http://www.englishforums.com/English/EslGeneralEnglishGrammar-Questions/Forum12.htmAsk your questions on grammar and get your sentence checked. We answer lots of different types of general English grammar questions here. <font color=red>DO NOT post paragraphs and compositions here. Post them in our <a href="http://www.englishforums.com/English/EssayReportCompositionWriting/Forum9.htm"><b>Essay, Report and Composition Writing Forum</b></a>.</font>enXMOD (Build: 3607.32596)http://www.englishforums.com/English/ASpecialTrickyCaseLess-Fewer/dmmkl/post.htm#313291Sat, 23 May 2009 11:35:57 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:313291Dawnstorm0http://www.englishforums.com/English/ASpecialTrickyCaseLess-Fewer/dmmkl/post.htm#313291http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-313291.xmlI think measurments trigger "less", because you're usually thinking of the scale and not of the countable units. For example, if you ask me: "How long did it take you to read that book?" I could answer: "Less than a week," or "Less than seven days," and I'd have given you the same information. In such a context, weeks and days are countable, but they're not counted; they're used to express an estimated period (which is not countable). Of course, I could be led to think of the units of measurment rather than the period. If you'd ask me, for example, "How many days did it take you to read that book?" the "how many" might trigger: "Fewer than seven" instead.http://www.englishforums.com/English/ASpecialTrickyCaseLess-Fewer/dmmkl/post.htm#313239Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:35:57 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:313239MrPedantic1http://www.englishforums.com/English/ASpecialTrickyCaseLess-Fewer/dmmkl/post.htm#313239http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-313239.xmlHello Anon It's an interesting point. 1. There's less than 2 pints of water in that jug. 2. There are fewer than 2 pints of water in that jug. It seems to me that (generally speaking) #1 would be the default phrase: you would use it for any quantity under 2 pints. #2 on the other hand does seem to imply whole units (i.e. pints, in this context). The "rule" seems to apply in other contexts too: 3. ?There are fewer than 237.6 shopping days till Christmas. Perhaps any number that is not a whole number is essentially non-countable. It might then work like this: a) Between 0 and 237.6 there are infinitely many numbers. b) When we say "237.6", we imply a context that includes those infinitely many numbers. c)...http://www.englishforums.com/English/ASpecialTrickyCaseLess-Fewer/dmmkl/post.htmMon, 23 Mar 2009 12:35:57 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:313168Anonymous2http://www.englishforums.com/English/ASpecialTrickyCaseLess-Fewer/dmmkl/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-313168.xmlI understand the basic difference between less and fewer: you use "less" for things that aren't counted (There is less water in the pool than yesterday; I feel less hungry now than before). You use "fewer" for things that are counted (There are fewer than eight cars in my garage; There are fewer jellybeans in that jar than you think). What if what you're describing IS countable but you don't mean a full unit less? For example.... if I said, "There are fewer than two gallons of water in that jug" this suggests that there are 0 or 1 gallons. But what if the amount is 1.9 gallons? There aren't really "fewer" than 2 gallons, since rounded off 1.9 is 2 anyway, but there Is "less" than 2 gallons in there... right? The same can go with...