<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Very nice example! I would have thought this “can not” only acceptable in informal (& perhaps only spoken) English. Formal documents should always use “cannot”.<div><br></div><div>Ivan</div><div>(Native British English speaker)</div><div><br><br><div id="AppleMailSignature">--<br>festina lente<div><br></div></div><div><br>On 25 Jul 2018, at 10:20, Sean Hinde <<a href="mailto:sean.hinde@mac.com">sean.hinde@mac.com</a>> wrote:<br><br></div><blockquote type="cite"><div><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class=""><div class=""><br class="">I have tried to get a grip on this (not having English as my native<br class="">language), and found these sites seems to say that there is no difference<br class="">in meaning between "cannot" and "can not":<br class=""><br class=""> <a href="https://www.dailywritingtips.com/cannot-or-can-not/" class="">https://www.dailywritingtips.com/cannot-or-can-not/</a><br class=""> <a href="https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/204006/cannot-vs-can-not" class="">https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/204006/cannot-vs-can-not</a><br class=""> <a href="https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/4510/why-is-cannot-spelled-as-one-word" class="">https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/4510/why-is-cannot-spelled-as-one-word</a><br class=""> <a href="https://www.grammarly.com/blog/cannot-or-can-not/" class="">https://www.grammarly.com/blog/cannot-or-can-not/</a><br class=""> <a href="http://grammarist.com/usage/cannot-or-can-not/" class="">http://grammarist.com/usage/cannot-or-can-not/</a><br class=""></div></div></blockquote><div><br class=""></div><div>This is a fun one. As a native english speaker here’s my take:</div><div><br class=""></div><div>Using my son’s homework as an example:</div><div><br class=""></div><div>He has a choice. He can do it, or he can not do it</div><div><br class=""></div><div>If he cannot do it he has no choice :)</div><div><br class=""></div><div>If forced to think I would use cannot in the context used in the release notes, </div><div>although I have never over the years read that phrase in the release notes as </div><div>meaning there is a choice in whether it can be applied.</div><div><br class=""></div><div>Sean</div></div><br class=""></div></blockquote><blockquote type="cite"><div><span>_______________________________________________</span><br><span>erlang-questions mailing list</span><br><span><a href="mailto:erlang-questions@erlang.org">erlang-questions@erlang.org</a></span><br><span><a href="http://erlang.org/mailman/listinfo/erlang-questions">http://erlang.org/mailman/listinfo/erlang-questions</a></span><br></div></blockquote></div></body></html>