Is this correct English?

1. 55

   Daniel Mollatposted 7 years ago

   "Why Stock Options Are Investments and Not Gambles"
   
   The above title is what HP editors repeatedly changed my hub title to. The original title of the hub was "Why Stock Options Are Investments and Not Gambling"
   
   Is "Gambles" correct or should it be "Gambling"?
   
   Or maybe the title should be changed to "Why Stock Options Are Investing and Not Gambling"
   
   I've tried to return the title to its original form but again the editors changed the word Gambling to  Gambles.
   
   Are the editors infallible with respect to English usage? I would think so but in this case, I find the title sounding odd.

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   1. 83

      theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Your version sounds better but the editor's version is correct. It's noun + noun, whereas yours is noun + verb.
      
      If you swap out gamble for wager... it would be 'investments and not wagering' - can you see that's incorrect?
      
      Your alternative would work (verb + verb).

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   2. 76

      liesl5858posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with your version though. It sounds better.

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   3. 0

      Christy Kirwanposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Editors are required to make sure titles on Network Sites are grammatically correct. If you were to tweak your title so that it both sounds good to you and is grammatically correct (as a few have kindly recommended in this thread), your editor would likely allow the change to remain.
      
      We have to be very careful of grammar mistakes because even if a sentence or phrase sounds ok to many readers, Google will still recognize it as non-standard English.

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2. 83

   Amy Jane 19posted 7 years ago

   I think the reason is that "investments" is a noun and "gambling" is actually the progressive form of a verb (or present participle). This changes the meaning slightly; if it said "stock options are investing" it would mean that they, the stock options, are performing an action. The same applies to "gambling".
   
   I hope this makes sense and answers your question!

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3. 65

   nomadspiritposted 7 years ago

   Technically the editors are correct. Stylistically, your original title reads better and clearly conveys your message. I guess its a matter of taste, but in this case I would say the editors could give way to a more creative use of the language.

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4. 71

   Diana Grantposted 7 years ago

   To me your version sounds better.  I've just checked on the internet, and the word "gambling" can be a noun as well as a verb

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5. 68

   daydreamsposted 7 years ago

   I prefer your version too.
   
   Although maybe there is a better third option?

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6. 55

   Daniel Mollatposted 7 years ago

   Thank you all for responding to my question.
   I'm pleased to note that the majority feel my version sounds better even if apparently the editors' version is grammatically correct.
   
   I will let the title stand as corrected by the editors as I feel it would take to much effort to try and convince them to change it to my version.

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   1. 92

      Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      It's worth a try to discuss it. I find they can be open to stylistic issues. What do you have to lose with an email to the team?

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7. 66

   Glenn Stokposted 7 years ago

   I can see why the editors had an issue with the original title. Adding one word will solve the problem:
   
   "Why Stock Options Are Investments and Not Considered Gambling"

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   1. 83

      Marcy Goodfleischposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with Glenn - and I also like the word "gambling" better than "gambles" - I doubt too many people search for "gambles" on the internet. Maybe you could write to the editors and suggest the version Glenn mentioned above.

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8. 70

   Cre8torposted 7 years ago

   How about "Why Stock Option Investing Is Not Gambling"? Sounds like a happy medium. I do think they're grammatically correct in the way they state the title as is.

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9. 61

   Erudite Scholarposted 7 years ago

   Hi Daniel,
   The correction was in order.

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   1. 62

      Glenis Rixposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I agree.

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