- By Jim Evans
- Entertainment
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SMART TALK SMART TALK by Dr. Thorn Schwa
140 CHARACTERS OR LESS: Down here in Underbelly, Texas, we at the Center for English as a First Language have heard of a Northeastern supermarket chain with signs saying 15 Items or Fewer over the express registers. This astonishes us. If they hire staff who actually speak English as a first language, imagine their stores. No produce signs advertising apple's or banana's or peach's. Maybe they even have Parking for Handicapped instead of Handicapped Parking; who knows?
Not knowing the difference between less and fewer indicates a language deficiency. We can treat it, and even move on to the difference between that and which. We have great success, but potential patients too often aren't even aware of their disorder.
Here's how it works: Less always refers to volume. Fewer always refers to numbers. Always!
Less dough makes fewer cookies. Less gas will take you fewer miles. One person fewer (NOT one less person) makes less of a crowd. Owning less stock means you own fewer shares.
Is this at least starting to sink in? If it is, you'll notice that whoever says 140 characters or less is a twit.
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