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Proofreading Service - Pain in the English
Proofreading Service - Pain in the English

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“the below” vs “the following”

When writing, “the below changes will take place tomorrow” followed by a bulleted list of changes, would it be more correct to use the phrase “the following...”? Or, is this a matter of personal style? In the above context, what is the phrase “the below”, an adjective?

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user111994 Jun-03-2023

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user111994 Jun-03-2023

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'Following' means 'immediately following', whereas 'below' means 'somewhere further on'. In a printed book, it is a convention that 'below' means 'further on in the text, possibly over the page', which saves having to edit text after it is paged. The Oxford Guide to Style puts it thus: "Use 'above' and 'below' to refer to what was or will be mentioned on an earlier or later page, or higher or lower on the same page."

user111882 Feb-27-2023

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user110767 Apr-24-2021

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user110767 Apr-24-2021

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From a practical viewpoint, I favor "following" as being less, well, geographical.

I work for a printing company, and sometimes well-meaning people don't realize that "the below [points] " may well be more accurately described as "the points at right" once, say, their Word file is turned into a brochure.

To me, "following" implies position in the flow of the text, whereas "below" implies physically being under something.

misstwitch Oct-01-2008

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You're certainly right, in the example above "below" is not functioning as a noun. I was only answering BitBlaster's comment in which he claimed that "below" only ever functions as an adverb or adjective, which is demonstrably false.

In the original example, "below" functions as an adjective and its placement is entirely correct, as far as I'm concerned, if a little unusual.

name Sep-09-2008

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Oops, that should be ...[comment]...

porsche Sep-02-2008

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But, Estragib, when "below" is followed by "changes" it is no longer functioning as a noun. Even the examples you give could be understood as "the [comments] above is Theseus's opinion".

porsche Sep-01-2008

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That isn't right. "Below" functions as a noun, too.
So "the below" means that which is below in the same way "the above" means that which is above.

Usage examples of "the above" are "none of the above" and "the above is Theseus's opinion" (William Blake).

Cf. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/below
and http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/above

name Sep-01-2008

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The below vs The following--The word, "below," properly functions only as a preposition or an adverb, neither of which can take the definite article, "the." However, the word, "following" can function as a noun or an adjective, both which can be combined correctly with "the."

Thus, the least invasive correction of the example you cited is: "The changes below will occur ..." Better yet is the phrase, "The following changes will occur ..."

Why do I maintain the latter phrase is better? Unlike the former, it handles the prospect that the text it introduces might appear on the next page or in the next column. Sequence is certain (following), but page orientation (below) often is not.

anonymous4 Aug-28-2008

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