It’s fewer, Asda, not less
Friday 16th January 2009, 9:55AM GMT.
Blogger Andrew Owen writes: According to our friends at Asda, their campaign against the mountain of waste going to landfill means that “together we’re using less bags”. Actually, no we’re not: we’re using fewer.
Now, they say people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, and God knows I’m aware that any English teacher could probably drive a coach and horses through some of my jottings, but I felt duty bound to point out the error after I saw it in the chain’s Donnington Wood branch.
To be fair to Asda, their spokeswoman did apologise (although she did say they were pleased that at least someone had noticed the sign). It was a mistake, she said. The wording should never have been approved and Asda would look into getting it changed – a big job considering the sign is part of a nationwide promotion.
For those who are not sure why “less” is wrong in this context, I’ll refer you to the late author Kingsley Amis. Fewer, he said, “can properly be used of countable entities like cabbages and kings. The word for a smaller quantity of something uncountable, like sugar and spice, is less. We speak or write of less sugar but fewer cabbages.”
According to the Government our education system has never been in better health. GCSE passes are going through the roof. We’re all right brainboxes and no mistake. And yet (by the way, Amis says there is no rule against starting a sentence with ‘and’ or ‘but’) a mistake like that gets through.
Is it important? I think so. If you cannot use your own language properly how are you going to get anywhere in the world?
I certainly wish we’d spent more time on the basics when I was at school in the late 1980s. I feel like I’ve been trying to catch up in my own time ever since.
Still, the more I learn, the less errors I hope I make.*
*Yes, I know. It’s deliberate.
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I agree wholeheartedly with your concerns Mr. Owen. In the penultimate paragraph of your writing you should have written, “I certainly wish we’d spent ……….” I assume that the incorrect use of “less errors” rather than “fewer errors” is an ironical twist. If it is not, I fear that you have been hoist with your own petard!
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If the letters I read constantly in all the ‘Have Your Say’ boxes of newspapers online are anything to go by, our education system is turning out the poorest spelling and grammar I have ever seen. I attended school in the 1950′s, an ‘ordinary’ secondary modern in a lower income area of Wolverhampton, but I am light years ahead of most readers responding to articles in papers. Today, there seems no importance placed on spelling and grammar, but, incorrect usage of words can misconstrue what is being said, also, capital letters are constantly being missed. God help employers of the future.
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That sign seems to have slipped through several nets.
Somebody in Marketing made the original error, but somebody else must have given their approval.
The sign printers failed to point out the error to Asda.
The store manager didn’t spot the error. Presumably, neither did any other of Asda’s store managers, otherwise a swift email back to head office from at least one of them should have halted the campaign in its tracks.
To think that this embarrassing error has gone unnoticed by so many people is quite a sad indicator of slack English teaching methods.
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I’m amazed and relieved that all the comments on this thread appear very literate. There is a welcome lack of ‘txt spk’ so often used by some regular posters. They probably do not see the point of the article, and no doubt think that anyone who cares about correct grammar is a nitpicking egghead.
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I completely agree in principle – the standard of English usage is going completely down the pan. And yes, we’re all guilty of slip ups – noone can use perfect grammar all the time. In my training as a copywriter, the rule is ‘be consistent’ – if you’re going to do it, do it always.
Personally, I’m not that offended by it. After all, the number of plastic bags we use is probably beyond a “countable entity”…
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What makes you so sure teaching methods are to blame for this? We were taught a lot about English grammar at school, yet you would not think so if you observed the way those pupils communicate today. It’s not the teaching; it’s the environment they now live in. The fact that they don’t care and are not made to care. Chances are they left school knowing full well that they should have used “fewer” in that sentence. Blaming the teachers is often the easy cop out. In reality it’s down to the individual to maintain his or her grasp of what is right and what is wrong.
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@Julian: I deliberately said “teaching methods”, not “teachers”. I’m going by my own experience in the 80s, where the technical content of English Language lessons was virtually non-existent. For some unfathomable reason the rules and basics of English grammar were never drilled into us, lessons were just so… woolly; they seemed to lack purpose. I had to work it out for myself, using a bizarre combination of French grammar, which was taught well, and science text books, which were technically perfect in their use of English language.
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Fair enough, your experience sounds bad. Mine was a lot better. I still feel that the teaching methods you experienced a decade or two ago is a feeble excuse for your grammatical abilities of today. School is only ever going to be able to get you so far. After that you can sit on your backside or you can improve yourself.
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“I feel like I’ve been trying to catch up in my own time ever since.”
I feel like? like what? a potato?
I think you mean “I feel as if” – but I could just be out of touch.
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Who cares what it says??? We all know exactly waht it means, so why bother discussing it.
According to the Plain English Commission if a phrase conveys its meaning in easy to understand words, at the first reading, then its fine.
The ‘winner’ out of this discussion is Asda who get people talking about them. Fair play to them!!
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One of the worst howlers I ever saw was an advertisement for a car dealer in the Telford Journal.
It made liberal and quite incorrect use of the apostrophe. Apparently on sale were: Ford’s, Peugeot’s, Citroen’s and, I kid you not, even Mercede’s.
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Peter, that’s one of my biggest pet peeves in the whole world. Grr random apostrophes! You see them everywhere! My favourite is something along the lines of; “tapes, videos and CD’s” – why put it in CDs and none of the others!?!? I suppose 2 out of 3 ain’t bad. And it’s/its! The best way I’ve ever found to remember that is:
It’s its not it’s unless it’s it is.
Saves me every time!
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The irony in scrapping and replacing these signs to replace them when thee signs are conveying a message relating to the environment is hilarious – how many fewer (less?) bags are required to offset the goof.
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Townie,
But even the misuse of the apostrophe is fraught with disagreement. It’s (correct usage there!) commonly referred to as ‘The greenrocer’s apostrophe’ e.g. ‘Cucumber’s, apple’s’ etc.
But is it “Greengrocer’s” or “Greengrocers’”?
I suppose it depends upon whether or not the original slur on those of that trade was aimed at one in particular or the trade in general.
(Apologies to any fully-literate greengrocers reading!).
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I have been wondering if there was a branch of the league of Pedants in Shropshire. Could one of the earlier writers confirm?
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Someone I know emailed Asda about this and the response was, they knew it was incorrect, but language evolves and Asda want to appear friendly and modern. Can anyone explain how ‘less’ is more friendly than ‘fewer’. I call it ignorance masuerading as progress.
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PS
My mistake in spelling masquerading was a typing error!
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