More or Less, More or Fewer, Fewer or Less …
The distinction between less and fewer often causes confusionThe rule that’s most often given in style guides is to use ‘less’ for quantity and 'fewer’ for number Easier said than done!In 'Troublesome Words', Bill Bryson gives a different rule, and one that I think is easier to apply: use ‘less’ with singular nouns and 'fewer' with plural nouns (so less alcohol, but fewer drinks; less time, fewer appointments)A neat illustration of the less vs fewer problem is a...
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One of my writerly pastimes involves pulling apart interesting sentences I like to think about the meaning of sentences, and the choices that writers make Here’s a sentence from a box of Kellogg’s breakfast cereal: ‘The GI or Glycemic Index is a classification based on how quickly or slowly a carbohydrate is absorbed as glucose into the bloodstream’ It's a single sentence that sits alone on the box, under a GI logo Surely there must be a simpler way to...
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