Constance L. Lieber

“More” is easy. You can have more sisters and more sand, more items and more money; more cookies and more cake. But just try to have less . . . er, fewer! Let’s see: fewer cookies or less cookies? Fewer sand or less sand? Does your ear tell you which is correct? I try not to be a pain. My daughter calls me the “grammar Nazi”. She does it with a fond smile (or so I imagine), but it does annoy my inner grammar editor when I hear, for example, “less aunts” or “fewer cake.” I think I know how to tell the difference. But to make sure, I went to the Grammar Girls for guidance. On their website (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/less-versus-fewer.aspx) they confirm that you use “less” with mass nouns and “fewer” with nouns you can count. So: fewer cookies and fewer items — you can count cookies and items. But: less cake and less sand. You can’t count cake or sand: they are mass units. (But you can count pieces of cake: fewer pieces).
What I did not know is that it is now standard to use “less” with time, money and distance. So: less miles (even though you can count them), less minutes and less quarters. My ear still burns, even though they say this is preferred!
I wonder if “fewer” is on the same trajectory as “said” and “me”: on the slow way out of use. These words are being used less and less in favor of “less,” “go,” and “I.” But that is one of the fascinating things about language. It is not static, but ever evolving. Even if I have to remind myself sometimes that that is OK. So I won’t even blink the next time I am at the grocery store, standing in line at the “10 items or less” cashier.