While listening to NPR today, I learnt that you are supposed to use the word "fewer" if you can count the items...and "less" if you can't count the items. So we would have "less" stress if everyone knew this. And if you went to Kathleen High School in the '60's : "fewer" than 3 people probably have ever heard of this rule.
and just for the record...those signs that say "express lane - less than 10 items" need to be taken down and changed to fewer than.
6 comments:
the same rule can, and should be, applied to 'many' and 'much'.
"Ribhard has had a few too many beers"
Is that not proper?
Isn't this a relative concept? I mean, who's to say how high I can count.
Probably like fewer than a billion people.
but 'few' and 'too many' are contradictory, aren't they? Lucky for ya'll I just so happen to teach English as a second language. It's not how high one can count but the essence of countability. One can count grains of sand, but not sand. So standard English would condone the questions: "how much sand?" and "how many grains of sand?", but not "how many sand?" nor "how much grains?". This can be extrapolated to ice and ice cubes, wine and boxes of wine.
Vic drank LESS wine last night than he did the night before, due in part because he had FEWER boxes of wine than the night before, MUCH to his disappointment, and to equal disappointment of MANY of his fellow bloggers, I am sure.
"Few that was close!"... is what I say when something bad almost happens...
I've always learned that a "few" represents "3 or more" and so a "few too many" would be 3 or more too many beers for example ... and when you tell someone you've had a "Few too many" rarely do they ask quantitative follow up questions.
I always thought writing was an art form and with all types of art who is to say what's really "correct" right? (Unfortunately my college professor didn't quite agree)
It's similar to asking a kid "how do you spell Crocodile?" and the kid responds with "K.R.O.K.O.D.I.L.E" and the teacher say "Wrong" then the kid says "maybe it’s wrong, but you asked me how I spell it"
I am excited about all the exchange of valuable information on this blog....it has exceeded my wildest expectations....all my dreams have come true..... I am glad to say I have now learnt that abbzug is an English teacher to whom (who?) I can now seek guidance and direction from.... concerning my writing (writting?)... and possible awkward sentence structure ..I never knew we had such talent in the extended gene pool of the blog..and I have almost quit drinking beer...I substituted an equal amount of wine so my body has not had serious withdrawal problems from less liquid intake.
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