Dear Readers,
It's time we had a memorial service for the sadly departed adjective fewer.
It has been replaced by the similar but different word less. What is the difference?
Fewer is an adjective which means "of a smaller number," the key word being number.
Less, as an adverb, means "to a smaller extent, amount or degree." Less, as an adjective, means "smaller in size, amount, degree." According to
Elements of Style by Strunk and White, "Less refers to quantity, fewer to number." Quantity refers to mass nouns (like milk, e.g. less milk) and number refers to count nouns, or things that can become plural (like books, e.g. fewer books). They are not interchangeable.
Let's take a look at some instances where less has been substituted for fewer.
EXAMPLE: On America's Got Talent, Episode 18 of 2012, Judge Howie Mandel explains to a musical group about the audience voters at home. He says, "If they just like you, but they don't know the song, you get less votes." Since "votes" is a plural noun, the phrase should be "fewer votes."
EXAMPLE: In the episode entitled "Noosphere Rising" of the tv show "Touch," a girl is writing a blog about the boys she has dated. In it she says, "The world needs more Paolos and less Daryls."
Since "Daryls" can be counted, the word should be "fewer Daryls."
EXAMPLE: In a People magazine interview with singer/songwriter Vince Gill, he is quoted as saying, "I know I have less years left than I've already lived." Of course he should have said,
"fewer years" because we can count the years.
EXAMPLE: On KABC Talkradio at 10:29am July 17, 2012, host Joe Krumme uses the expression
"less taxes." No doubt it should be "fewer taxes" since taxes is a count noun.
EXAMPLE: The logo for TNT television network says, "More movie ... less commercials."
What should it be? You now know, "fewer commercials" because commercials can be counted.
Here is an example of both wrong and right usage of the word less heard uttered by Jim Caviezel's character John Reese in tv's "Person of Interest": "It's safer for both of them. The less people that know about [detective] Fusco, the less danger he's in." Using less with "people" is incorrect since the word people refers to plural individuals. It should be fewer people. In the second part, "danger" is a mass noun and therefore less is correct.
These examples use few + less together, which is just so wrong it's laughable.
EXAMPLE: In the novel "Four to Score" by Janet Evanovich, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum describes a lustful evening with cop friend Joe Morelli: "Two hours later there were a few less condoms in the box..." Why didn't she just say "FEWER condoms"???
EXAMPLE: On tv's "Criminal Minds" episode "The Fallen," FBI Agent Rossi is talking to his former Marine sergeant who is now homeless and a witness to an abduction. The sergeant says,
"I let him get away. I had that son of a bitch right in my hands." Rossi responds, "A few less drinks might have helped." Of course we now know it should be "FEWER drinks."
Now for some examples of the happily resurrected word fewer.
EXAMPLE: In Dennis Prager's book Happiness is a Serious Problem, he writes, "... how different the world would be if everyone were raised from birth by a happy, healthy, loving, attentive, and ethical mother and father. There would be far fewer police officers needed, far fewer wars fought, and far fewer books on happiness written." Yea for Dennis!
EXAMPLE: Sean Hannity, on KABC Talkradio from October 16, 2012 at 2:12pm said, "We've created fewer jobs in September than in July." Good job, Sean, "jobs" is a plural noun.
EXAMPLE: On the September 23, 2012 airing of "60 Minutes," President Obama said, "When it comes to regulations, I've issued fewer regulations than my predecessor George Bush did." Hurray, Mr. President.
EXAMPLE: Narrator Josh Brolin of the series "Mankind: The Story of All of Us" explains:
"At the beginning of mankind, there are perhaps only 10,000 humans on the planet, fewer people than are born in a single hour today." Correct! "People" being plural needs fewer as the adjective.
Well done.
In the future, I hope you will encounter fewer misuses of the word LESS. The less said the better.
