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Anonymous Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

Less vs fewer: the extended rule

I cannot understand why are told not to say "10 items or less". This is the rule I use for "less and fewer":

"Fewer" refers to number among things that are counted. "Less" refers to quantity or amount among things that are measured and to number among things that are counted.

Do you use the same rule, or some other one?
  

Top answer

I like your rule. I've never seen it expressed that way. " The number of items is less than ten.

— Enoon

  • I like your rule.
  • I've never seen it expressed that way.
  • " The number of items is less than ten.
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14 Answers
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I like your rule. I've never seen it expressed that way. "Ten items or less" sounds better than "ten items or fewer." The number of items is less than ten.
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Anonymous I cannot understand why are told not to say "10 items or less". This is the rule I use for "less and fewer":"Fewer" refers to number among things that are counted. "Less" refers to quantity or amount among things that are measured and to number among things that are counted.Do you use the same rule, or some other one?
According to your own rule, can
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AnonymousI cannot understand why are told not to say "10 items or less".
Items are counted.
Anonymous"Less" refers to quantity or amount among things that are measured and to number among things that are counted.
I don't use this rule. I've never heard it with the part that I underlined above.

fewe
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Hello Everyone
As usual good questions and good answers too
I like these
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Because I can perceive you groceries as a mass.
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I think that's the problem. The shortened form is not accurate for all usage. The longer rule does describe English usage from over the past 900 years or so.
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Because I can perceive you groceries as a mass.
You cannot perceive them as a mass and count them at the same time.

You can say "one basketful of groceries or less" or "one bag of groceries or less" but not "a mass of 12 items or less" -- once you count them, they are no longer a mass.
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BarbaraPAYou can say "one basketful of groceries or less" or "one bag of groceries or less"
I would have thought that less than one bag/basket of groceries was no bag/basket.
BarbaraPA "a mass of 12 items or less" -- once you count them, they are no longer a mass.
Well, many people do consider a number of items can be
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Anonymous I think that's the problem. The shortened form is not accurate for all usage. The longer rule does describe English usage from over the past 900 years or so.
I see. Before you asked the question, you already knew the whole 900-year history of the usage and had already formed your own opinion of how the words 'fewer' and 'less' should be used.
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Does this sound odd?

·There was a mass of items on sale."
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