I've just received a memo which says (effectively)
As more people leave, there will be less people available.
I want that word to be fewer. Are there guidelines for which word ought to be used when?
countable-nounsuncountable-nounsword-choice
I've just received a memo which says (effectively)
As more people leave, there will be less people available.
I want that word to be fewer. Are there guidelines for which word ought to be used when?
Best Answer
Ah, less vs. fewer. Another arrow in the prescriptivist’s quiver of pointless pedantry.
There's even a Wikipedia article about the dispute. There is also a Language Log entry about the matter too.
According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, a usage guide that looks carefully at the history of usage advice, the rule creating a clear separation for less and fewer was invented in 1770 by Rober Baker in his book Reflections on the English Language, where he wrote in a comment on less:
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage authors then comment:
They then give many examples of usage of less for countable quantities, and add finally:
With regards to the example in the original question, either fewer or less would be perfectly grammatical, but so many people are under the spell of the rule that less must never be used with countable nouns that anyone who doesn’t follow the rule may be subject to criticism.
Edit 2010-09-28:
The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language also weighs in on less vs. fewer: