Thread: Ebay & Spelling

Originally Posted by vnx205

As spelling has already been mentioned, am I allowed to raise a grammatical point and explain that it doesn't take less keystrokes, it takes fewer keystrokes?

Less is for quantity, fewer is for numbers. So "disco*" takes up less space because it uses fewer keystrokes.

Hmm ... from the online Oxford Dictionaries - Grammar Tips: ('Less' or 'fewer'? : Oxford Dictionaries Online):

'Less' or 'fewer'?
People often don’t know when to use less and when to use fewer in a sentence. Here’s how to get it right.

Use fewer if you’re referring to people or things in the plural (e.g. houses, newspapers, dogs, students, children). For example:

People these days are buying fewer newspapers.
Fewer students are opting to study science-related subjects.
Fewer than thirty children each year develop the disease.

Use less when you’re referring to something that can’t be counted or doesn’t have a plural (e.g. money, air, time, music, rain). For example:

It’s a better job but they pay you less money.
People want to spend less time in traffic jams.
Ironically, when I’m on tour, I listen to less music.

Less is also used with numbers when they are on their own and with expressions of measurement or time, e.g.:

His weight fell from 18 stone to less than 12.
Their marriage lasted less than two years.
Heath Square is less than four miles away from Dublin city centre.

Cheers
KarlB

Careful not to tear your grammatical T-shirts there boys, with all that flexing

Originally Posted by vnx205

As spelling has already been mentioned, am I allowed to raise a grammatical point and explain that it doesn't take less keystrokes, it takes fewer keystrokes?

Less is for quantity, fewer is for numbers. So "disco*" takes up less space because it uses fewer keystrokes.

Originally Posted by KarlB

Hmm ... from the online Oxford Dictionaries - Grammar Tips: ('Less' or 'fewer'? : Oxford Dictionaries Online):

'Less' or 'fewer'?
People often don’t know when to use less and when to use fewer in a sentence. Here’s how to get it right.

Use fewer if you’re referring to people or things in the plural (e.g. houses, newspapers, dogs, students, children or keystrokes). For example:

People these days are buying fewer newspapers.
Fewer students are opting to study science-related subjects.
Fewer than thirty children each year develop the disease.

Use less when you’re referring to something that can’t be counted or doesn’t have a plural (e.g. money, air, time, music, rain). For example:

It’s a better job but they pay you less money.
People want to spend less time in traffic jams.
Ironically, when I’m on tour, I listen to less music.

Less is also used with numbers when they are on their own and with expressions of measurement or time, e.g.:

His weight fell from 18 stone to less than 12.
Their marriage lasted less than two years.
Heath Square is less than four miles away from Dublin city centre.

Cheers
KarlB

Originally Posted by Sprint

Thankyou Ron.

I thought Ron might be away on holidays over Christmas and was worried that standards might slip in his absence. However, it appears that there are others ready to step up to ensure that standards are maintained.

^^^^ al lks nrml ta sme

Does make it more difficult to get a hit with any search for sure.