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Victo Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Less--fewer
Which (if any) below are incorrect? Thanks.
TIME, MONEY, AND DISTANCE =LESS THANExample: The wedding reception lasted less than two hours.
Example: We will go on vacation in less than four weeks.
Example: She owes him less than $30. (MONEY/BULK AMOUNT)
But: He had fewer $20 bills than Steve. (INDIVIDUAL ITEMS)
Example: We had less than 25 miles to go but ran out of gas. (DISTANCE)
But what about "days"?
We have less than 10 minutes to go.
We have less than two hours to go.
My question: How would this one go? The extravaganza will take place in less than / fewer than 10 days? You can certainly count days. I say "fewer".
He had less than five dollars in his pocket.
He had fewer five-dollar bills than I did.
It took less than two hours to complete.
TIME, MONEY, AND DISTANCE =LESS THANExample: The wedding reception lasted less than two hours.
Example: We will go on vacation in less than four weeks.
Example: She owes him less than $30. (MONEY/BULK AMOUNT)
But: He had fewer $20 bills than Steve. (INDIVIDUAL ITEMS)
Example: We had less than 25 miles to go but ran out of gas. (DISTANCE)
But what about "days"?
We have less than 10 minutes to go.
We have less than two hours to go.
My question: How would this one go? The extravaganza will take place in less than / fewer than 10 days? You can certainly count days. I say "fewer".
He had less than five dollars in his pocket.
He had fewer five-dollar bills than I did.
It took less than two hours to complete.
Top answer
victo You can certainly count days. You can say exactly the same thing about words such as 'minutes', 'hours' and 'weeks'. I'd use 'less' in your sentence about the extravaganza since the reference is to an amount of time.
- victo You can certainly count days.
- You can say exactly the same thing about words such as 'minutes', 'hours' and 'weeks'.
- I'd use 'less' in your sentence about the extravaganza since the reference is to an amount of time.
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1 Answers
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victoYou can certainly count days.You can say exactly the same thing about words such as 'minutes', 'hours' and 'weeks'. I'd use 'less' in your sentence about the extravaganza since the reference is to an amount of time.
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