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Fill in the grid so that each column or row only uses the same number once. Each grid uses three different numbers.

This sentence does not sound not logical to me. My question is whether a grid and a column can 'use' anything, as both are not alive. Should it not be 'contains' instead of 'uses'?

Neither Cambridge Dictionary nor Merriam-Webster (ignoring the false positive 'this house could use a fresh coat of paint') give examples with a non-sentient agent (or, in the passive, with an implied non-sentient agent).

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    A phone can use electricity, a mathematical proof can use the result of an earlier lemma, a computer can use TCP/IP, a Newton's cradle can use the principle of the conservation of momentum, an old house can use painting... Where does it say that only something that's alive can use something? What does your dictionary say?
    – Stuart F
    Commented Oct 12, 2023 at 9:36
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    That's a stylistic matter, not a grammatical one. It would also be fine to use the passive here: "... so that no number is used more than once per column". Commented Oct 12, 2023 at 10:06
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    The word contains would be better, not because columns aren't alive; but because the columns aren't using the numbers to achieve any specific purpose, and because the word contains is more precise. Similarly, while you could say it is a big faux pas if an actresses uses the same dress for two different award ceremonies, the word wears would be much better. Commented Oct 12, 2023 at 13:27
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    Diesel engines use diesel oil, while most internal combustions engines use gasoline. Commented Oct 12, 2023 at 16:22
  • My prose uses a mainly Victorian style. Commented Oct 12, 2023 at 19:51

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This isn't something that is all that easy to find in dictionaries (I've edited in two that don't contain a relevant example).

OALD [amended, below] contains two examples licensing the use of 'use' with non-sentient agents, though the definition doesn't really cover the case in the question:

use [2] [A1] verb [transitive]:

[use something]: to take a particular amount of a liquid, substance, [fuel] etc. in order to achieve or make something

  • This type of heater uses a lot of electricity.

​ [transitive] to say or write [or be constructed/assembled from/using; EA] particular words or a particular type of language [or other elements; EA] [use something]

  • The poem uses simple language.

And Collins gives the example

  • The show uses Zondo's trial and execution as its framework.

It is not a vast leap from the second OALD example in the extract above to

  • Fill in the grid so that each column or row only uses the same number once.

'X uses Y to ...' shows an instrumental relation, but 'the table uses only odd numbers' is usually merely compositional.

Some may argue that the style (for the purely compositional relation) is not wonderful, with 'contains' / 'consists of' to be preferred, but the usage is not unacceptable, and I've certainly seen this usage in my maths-teaching days.

Reasonable-looking examples from the internet include:

  • A row consists of a, aq, aq², etc, and each row uses a different variable.
  • Each matrix uses rows for likelihood and columns for severity. [MDPI Wikipedia
  • Notice that each table uses a different naming convention. [Microsoft Press Store]

The obviously acceptable

  • Morse code uses a series of dots and dashes to represent letters and numbers, similar to how ASCII uses numbers to represent characters. [ASCII Code]

is arguably a slightly different type, with global rather than particular non-sentient agents.

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  • I wonder how many of those who would disapprove of the style would themselves say “people that” rather than “people who.” Commented Oct 12, 2023 at 11:20

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