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Which one is correct? Do both sentences have the same meaning?

  1. The table definition does not trivially translate to the underlying data structures.
  2. The table definition does not translate trivially to the underlying data structures.

What I am trying to say is that the actual/underlying data structures are way more complex than the table definition may suggest.

RegDwigнt
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fuggy_yama
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    In many cases, an adverb can be positioned either before or after the verb. In this case, however, I don't much like either of your alternatives, and I'd choose something altogether different. Perhaps "The correlation between the table definition and its underlying data structures is non-trivial" would do. – PellMel Mar 31 '16 at 21:51
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    @PellMel The number of Google hits for 'trivially translate' and 'translate trivially' (especially when adjusted to discount false positives) is strong evidence that your dislike is far from being an isolated instance. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 31 '16 at 21:58
  • What do you think about this sentence? "As an added benefit, this translation procedure allows us to trivially translate from Nielsen's framework [11] to the other two frameworks (...)" source: https://books.google.pl/books?id=8TOFQ-8pvRkC&pg=PA380&dq=%22trivially+translate%22&hl=pl&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9j_WB-OvLAhXEEHIKHWppDd0Q6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=%22trivially%20translate%22&f=false – fuggy_yama Mar 31 '16 at 22:14
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    @Jonathan Piccirilli No; Farlex gives the relevant sense: Adv. 1. trivially - with little effort; "we can prove trivially that this theorem is false" I'm saying that, though not ungrammatical, the two sentences are not idiomatic. If they are more common in a maths say register, the maths institutions are the place to ask about adverb placement in this particular case. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 31 '16 at 22:17
  • I think hte last sentence of the question comes close to being the right answer. Both of the sentences that you asked about are grammatical but neither is as clear (to me) as "The underlying data structures are far more complex than the table definition might suggest." (If "table definition" means the definition of the table, not a definition in the table, then I'd suggest "the table's definition".) – Andreas Blass Jul 30 '16 at 04:21

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I've got to agree with the comments, the whole sentence ends negative. "Does not translate" - no translation | "trivially" - of little value. Altogether this would read "no translation of little value". Something like "The complexity of the underlying data structure is not reflected by the definition." or "The definition does not express the complexity of the underlying..." or, if you really wanted to use trivially, "The table definition trivially represents the...". should do the trick.

Jonathan Piccirilli
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