Kangiten  +  142274 Tue, 27 Sep 05 04:12 PM I read on the forums that less is sometimes used with plural nouns, especially those expressing distances or periods of time. Yet, technically, fewer is to be used in such cases so in the end, what's the correct form (by correct I mean both in terms of grammar and "how a native speaker would say it", if you see what I mean). "We can perform this task in less than 3 weeks" "We can perform this task in fewer than 3 weeks" Someone told me that the problem could be eliminated through the use of "under" i.e. "We can perform this task in under 3 weeks". So what's the best way of putting it? Kangiten Joined on Tue, Oct 26 2004 Full Member 116 Nouns, Grammar, Plurals

	Clive  +  142288 Tue, 27 Sep 05 04:52 PM Hi, Swan's Practical English Usage notes that 'in theory' fewer is used with plurals and less with uncountables. Swan goes on to say that in modern English, many people use less instead of fewer, especially in an informal style. Finally, he notes that 'Some people consider this incorrect'. If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Best wishes, Clive           Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,664 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo Plurals

	khoff  +  142305 Tue, 27 Sep 05 05:35 PM In this particular example -- "less than three weeks" vs. "fewer than three weeks" -- I would almost certainly use "less" because I'm thinking of "three weeks" as a single chunk of time, not as three individual weeks.  In other words, I would take "fewer than three weeks" to mean "two weeks or one week," while "less than three weeks" might mean 12 days, 16 days, 19 days, etc. khoff Joined on Sun, Mar 6 2005 Senior Member 3,278 Native speaker of American English (but not a grammar expert) Plurals

	goldmund  +  142603 Wed, 28 Sep 05 01:50 PM Dear friends, It is my belief that «less than three weeks» means «less than three» + «weeks». It is therefore perhaps that «less» qualifies «three», not «weeks». Kind regards, Goldmund   goldmund Joined on Fri, Jun 10 2005 Regular Member 581 «Tout homme peut dire véritablement; mais dire ordonnément, prudemment et suffisamment, peu d'hommes le peuvent.» - Michel de Montaigne Regards, Plurals