5 ms·
Less -> Fewer
by frewsxcv 12y ago
Less -> Fewer
- tuke 12y ago+1
- pluma 12y agoNo. http://www.thatdanny.com/2008/11/20/one-fewer-or-one-less-a-definitive-answer/ http://www.thatdanny.com/2008/11/20/one-fewer-or-one-less-a-...
- frewsxcv 12y agoI take all grammatical advice from bloggers who do phrase counting on websites
- brianpgordon 12y agoThis is hardly authoritative.
- Tyrannosaurs 12y agoThis article claims that the Guardian style guide was unhelpful. Possibly he should have read it: "fewer/less: fewer means smaller in number, eg fewer coins; less means smaller in quantity, eg less money" Simply put fewer is for things which can be counted, less is for things which can not. So you have fewer cylinders of air, but less air. If you can say "one X" and have it make sense you should use fewer, otherwise use less. That's the rule as it's meant to work, the more interesting question is "does the rule matter any more?", to which I'd answer probably not. You don't see supermarkets with "5 items of fewer" lanes and most people don't really see any difference between the two terms. The reality is that language continues to evolve, as it has always done, and the distinction is really now just one for pedants (guilty as charged). If you need proof of this then the just look at the figures in quoted blog post (assuming they're even vaguely right), which suggest that most Guardian journalists are ignoring their own style guide and their sub-editors (a job title which pretty much comes with pedantry in the job spec) are letting them.
- topbanana 12y ago> You don't see supermarkets with "5 items of fewer" That's why I shop in Waitrose http://scaryduck.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/death-to-ten-items-or-less.html http://scaryduck.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/death-to-ten-items-o...
- Tyrannosaurs 12y agoHa, why doesn't it surprise me that Waitrose have that?
- bedhead 12y agoDamn beat me to it.