diff --git a/src/server/verify.js b/src/server/verify.js
index 1911a86..a4c8db9 100644
--- a/src/server/verify.js
+++ b/src/server/verify.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 import fs from 'node:fs';
 import path from 'node:path';
 import { lintSubmission } from '../shared/lint.js';
-import { freeTextErrors } from '../shared/freetext.js';
+import { freeTextErrorsAcross } from '../shared/freetext.js';
 import { checkUnits } from '../shared/check.js';
 import { reconcile } from '../shared/reconcile.js';
 import { STATUS, sameOriginal } from '../shared/compare.js';
@@ -225,16 +225,14 @@ export class Verifier {
   /**
    * Comments and strings a submission adds that could carry instructions to other agents: only
    * annotations and markers, and strings of the original executable, are allowed (freetext.js).
+   * What the submitted files held on the base may move between them (a definition moving to its
+   * owner keeps its provenance), but every such line counts once.
    */
   freeTextGate(files, baseCommit) {
     const exe = this.getPe().buf;
     const inOriginal = (bytes) => exe.indexOf(bytes) !== -1;
-    const errors = [];
-    for (const [file, text] of Object.entries(files)) {
-      if (typeof text !== 'string') continue;
-      for (const e of freeTextErrors(text, this.repo.show(baseCommit, file), inOriginal)) errors.push({ file, ...e });
-    }
-    return errors;
+    const pooled = Object.keys(files).map((f) => this.repo.show(baseCommit, f)).filter((t) => t !== null).join('\n');
+    return freeTextErrorsAcross(files, pooled, inOriginal);
   }
 
   /**
diff --git a/src/shared/freetext.js b/src/shared/freetext.js
index 5360895..b77a1ad 100644
--- a/src/shared/freetext.js
+++ b/src/shared/freetext.js
@@ -160,18 +160,35 @@ function encode(s, wide) {
  * @returns {{line: number, message: string}[]}  the messages never repeat the text itself
  */
 export function freeTextErrors(text, baseText, inOriginal) {
-  const now = scanText(text);
-  const base = baseText === null ? { comments: [], strings: [] } : scanText(baseText);
-  const errors = [];
+  return checkText(scanText(text), baseText === null ? { comments: [], strings: [] } : scanText(baseText), inOriginal);
+}
 
-  const baseComments = counts(base.comments.map((c) => c.text.trim()));
+/**
+ * The same check for a whole submission against what all its files held together on the base:
+ * comments and strings may move from one submitted file to another, each base occurrence once.
+ * @returns {{file: string, line: number, message: string}[]}
+ */
+export function freeTextErrorsAcross(files, pooledBase, inOriginal) {
+  const base = scanText(pooledBase);
+  const pool = { comments: counts(base.comments.map((c) => c.text.trim())), strings: counts(base.strings.map(stringKey)) };
+  const errors = [];
+  for (const [file, text] of Object.entries(files)) {
+    if (typeof text !== 'string') continue;
+    for (const e of checkText(scanText(text), pool, inOriginal)) errors.push({ file, ...e });
+  }
+  return errors;
+}
+
+function checkText(now, base, inOriginal) {
+  const errors = [];
+  const baseComments = base.comments instanceof Map ? base.comments : counts(base.comments.map((c) => c.text.trim()));
   for (const c of now.comments) {
     const t = c.text.trim();
     if (take(baseComments, t) || allowedComment(t)) continue;
     errors.push({ line: c.line, message: 'comments are not allowed in submissions (only annotations like // FUNCTION: fn_00001 and offset markers like /* 0010 */); remove it' });
   }
 
-  const baseStrings = counts(base.strings.map(stringKey));
+  const baseStrings = base.strings instanceof Map ? base.strings : counts(base.strings.map(stringKey));
   for (const s of now.strings) {
     if (take(baseStrings, stringKey(s))) continue;
     if (s.include !== null) {
diff --git a/test/freetext.test.js b/test/freetext.test.js
index ead67d9..5dbacb9 100644
--- a/test/freetext.test.js
+++ b/test/freetext.test.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { test } from 'node:test';
 import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
-import { scanText, freeTextErrors, allowedComment } from '../src/shared/freetext.js';
+import { scanText, freeTextErrors, freeTextErrorsAcross, allowedComment } from '../src/shared/freetext.js';
 
 // Stands in for the original executable's bytes.
 const original = Buffer.concat([Buffer.from('Interface\\GlueXML\0', 'latin1'), Buffer.from('hello world\0%d\0', 'latin1'), Buffer.from('Wide\0', 'utf16le')]);
@@ -51,6 +51,14 @@ test('comments and strings already on main stay allowed', () => {
   assert.equal(freeTextErrors(base + '// keep me\n', base, inOriginal).length, 1);
 });
 
+test('a submission may move a comment from one of its files to another, once', () => {
+  const base = '// keep me\nextern int g;\n';
+  const files = { 'a.cpp': 'extern int g;\n', 'b.cpp': '// keep me\nint g;\n' };
+  assert.deepEqual(freeTextErrorsAcross(files, base, inOriginal), [], 'moved with its definition');
+  const twice = { 'a.cpp': base, 'b.cpp': '// keep me\nint g;\n' };
+  assert.equal(freeTextErrorsAcross(twice, base, inOriginal).length, 1, 'one base line covers one copy');
+});
+
 test('pieces of a concatenated literal may each come from the original', () => {
   assert.deepEqual(freeTextErrors('const char* s = "%d" "hello world";\n', null, inOriginal), []);
   assert.equal(freeTextErrors('const char* s = "%d" "made up";\n', null, inOriginal).length, 1);