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Chivalry Posted 15 years ago
Vocabulary
One "less" neighbor?
Why does this expression even correct at all?
To the best of my knowledge, when the subject is countable, it's supposed to be described as "fewer" instead of "less" when the number of it is being reduced, as in the sentence "get rid of her in one minute or you'll have one fewer neighbor at the block party."
I hope I'm not wrong.
To the best of my knowledge, when the subject is countable, it's supposed to be described as "fewer" instead of "less" when the number of it is being reduced, as in the sentence "get rid of her in one minute or you'll have one fewer neighbor at the block party."
I hope I'm not wrong.
Top answer
Hi, You are right about 'fewer', but native speakers, even educated ones, tend often to say 'less' instead. Clive
- Hi, You are right about 'fewer', but native speakers, even educated ones, tend often to say 'less' instead.
- Clive
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5 Answers
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Hi,
You are right about 'fewer', but native speakers, even educated ones, tend often to say 'less' instead.
Clive
You are right about 'fewer', but native speakers, even educated ones, tend often to say 'less' instead.
Clive
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CliveHi, You are right about 'fewer', but native speakers, even educated ones, tend often to say 'less' instead. CliveOh yeah, but then if I wrote such a sentence on a formal test, my score would probably be discounted down to zero.
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Hi,
That's how tests work!
Does everybody who speaks your language speak it with perfect grammar?
That's how tests work!
Does everybody who speaks your language speak it with perfect grammar?
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CliveHi, That's how tests work! Does everybody who speaks your language speak it with perfect grammar? CliveGood question!
I'll make sure that I REPORT TO YOU once I get to know EVERYBODY who speaks my native language if that could ever happen!
BTW. Flunking a student's test when a huge grammar mistake is made is one of the policies in my ol
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You went to a nutty school. That's a bad policy to begin with, unless it's intended to be an English grammar test, and "less" vs. "fewer" is, in any case, not a huge mistake.
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