Use of the word revised

Question

Are the newest drawings received in my office the revised drawings, or are the drawings that the newest drawings are replacing the revised drawings?

I refer to the newest drawings as the latest revision and the drawings being replaced as the drawings that have been revised.

A colleague refers to the newest drawings as the revised drawings and the drawings that are being replaced as superseded

We both think that the other is stupid !

GPY · Accepted Answer

I would understand "revised drawings" to mean the newest drawings.

Pen mango · Answer

Thanks for your reply GPY,

I am beginning to think the same as you but I can't understand why the 'ed' that is added to 'revise' doesn't mean that the drawing is refered to in the past tense.

It's embarassing to admit but my understanding of English gramma is poor and i was hoping that by posting the question here someone could explain the science behind my problem.

GPY · Answer

"revised drawings" describes the current state of the drawings, which has resulted from a past action. It is a bit like "broken window", for example. The window was broken in the past and its state now is "broken".

Having said that, I do believe that there is basis for your uncertainty about this. Suppose one set of drawings has been replaced by another set. The old drawings still exist, but they are now superseded. You could feasibly say, of the old set, "These drawings have been revised". Therefore, logically they should be "revised drawings". You could also say, of the new set, "These drawings have been revised". Therefore they are "revised drawings" too. Nevertheless, if someone said to me "These are the revised drawings", I would always assume the new set.

Pen mango · Answer

Thanks GYP

You have described the scenario that has led to this post perfectly.

All the people who I have discussed this with (who are now by the way completely fed up with the conversation and refuse to talk about it), have answered the same as you so I accept that I am wrong or possibly over thinking it.

Here is my problem

GPYYou could also say, of the new set, "These drawings have been revised".

To me, this is telling me that these drawings are no longer current rather than the new drawings; however, I freely admit that if I was sending you the drawings in an email I would write “please find attached revised drawings”

The more that I have thought about this stupid insignificant problem the more I question the use of revised / changed / amended / altered as the correct words to use to describe a new version of something. At the exact point in time that you are handing the drawing over it feels correct but once you have handed the drawings over can you still refer to them as revised?

At first I thought that there would be a simple grammatical answer (I failed my English GCSE and really want to learn), now I am beginning to think that I need to see a doctor instead.

GPY · Answer

pen mangoAt the exact point in time that you are handing the drawing over it feels correct but once you have handed the drawings over can you still refer to them as revised?

I would call them "the revised drawings" for as long as the revisions feel recent and relevant (e.g. days or weeks, probably). Once everyone has forgotten about the revisions and the old versions, I would stop calling them "revised".

Use of the word revised

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