I have a few usage questions for the forum. Some may not be incorrect because of any rules, but may be more style issues. I'm not really sure and would like some opinions. If you reply could you state specific grammer rules or explain the style issue involved? Thanks everyone!

What is the correct way to say this sentence?
"Do this with a keyboard hit just like the examples and the book code does it."
OR
"Do this with a keyboard hit just like the examples and the book code do it."
Is it "do" or "does" and why?

"What is the speed of dark?"
"What is the speed of darkness?"
I read the first of these sentences in L.M. Boyd's column. What is the difference between the two? Is either one incorrect? What does the ness suffix connotate that the first doesn't? (By the way, the speed of dark is the same as the speed of light. :) )

"He wanted to leave as quickly (quick, fast?) as possible."
Do useage rules say that I have to use an adverb here or can I use either "quick" or "fast" without breaking any rules? Do any of the options give the sentence a slightly different feel or meaning?

"It is that one pitch in a thousand you see in slow motion; its wings beat (beating) slowly as a hawk's."
I read this sentence somewhere and wondered whether "beat" was correct or whether it would be better to use "beating"? Is one way or the other more correct? What's the difference?

"My index finger hovered over the trigger, brushing (brushed) against it, caressing (caressed) it as I contemplated what I was about to do."
Possible changes to this sentence are in parenthesis. I'm not sure if the original sentence is correct usage or if it just gives the sentence a more immediate feel. But in that sense should I also change "hovered" to "hovering"? Should I keep my ing's and ed's consistent or does it really matter? Is there any rule that states whether I should do it one way or the other? What is the difference bettween the ed and ing suffixes and what different meanings do they bring to a sentence?

Thanks again for any help you can give me here. No matter how much I read about grammar I keep coming across or writing sentences where I'm not sure of correct usage.

Thanks,
Josh

Er, bein' Southern and all, this may not be accurate, but as I would do it. 1)Press the keys as indicated by the book. I think some of the words are superflous, and tend to obscure what you're trying to say. 'do it' works fine in a trailer park, anything outside the lot would be 'does it'..;)

1. Physically, darkness is a lack of light..and hence has no 'speed' to speak of..having said that, I think 'darkness' would work better, because with dark, the logical question is 'dark what?'
2. He wanted to leave as quickly as possible. Quickly and leave are connected. I believe quickly is an adverb, which takes 'ly' to reinforce this.
3. I think 'beating' works here, you could use 'beat', but you'd have to add another 'as'. ..beat as slowly as a hawks' (the hawk owns the wing, so it would be possessive, with the ' at the end..
4. Brushing and caressing work here, because you're in the present tense, or possibly another fancy English tense I don't know the name of..;) the 'ed' indicates a past tense.
   Having said all that, all h-e-double-toothpicks is going to come down on me for some most-likely glaring grammatical errors (strangely enough, the passage of 30 years has made my grasp of grammer a bit rusty).
   Should you want to learn what to use in style of grammar, etc., go to your nearest local used book store, and ask for a Style Manual (I think there's a Chicago, possibly a Strunk? ..help me out folks). It will have all your questions answered, although it makes for some dry reading..;) Hope this helps.

Just a quibble in #1...I don't think the book indicated anything, unless you have a talking book. I think there may have been an example in the book, or an illustration in the book, or instructions in the book. So I would rephrase the sentence as "Press the keys as shown in the example." I don't know that "book" is necessary unless it is possible they would be looking at something else. I think there is some poetic license in #2 that has nothing to do with grammatical correctness.

1. Very convoluted. It almost sounds like someone did a word-for-word translation from another language. I think dialyn's "Press the keys as shown in the example." would work much better. I've done some tech writing. Short, simple sentences in Noun, Verb, Predicate (or just Verb, Predicate) form work best. 2) "Speed of dark" would be a twist on the "speed of light" concept. "Speed of darkness" might be used for how quickly the shadows are lengthening as the sun sets, the light dims, etc. 3) You need to use an adverb here because you are talking about how he wanted to leave. Leave is a verb, so you have to use an adverb to modify it, such as quickly. 4) Beating sounds better to me, but then you'd have to change the punctutation slightly: "It is that one pitch in a thousand you see in slow motion, its wings beating slowly as a hawk's." "... it's wing beating slowly as a hawks." is not a full sentence so you'd need to use a comma instead of a semi-colon to separate it out. I can't think of a grammatical rule that says why "beating" is better than "beat." It may just be a style issue. I don't think "beat" is wrong; it just doesn't sound as good to me. 5) Either way is correct. It depends on the timing. If you want the actions to be more simultaneous, emphasizing that the brushing and caressing are taking place as you contemplated, then the past progressive (-ing form) works. If you want the actions to be more of a sequence and to emphasize each individual action, then the past tense (-ed form) is fine. Cheers! Crescent 00E - licensed to kill the English language ;-)

1. "Do this with a keyboard hit just like the examples and the book code do it." It is "do." The "examples and book code" are a plural subject of the clause. Therefore, they "do" the action. Not they does. 2. I'd say they are interchangeable, since both dark and darkness, used as nouns, indicate the absence of light. However, to me "darkness" connotes more of a gradation of absence of light, while "dark" is more absolute. 3."He wanted to leave as quickly (quick, fast?) as possible." A purist would say you must use quickly, since it is an adverb modifying the verb "leave." Fast and quick are both adjectives, modifying nouns. However, fast would generally be acceptably used as an adverb. "To leave quick" would probably be pounced upon by the majority as an error, though "quick" is sliding toward acceptable use as an adjective. I would certainly avoid that, myself. 4."It is that one pitch in a thousand you see in slow motion; its wings beat (beating) slowly as a hawk's." Since that sentence is pulled out of context, I am a bit confused. I don't know what the "it" refers to at the beginning. As is, there seems to be a disagreement in tense. The first independent clause contains a present tense verb (is) while the second uses what seems to be past tense (beat), though that could be present as well. Again, without context I'm confused. If it is meant to be be present, "beating" as present progressive tense is clearer, with the recommended punctuation change. 5. I agree completely with Crescent's explanation on this one.

Thanks to everyone who replied. One thing we can all count on is the quick responses to forum questions. Granted, a few of these sentences were convoluted. They could have been rewritten so that the grammar issue went away, but this was how they were written when the question arose so I left them that way. I imagine many rough drafts have a bit of "trailer park" language in them. :) Of course, many great writers have no qualms about breaking the rules of grammar, but they usually have a good reason for doing so, and they are usually aware that they are doing it. My weakness as a story teller is my grammar, and at this point in my writing life I prefer not to butcher the language any more than necessary--if I can help it. :) Thanks again for the responses. You have clarified some issues for me and given me other issues to think about. Thanks, Josh