Group of not less than 5 people

These are fine:

groups of no fewer than 5 people
groups of a minimum of 5 people
groups of at least 5 people

The last is the clearest; the 2nd is the most formal; the 1st is quite grammatical.

Hi Jay,

I would say " groups of no fewer than five people", which is more accurate than "not less than", but probably less commonly used!

You could also use "groups of five or more people ", which is slightly less clumsy than "groups of a minimum of five". This also emphasises the smallest permissable number of people.

"A tour is organised" does not qui

Thank u

Mister Micawber
groups of no fewer than 5 people

Hi, MM

If somebody said "groups of no less than 5 people", would it smack of an illiterate native speaker or of a foreigner? Putting it another way, are native speakers prone to saying "groups of no less than 5 people" ?

Thanks!

MrPernicketyIf somebody said "groups of no less than 5 people", would it smack of an illiterate native speaker or of a foreigner? Putting it another way, are native speakers prone to saying "groups of no less than 5 people" ?

You're gonna get in trouble with that question!
Take a look around, there must be several "confusing" di

In the US, the word "less" is currently used in all kinds of situations in which the word "fewer" would be the "grammatically correct" choice. Nowadays, it isn't just signs at the supermarket that use the word "less" in a way that irritates grammarians (i.e. "10 items or less"). I hear and see "less" being used instead of "fewer" in all sorts of advertising as well -- both print and TV advertisin

Yankeesigns at the supermarket that use the word "less" in a way that irritates grammarians (i.e. "10 items or less")

True story. I go to a supermarket that has two express lanes. The sign on one says "10 items or less". The sign on the other says "10 items or fewer".

Go figure.

CJ

Old joke from my Cambridge (MA) days -- A student is in a grocery store, in the "10 items or Less" lane (or "fewer," it doesn't matter for the joke) with about twenty items. The clerk says, "Either you're a Harvard student and you can't count, or you're an M.I.T. student and you can't read."

MrPernicketyIf somebody said "groups of no less than 5 people", would it smack of an illiterate native speaker or of a foreigner?

It would not smack of anything. For 99.999% of people it would not even bump. It would not even tap. It would not even caress. It would not even come close to entering the consciousness. It would pass totally, co

Everything's been said, but just to get closure:

Hi, MM
If somebody said "groups of no less than 5 people", would it smack of an illiterate native speaker or of a foreigner?
Not at all; this is just one of my Achilles' heels in grammar. I am a curmudgeon on this point. I completely agree with CJ:

It would pass totally, completely, and entirely --