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brento1138
Joined: 17 Nov 2004
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 Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 4:27 pm Post subject: Less Friends vs. Fewer Friends |
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So, I heard from another teacher that saying "less friends" or "less people" in any sentence is incorrect. It should always be "fewer." But is this correct? I thought that saying "less friends" is fine...
How can I check into this? |
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PigeonFart
Joined: 27 Apr 2006
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 4:39 pm Post subject: |
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Hi,
I can't tell you the answer because i don't know. In fact, i'd guess that most english speakers don't know.
But i'm pretty sure there's a pedantic person out there who cares about such matters, and he's just the kind of person who would have "less" or "fewer" friends. 
sorry i couldn't answer your question. |
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ajosshi
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Location: ajosshi.com
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 4:49 pm Post subject: Re: Less Friends vs. Fewer Friends |
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| brento1138 wrote: |
So, I heard from another teacher that saying "less friends" or "less people" in any sentence is incorrect. It should always be "fewer." But is this correct? I thought that saying "less friends" is fine...
How can I check into this? |
Fewer. If you can count 'em, it's fewer. If you can't, it's less. Make sense? |
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Draz
Joined: 27 Jun 2007
Location: Land of Morning Clam
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 5:33 pm Post subject: Re: Less Friends vs. Fewer Friends |
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| ajosshi wrote: |
| brento1138 wrote: |
So, I heard from another teacher that saying "less friends" or "less people" in any sentence is incorrect. It should always be "fewer." But is this correct? I thought that saying "less friends" is fine...
How can I check into this? |
Fewer. If you can count 'em, it's fewer. If you can't, it's less. Make sense? |
This is true in written English but in conversational English, most people say less for both countable and uncountable nouns.
This comes straight from my conversation class textbook so it's got to be true.  |
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brento1138
Joined: 17 Nov 2004
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 6:00 pm Post subject: Re: Less Friends vs. Fewer Friends |
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Cool, thanks everyone!  |
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mmstyle
Joined: 17 Apr 2006
Location: wherever
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 6:03 pm Post subject: |
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Fewer. Countable nouns. Draz, no disrespect, but most people I know don't say less, even in spoken English. But maybe it's just because I correct them. It's a peeve of mine. Like people who say "lieberry" instead of "library."
Hmmm, thinking of a thread. |
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oldtrafford
Joined: 12 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 6:15 pm Post subject: |
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| And you need to take a chill pill for goodness sake. Do you go around saying 'what's up'? |
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garybliss123
Joined: 03 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 7:02 pm Post subject: |
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| mmstyle wrote: |
Fewer. Countable nouns. Draz, no disrespect, but most people I know don't say less, even in spoken English. But maybe it's just because I correct them. It's a peeve of mine. Like people who say "lieberry" instead of "library."
Hmmm, thinking of a thread. |
Friends that correct all of their friend's mistakes probably aren't as well liked as they think they are. |
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oldtrafford
Joined: 12 Jan 2011
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 9:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Too rate Gary la! |
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Darkeru
Joined: 21 Apr 2010
Location: England
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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I want to say less. Reading fewer seems okay, but saying it sounds like I'm quoting a textbook.
One thing my TESOL teacher used to say is that if everyone says it, it's the correct way, even if the grammar is wrong. |
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Reise-ohne-Ende
Joined: 07 Sep 2009
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| Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2011 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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