Why is it fewer than less

Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects. MLA 8 Kaushik, Nimisha. Name required. Email required. Please note: comment moderation is enabled and may delay your comment. There is no need to resubmit your comment. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail.

Written by : Nimisha Kaushik. User assumes all risk of use, damage, or injury. Is this too much? What I ask is not that you use "10 items or less" in your own writing; it carries even more risk than using the "one-less-banana" construction. Her popular LinkedIn Learning courses help people write better to communicate better. Jump to Navigation. By Mignon Fogarty Grammar Girl. January 30, We are currently experiencing playback issues on Safari.

If you would like to listen to the audio, please use Google Chrome or Firefox. As an Amazon Associate and a Bookshop. If you can count it, go for fewer. Since the reign of Alfred the Great, a time when Old English was spoken, less has been used in the same way that fewer is currently used. If we know the intended meaning of the supermarket signs, does using fewer or less really matter? To many who have internalized the fewer or less distinction, the answer is yes.

Using less where fewer is expected will sound jarring to their ears, so consider this as you count items or amounts in the future.