Madam, – The ubiquitous and inappropriate use of the word “less” in place of the word “fewer” continues to find its place with jarring and embarrassing regularity in media headlines or reports, as well as in public statements from authoritative sources.
This unwitting departure from the foundations of good grammar is glaringly evident on may fronts, as reflected in national newspapers, medical publications and television commercials.
While “less” and “fewer” may appear to mean the same thing their use is limited to specific circumstances.
“Fewer” is the appropriate word for numbers of separate items or people, where quantity or quality can be counted numerically.
“Less” is the appropriate word for quantities or qualities that cannot be counted individually. Thus, there are fewer people in the shops these days because there is less money available. The statement on the front page of your publication (June 2nd) that “less than 20 per cent of Leaving Cert students have opted . . .” is grammatically incorrect, and should read, “Fewer than 20 per cent . . .” – Yours, etc,