10 Items Less Grammatical Error
Contents |
used (instead of "less") with nouns for countable objects and concepts (discretely quantifiable nouns or count nouns). According to this rule, "less" should be used only with a grammatically singular noun (including mass nouns) and only when they suggest "a combination
10 Items Or Less Grammatically Incorrect
into a unit, a group, or an aggregation: less than $50 (a sum of money); grammatical error examples less than three miles (a unit of distance)".[1] However, descriptive grammarians (who describe language as actually used) point out that this rule
Grammatical Error Checker
does not correctly describe the most common usage of today or the past and in fact arose as an incorrect generalization of a personal preference expressed by a grammarian in 1770.[2][3][4] This rule can be seen in grammatical error definition the examples "there is less flour in this canister" and "there are fewer cups (grains, pounds, bags, etc.) of flour in this canister", which are based on the reasoning that flour is uncountable whereas the unit used to measure the flour (cup etc.) is countable. Nevertheless, even most prescriptivists accept the most common usage "there are less cups of flour in this canister"[citation needed] and prescribe the rule addition that "less" should be used what is a grammatical error in a sentence with units of measurement (other examples: "less than 10 pounds/dollars"). Prescriptivists would however consider only "fewer cups of coffee" to be correct in a sentence such as "there are fewer cups of coffee on the table now", where the cups are countable separate objects, although most people now and in the past use "less" even in such cases. In addition, "less" is recommended in front of counting nouns that denote distance, amount, or time. For example, "we go on holiday in fewer than four weeks" and "he can run the 100 m in fewer than ten seconds" are not advised.[5] Some prescriptivists argue that even the extremely rare and completely unidiomatic[6] "one fewer" should be used instead of "one less" (both when used alone or together with a singular, discretely quantifiable noun as in "there is one fewer cup on this table"), but Merriam–Webster's Dictionary of English Usage clearly states that common usage dictates "one less" in all cases.[2] Contents 1 Current usage 2 Historical usage 3 See also 4 References 5 External links Current usage[edit] The comparative less is used with both count and uncount nouns in some informal discourse environments and in most dialects of English.[citation needed] In other informal discourse however, the use of fewer could be considered natural. Many supermarket checkout line signs, for instance, will read
Film Politics Investigations Obits Education Science Earth Weather Health Royal Celebrity Defence Scotland Advertisement Home» News» UK News Tesco to ditch 'ten items or less' sign after
Grammatical Error Checker Free
good grammar campaign Tesco has bowed to pressure from those lobbying for grammatical error symbols the use of good English and have altered checkout signs reading "ten items or less" in the interests of
Grammatical Error Or Grammar Error
being grammatically correct. By Tom Peterkin 8:18AM BST 01 Sep 2008 Comments From now on, signs in new stores are to say "up to 10 items" after a long running argument https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fewer_vs._less with those who have objected to the use of the word "less" in that context. Many have argued that the signs ought to read "ten items or fewer" instead of "ten items or less". Their argument is that the word 'fewer' should be used when it refers to quantities that can be counted. 'Less', they say, should refer to quantities that cannot be http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2659948/Tesco-to-ditch-ten-items-or-less-sign-after-good-grammar-campaign.html counted. The new form of words comes from a suggestion by the Plain English Campaign. "There is a debate about whether the word should be 'less' or 'fewer'," a campaign spokesman said. "Saying 'up to ten items' is easy to understand and avoids any debate." Guidance from Oxford University Press says: "Less means 'not as much'. Fewer means 'not as many'. This can be tricky when referring to quantities. For example, we say less than six weeks, not fewer than six weeks, because we are not referring to six individual weeks, but to a single period of time lasting six weeks." Hopes that changing the wording would provide a satisfactory solution to the knotty problem appear premature with some critics claiming that the new signs are themselves ambiguous. Some would argue that "up to ten items" could mean "ten items and no more" or "nine items or fewer". A Tesco spokesman said: "The debate about what is right has been going on for years now, and I still don't think we know if 'less' or 'fewer' is correct. "The new signs will be in the ro
The Best To-Do List Is Actually Your CalendarFeatured HostGet-It-Done GuyStever RobbinsRelationshipsCategoriesEtiquette & http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/less-versus-fewer MannersDining & TravelProfessionalFriendshipsRomanceSocial MediaFeatured Content How to Be http://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2012/08/less-or-fewer/ Less of a Jerk in Facebook Arguments How to Deal with Someone Who Only Texts You How to Apologize for Lost TimeFeatured HostModern Manners GuyRichie FriemanPetsCategoriesCatsOther AnimalsPet HealthGrooming and FurDogsDog TrainingDog BehaviorDog grammatical error CarePuppiesFeatured Content How to Naturally Get Rid of Fleas, Ear Mites, and Ticks 4 (Other) Best Things to Do for Your Dog Cats, Partially ExplainedFeatured HostThe Dog TrainerJolanta Benal, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KATechCategoriesWebTech NewsSoftware & AppsMobileHome TheaterGadgetsComputersFeatured Content 9 Awesome Google Chrome Shortcuts grammatical error checker to Save You Time How to Be a White Hat Hacker Are Your Kids Using Secret Apps to Hide Their Stuff?Featured HostTech TalkerEric EscobarHealth & FitnessCategoriesExerciseColds, Flu & AllergiesAches and PainsHealthy EatingMedical ConditionsMental HealthMen's HealthWomen's HealthPreventionTrends & FadsWeight LossBeautyFeatured Content How to Avoid the Biggest Loser Phenomenon 9 Things You Don't Know About Your Primary-Care Doctor How Fast Do You Lose Fitness?Featured HostSavvy PsychologistEllen Hendriksen, PhDEducationCategoriesHistoryParent-Teacher TipsMathScienceWritingGrammarFeatured Content The Mysterious Disappearance of Agatha Christie Subjunctive Verbs 5 Incredible Facts About OctopusesFeatured HostGrammar GirlMignon FogartyBusiness & CareerCategoriesCareersLegalCommunicationNetworkingPublic SpeakingSmall BusinessFeatured Content Business Advice from Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec Want to Speak Up More at Meetings? How Rate of Speech Impacts DiplomacyFeatured HostGet-It-Done GuyStever RobbinsMoney & FinanceCategoriesSaving EnergyTaxesDeals & CouponsInvestingInsuranceCreditLoansReal EstateSaving & SpendingRetiremen
Post: Who decides on the right collective noun for something? Less or fewer?There are less problems with finding staff these days too. If anything, we’ve had fewer problems than we expected. Do you ever waver when it comes to choosing between less and fewer? You’re in good company, as the above examples (both taken from a British newspaper website on the same date) demonstrate. You may even be one of the many people who are blissfully unaware that there’s a distinction between the two. Alternatively, if you’re like me, a stickler to the core, you’re likely to wince every time you spot ‘less problems’ and similar cases of non-standard usage. A quick poll on less and fewer A while ago, we ran the following poll testing people on the following sentences: There were fewer books in the library than last time. (In a supermarket/store) Ten items or less. If you use poor grammar, you’ll impress less people. Learning English is less difficult than you might think. This exercise wasn’t as straightforward as it might appear at first sight, and it was clear from our results that native and non-native speakers alike find less versus fewer to be one of the thornier issues of English usage. In total, 1,699 of you took the original test: if you didn’t, it’s no longer live, but why not take a minute to think about which of the four options above you’d have ticked as being correct? OK? There are three correct examples, and one incorrect one. Check your answers: √ There were fewer books in the library than last time. √ (In a supermarket/store) Ten items or less. X If you use poor grammar, you’ll impress less people. √ Learning English is less difficult than you might think. And here are the original poll results, showing the number/percentage of people who believed each example to be correct: Number % There were fewer books in the library than last time. 651 38.32 (In a supermarket/store) Ten items or less. 238 14.01 If you use poor grammar, you’ll impress less people. 96 5.65 Learning English is less difficult than you might think. 714 42.02 Less head-scratching, fewer mistakes How did you get on? It was heartening that only 5.65% of the original respondents believed that the sentence containing the phrase ‘less people’ was OK, but I was mildly surprised that the correct sentences didn’t get more votes. For instance, I’d have expected a very high percentage of replies indicating that the ‘less difficult than you might think’ option was right. Fewer couldn’t be used in that sentence,