Sat Nov 29 08:56:59 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

    On 29/11/2025 08:08, Hibou wrote:
    Le 28/11/2025 |a 17:06, HenHanna@NewsGrouper a |-crit :

    I played this Sudoku until it was available at
    -a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a https://www.brainbashers.com/bbtesters.asp but since
    yesterday
    -a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a afternoon the page changed

    ____________________

    Since the above text is not quite grammatically correct, I gave it to
    my AI
    to see if it can explain its peculiarity (or characteristic usage
    pattern).

    My AI insists that it is grammatical and idiomatic, etc.

    For example, it says:

    -a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a ---------- This usage shows strong command of English
    temporality, not a literal Italian-influenced error (e.g., finch|-
    directly translating to "until" fits naturally here).


    Very puzzling!

    Perhaps you can do the same with the formatting of your 'text' messages.
    Pass them through an AI first, to make sure they are presented in a human-readable form prior to posting.




    English is a harder puzzle than Sudoku. (Not really; pens|-e claire,
    paroles claires.)

    I was doing a Sudoku puzzle at <url>, but yesterday the page changed and
    it disappeared.


    (My apologies Hibou for responding through your post. I don't normally
    receive direct messages from this [HenHanna] nincompoop.]
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From HenHanna@NewsGrouper@user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid to rec.puzzles,sci.lang,alt.usage.english on Sat Nov 29 17:09:51 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles


    HenHanna@NewsGrouper <user4055@newsgrouper.org.invalid> posted:


    Ross Clark <benlizro@ihug.co.nz> posted:

    On 29/11/2025 6:06 a.m., HenHanna@NewsGrouper wrote:

    I played this Sudoku until it was available at
    https://www.brainbashers.com/bbtesters.asp but since yesterday
    afternoon the page changed

    ____________________

    Since the above text is not quite grammatically correct, I gave it to my AI
    to see if it can explain its peculiarity (or characteristic usage pattern).

    My AI insists that it is grammatical and idiomatic, etc.

    For example, it says:

    ---------- This usage shows strong command of English temporality, not a literal Italian-influenced error (e.g., finch|- directly translating to "until" fits naturally here).


    Very puzzling!


    Who cares what "your" AI says? What do "you" find not quite grammatically correct?

    The only possible grammatical fault I would find is that I would say
    "has changed" at the end. Usage of the perfect tense in English is
    tricky. Americans seem to use it less than the rest of us, so maybe this is an Americanism. Or maybe an Italianism.

    But the first clause is a little puzzling. I wouldn't use "play" as the word for what you do to a Sudoku. They're puzzles, so "work on" or
    "solve" might be better.


    PLAY is appropriate, because you play the Puzzle on the site... whch provides a GUI. (interactive Game-play)


    Now the "temporality". What's written above suggests that the writer worked on this particular puzzle for a period of time BEFORE it became available at... How can you work on it if it's not available? Did he
    have a different source?

    My small Italian-English dictionary suggests that finch|- can also mean "as long as", i.e. the period of his working on the puzzle coincided
    with its availability at .... Since that time, the site has changed, so that Sudoku is no longer available. That's his problem.

    Asking AI for advice about grammar is your problem.



    The person from Italy(?) clearly meant (and should have written)


    I played this Sudoku while it was available at
    https://www.brainbashers.com/bbtesters.asp but
    since yesterday afternoon the page .......


    I was curious to see
    if a direct (or literal) translation from his native Italian (?)
    caused the grammatical error.


    _________________

    (False Friend) Previously I noticed that:

    Germans make such errors about the word Quotation (?) and Citation

    Russians make such errors about the word Joke (Anecdota) (or Ethnicity?)

    Italians make such errors about .........

    Some French make such errors about [delicious Wife] ...


    Something (possibly) similar I've noticed is that...

    An Italian (speaking English) who wants to say [... including ...] would say .............
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Ross Clark@benlizro@ihug.co.nz to rec.puzzles,sci.lang,alt.usage.english on Mon Dec 15 10:21:39 2025
    From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

    On 29/11/2025 11:00 a.m., Tony Cooper wrote:
    On Sat, 29 Nov 2025 08:42:09 +1300, Ross Clark <benlizro@ihug.co.nz>
    wrote:

    On 29/11/2025 6:06 a.m., HenHanna@NewsGrouper wrote:

    I played this Sudoku until it was available at
    https://www.brainbashers.com/bbtesters.asp but since yesterday
    afternoon the page changed

    ____________________

    Since the above text is not quite grammatically correct, I gave it to my AI >>> to see if it can explain its peculiarity (or characteristic usage pattern). >>>
    My AI insists that it is grammatical and idiomatic, etc.

    For example, it says:

    ---------- This usage shows strong command of English temporality, not a literal Italian-influenced error (e.g., finch|- directly translating to "until" fits naturally here).


    Very puzzling!


    Who cares what "your" AI says? What do "you" find not quite
    grammatically correct?

    The only possible grammatical fault I would find is that I would say
    "has changed" at the end. Usage of the perfect tense in English is
    tricky. Americans seem to use it less than the rest of us, so maybe this
    is an Americanism. Or maybe an Italianism.

    But the first clause is a little puzzling. I wouldn't use "play" as the
    word for what you do to a Sudoku. They're puzzles, so "work on" or
    "solve" might be better.

    It's probably not grammatical, but I would say "I did the Sudoku".

    Nothing wrong with that grammatically. We're really just talking about
    lexical choices, and I didn't mean to suggest that mine was definitive.

    I
    do "play" Scrabble online, because it's interactive. What the
    computer opponent can affect what I do next.


    Interesting distinction. I think I would agree.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2