gnote - description - less vs fewer
Paul W. Frields
stickster at gmail.com
Fri Jun 5 11:34:51 UTC 2009
On Thu, Jun 04, 2009 at 09:12:32PM +0530, Rahul Sundaram wrote:
> Hi
>
> # yum info gnote
>
> "Gnote is a desktop note-taking application which is simple and easy
> to use. It lets you organize your notes intelligently by allowing
> you to easily link ideas together with Wiki style interconnects. It
> is a port of Tomboy to C++ and consumes less resources."
>
> Should I have used fewer instead?
The rule for "less" versus "fewer" in English is:
* If you can count the following noun, use "fewer." Typically plural
nouns will use "fewer."
* If you can't count the noun, use "less." Typically singular nouns,
or nouns of indefinite quantity, will use "less."
Examples:
* I have a lot less time than I used to have.
* There seem to be fewer spare hours in each day.
Although the *idea* of resources in your sentence is sort of hazy and
general, which would point to "less," the fact is that it's a plural
noun and in the strict sense, "fewer" is correct.
--
Paul W. Frields ("Grammar fascist at work!") http://paul.frields.org/
gpg fingerprint: 3DA6 A0AC 6D58 FEC4 0233 5906 ACDB C937 BD11 3717
http://redhat.com/ - - - - http://pfrields.fedorapeople.org/
irc.freenode.net: stickster @ #fedora-docs, #fedora-devel, #fredlug
More information about the docs
mailing list