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A recent study has shown that there are less people than ever who understand the difference between ‘less’ and ‘fewer’.
It is thought that these people do not show any signs of fewer intelligence but probably had less opportunities to learn the difference between the two words.
“I think people just spent fewer time thinking about the difference between less and fewer,” said Simon Williams, the language expert in charge of the study.
“Consequently, there were less correct answers on the survey leading to an indication that there is fewer overall knowledge as to when to use the words correctly.”
The survey consisted of a test in which subjects had to answer twenty questions in fewer than five minutes.
Although there were less subjects who took the full five minutes to answer the questions, there seemed to be fewer understanding overall of the topic, as indicated by the less number of correct answers submitted by participants.
“I suppose that we are seeing fewer and fewer of the education budget spent on the topic in less schools overall,” said Professor Williams.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if there is less and less people with even fewer comprehension of the difference between the two words in future tests. It’s a problem that’s only going to get worse.”
It is thought there are also less people who couldn’t care fewer whether there are less people who understand the difference between ‘less’ and ‘fewer’ as most normal people have far fewer time to spend on this sort of nonsense.
