February 21, 1997

less/fewer

Is the word "less" in "10 items or less" at the supermarket acceptable if one argues that "less" refers to an uncountable noun such as "quantity" instead of "items"?

Let's just go back a bit to review the history of the less/fewer debate before we look at this particular question.

A traditional rule of English usage holds that less should be used only of uncountable things, that is, things that can be measured but not counted as discrete units. Thus "less electricity," "less than a quart," "less doubt." Fewer, on the other hand, should be used only of things that can be counted: "fewer people," "fewer cars."

According to this rule, less should modify plural nouns only when they suggest combination into a unit, group, or aggregation. Thus "less than three miles" (with "three miles" being a single distance, not three individual miles), "less than $50" (fifty dollars as a sum of money, not fifty one-dollar bills).

In actual usage, fewer almost always adheres to the traditional rule; the "problem" is that less is often used with countable things. (It is worth mentioning here that the traditional rule has little basis in reality; less has been used with countables since the ninth century, and such use is easily found in the works of major writers throughout the history of English literature. Why the rule got adopted with such intensity is an interesting question, but for our purposes is beside the point.)

It seems that there are two constructions in which less is often used with countable things: less than (including "no less than") and or less. Thus, "less than two hundred people" and "fifty words or less" are very common constructions, and many people regard these as acceptable.

To return to your original question, then, it seems quite clear to me that "item" is a countable thing no matter how you look at it. Not only is it conceptually countable, but in the scenario you mention, ten items would be permissible for a place on the express line, but eleven would not, period. (Of course, how one determines an "item" is up to the supermarket--a bag of four onions could be considered one bag or four individual onions. Either way, however, you are asked to conform to a specific number, not a general quantity.) So if you're strictly adhering to the traditional rule, you'd have to say that "10 items or less" is not acceptable, and it should properly read "10 items or fewer." Since, as mentioned, the "or less" construction is common even with countables, and the "rule" is not based on much anyway, I myself wouldn't worry about correcting the supermarket.