And now for a little science.

[twoeyedgirl]

Unlike the delightful Barrow sun, which I think I have mentioned on one or eight occasions, the evil Grand Rapids sun beats down with relentless ferocity. It wrenches drops of sweat from even the most stationary skin with boundless efficiency. I worked at the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, Michigan last summer, selling birdseed glued to a stick and

Comments

[brandonkwest]

Blame NCLB for inhibiting creative science instruction in the [elementary] classroom!

[a_human_mind]

What's the difference between less and fewer?

[twoeyedgirl]

Less is for things you can't count, and fewer is for things that are countable.

[a_human_mind]

but 14 is lesser than 17, so if you have 17 cigarettes and smoke 3 you can't say that "I have less cigarettes than before.", you have to say "I have fewer cigarettes than before." ?

Can't you just treat things that are countable as if they are continuous rather than discreet? Sometimes you can't count things that could be counted anyway. Like if you have a five-gallon bucket of legos and you know some are missing, you know you have less amount of legos, even though it is some certain fewer number.

And if you know you have lost five legos you can't say I have five less legos than before?

It just seems like less should be ok a lot of the time but fewer I can see how it can only be for discreet things.