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Victo Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
'fewer' vs 'less than' vs 'inches are/is'
Are these technically grammatically correct?
1) In 50 words or fewer, please describe why you want this position. (Not: ... 50 words or less ...)
2) In fewer than 50 words, please describe why you want this position. (Same)
3) Fewer than 50% of the population will be affected. (I say 'less than' for this one.)
4) One to twelve inches of rain 'is' or 'are' expected. (I say 'is' because we are making reference to a single bulk quantity, despite the fact that 'inches' is plural.)
1) In 50 words or fewer, please describe why you want this position. (Not: ... 50 words or less ...)
2) In fewer than 50 words, please describe why you want this position. (Same)
3) Fewer than 50% of the population will be affected. (I say 'less than' for this one.)
4) One to twelve inches of rain 'is' or 'are' expected. (I say 'is' because we are making reference to a single bulk quantity, despite the fact that 'inches' is plural.)
Top answer
victo 1) In 50 words or fewer, please describe why you want this position. (Not: ... ) 2) In fewer than 50 words, please describe why you want this position.
- victo 1) In 50 words or fewer, please describe why you want this position.
- (Not: ...
- ) 2) In fewer than 50 words, please describe why you want this position.
- (Same) This is no longer a serious grammatical bone of contention.
- 'Less' has won on all fronts.
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2 Answers
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victo1) In 50 words or fewer, please describe why you want this position. (Not: ... 50 words or less ...) 2) In fewer than 50 words, please describe why you want this position. (Same)This is no longer a serious grammatical bone of contention. 'Less' has won on all fronts.
victo3) Fewer than 50% of the population will be affected. (I sa
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