5 ms·
Fewer, not less.
by pklausler 10y ago
Fewer, not less.
- mc32 10y agoComparatively speaking, 999 is less than 1000. They might have constructed it that way. One doesn't say 7 is fewer than 9.
- pklausler 10y agoYou removed the discrete units from the text ("Brits") and then made a point that holds true only when discussing comparisons that do not have discrete units. 7 is less than 9. But 7 Brits are fewer than 9 Brits.
- mc32 10y agoTrue. It depends if the emphasis is on the mathematical number or not.. A number less than one thousand represents the number of Brits who queried...
- ZeroGravitas 10y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fewer_vs._less https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fewer_vs._less "descriptive grammarians (who describe language as actually used) point out that this rule does not correctly describe the most common usage of today or the past and in fact arose as an incorrect generalization of a personal preference expressed by a grammarian in 1770."