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.enXMOD (Build: 3598.39794)http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/2/zxzpl/Post.htm#514452Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:49:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:514452Tanit0http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/2/zxzpl/Post.htm#514452http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-514452.xml< more offtopic > Out of curiosity -- my Italian is quite bad -- is that "cavato"? It is " scolpito ". I don't think your Italian is bad at all. < /offtopic>http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/2/zxzpl/Post.htm#514224Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:49:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:514224CalifJim1http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/2/zxzpl/Post.htm#514224http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-514224.xml{off topic} Out of curiosity -- my Italian is quite bad -- is that "cavato"? CJhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/2/zxzpl/Post.htm#514199Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:49:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:514199Tanit2http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/2/zxzpl/Post.htm#514199http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-514199.xmlThanks, Alienvoord and CJ. We (my coauthor and I) sent the article nearly two months ago, and hopefully it will be published at the beginning of next year. We wrote " less than ... " as everybody here suggested. I must admit I was very confused, but now ... can I say it's carved in my mind? (this would be a literal translation form Italian )http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/2/zxzpl/Post.htm#514196Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:49:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:514196CalifJim3http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/2/zxzpl/Post.htm#514196http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-514196.xml"Less than * hectares": 647 results in universities' websites , 473 in governments' websites "Fewer than * hectares": 28 results in universities' websites , 16 in governments' websites I would imitate the usage of the majority here, and for all cases of measurements. I don't think it's necessary to take an extremely conservative path for these even in formal writing. In fact, the use of "fewer" in these cases sounds a bit rough on my ear -- as if the writer were trying just a little too hard to be proper and only succeeded in looking foolish. CJhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/2/zxzpl/Post.htm#514184Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:49:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:514184Alienvoord4http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/2/zxzpl/Post.htm#514184http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-514184.xmlless has been used with count nouns for 1000 years. The prescription against this usage has no foundation. Examples from Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage.http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488928Sun, 08 Feb 2009 19:49:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:488928Tanit5http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488928http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-488928.xmlThank you all. Your suggestions have been really helpful.http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488592Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:49:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:488592Yankee6http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488592http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-488592.xmlHi Tanit Here is the usage note from the American Heritage Dictionary: The traditional rule holds that fewer should be used for things that can be counted ( fewer than four players ), while less should be used with mass terms for things of measurable extent ( less paper; less than a gallon of paint ). However, less is used in some constructions where fewer would occur if the traditional rule were being followed. Less than can be used before a plural noun that denotes a measure of time, amount, or distance : less than three weeks; less than $400; less than 50 miles. Less is sometimes used with plural nouns in the expressions no less than (as in No less than 30 of his colleagues signed the letter ) and or less (as in Give your reasons...http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488591Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:49:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:488591Kooyeen7http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488591http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-488591.xmlHi Tanit, I never break prescriptive rules, because they don't exist! Edited English still follows the basic pattern rigorously, however, except in... ...and there are some exceptions. But then they say: Even in these, Edited English prefers fewer, and for many conservatives, the use of less where fewer is expected remains a strong shibboleth. So they say it's better to avoid considering those exceptions. I don't agree at all, for the simple reason that I doubt good writers would use fewer in "fewer than one hundred dollars", or "fewer than ten miles", but I might be wrong, you know, it's just my opinion.http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488589Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:49:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:488589Grammar Geek8http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488589http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-488589.xmlTanit, don't worry! Several months ago I came to a standstill because I instinctively "knew" that is should be less but felt like it was violating the countable rule. It was my friends here to provided a link to the same reference that reminded me that distance, area, and time could be thought of as one until (a journey of less than ten miles, etc.) So every once in a while, natives get flummoxed too!http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488588Fri, 08 May 2009 18:49:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:488588Tanit9http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488588http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-488588.xmlHi Goodman, Your post was not there when I posted yesterday, so let me thank you for replying. As I wrote earlier, I know the general use of less/fewer . What was bothering me was whether less or fewer should be used in the structure less/fewer + + in academic (written and formal) English. Thanks again.http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488149Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:49:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:488149Tanit10http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488149http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-488149.xmlHi K.! To learn that you can be prescriptive has been a great surprise! I thought you enjoyed learning rules only to come up with a clever way of breaking them! But as you know (hopefully you do know, lol), quantities followed by plural units of measurement are often considered as uncountable, taking account of the total amount and leaving aside the plurality of the units of measurement. Yep, I know, but for some reasons I cannot explain "less than X hectares" didn't seem quite right to my ear. I wanted to thank you for mentioning bartleby.com . I think I've probably found there the answer to my question (that is: " Which one should I use ?"): Standard English still usually requires this basic pattern: use...http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488143Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:49:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:488143Goodman11http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488143http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-488143.xmlGenerally, we can use this rule: Countable – use fewer Non-countable – use less. John’s car costs a lot less (money) to maintain than Paul’s John’s car costs a few less dollars to maintain. X gas station charges a few ( a few suggests countable) cents less per gallon than Y’s X gas station charges less ( money) than Y gas station There are times, less and fewer are interchangeably used: Since I installed the new software, I have received fewer / less SPAMS.http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488102Fri, 08 May 2009 18:49:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:488102Kooyeen12http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htm#488102http://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-488102.xmlHi Tanit, prescriptivism is not for me, but I can be prescriptive on demand! Yes, in theory it should be fewer, but only if you really want to refer to "hectares", which is plural and countable. But as you know (hopefully you do know, lol), quantities followed by plural units of measurement are often considered as uncountable, taking account of the total amount and leaving aside the plurality of the units of measurement. Now, the problem is... I can't give you a good example, because I still have trouble with this too! Ok, I'll try: About ten liters of water is needed for that chemical reaction. (Let's hope it is fine, LOL) Another thing is that those two words together (="less than") have become a kind...http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htmFri, 08 May 2009 18:49:45 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:488098Tanit13http://www.englishforums.com/English/LessFewerThan/zxzpl/post.htmhttp://www.englishforums.com/English/comments12-488098.xmlHi, I thought I knew the difference between less and fewer, but I'm now confused because I thought that "fewer" was the correct word here: Less than 0.7 hectares / fewer than 0.7 hectares Less than 2.5 hectares / fewer than 2.5 hectares I did a search on universities' and governments' websites, because I'm interested in formal written English (it's for an article I'm writing), and here are the results: "Less than * hectares": 647 results in universities' websites , 473 in governments' websites "Fewer than * hectares": 28 results in universities' websites , 16 in governments'