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Is it a widespread practice in logbooks and in written accounts of events in general to omit articles and auxiliaries? E.g.:

"Message received. Information read. Crew instructed. Complaints discussed. Changes approved."

Is the omission applicable for the active voice? E.g.: "Material decayed. Crew arrived." or "Temperature risen. Prices fallen."

Robb
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  • Usually these are the abridged forms of passive construction. In the examples given as active voices, there is no ground for doubt in interpreting the sense; hence they hold valid. I think, irrespective of active/passive construction, if the expected meaning is conveyed, there it is. – Ram Pillai Dec 17 '20 at 08:00
  • Resumes, too, use active voice without the subject: Led teams, organized, edited manuscripts, cut costs, studied. – Yosef Baskin Dec 17 '20 at 14:57

1 Answers1

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Entries made in logbooks are associated with specific times, whether to the minute or to longer periods such as an hour or the day. When recording events on short time scales for the purpose of record rather than continuous explanation there is no need to give a fully grammatical narrative. The author’s prime duty is to their activities. This means time may limit the amount that can be written, and context removes the need for prose.

14:00 cast off. 14:05 passed outer harbour wall. 14:55 heavy seas. 15:00 turned ship. 16:15 moored in dock. 17:00 all made fast. 17:30 crew ashore, watch posted.

There is no general rule. Other logs may be a full narrative, with asides, explanations and opinions.

See for example George Campbell’s log letters from the Challenger Expedition.

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/175130#page/19/mode/1up

Anton
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