Reply to: Catalonia referendum: Thousands rally for Spanish unity

[Mordac]

Oh dear. I posted why prescriptive grammar claims that 'less' is incorrect, and why prescriptive grammar is demonstrably flawed, reflecting neither current nor historical usage.

Why don't you two get a room and re-create that scene from Life Of Brian...

[northernladyuk]

No it's not. It's incorrect.

You didn't even read what you quoted.

Refugees is a countable noun therefore fewer is correct here.

Oh dear. I posted why prescriptive grammar claims that 'less' is incorrect, and why prescriptive grammar is demonstrably flawed, reflecting neither current nor historical usage.

[Pip in a Poke]

1.'Less' is not a misspelling of 'fewer'. You mean, I think, that it is a grammatical error.
2. 'Less' is also grammatically correct.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fewer_vs._less

No it's not. It's incorrect.

You didn't even read what you quoted.

Refugees is a countable noun therefore fewer is correct here.

[northernladyuk]

Fewer

1.'Less' is not a misspelling of 'fewer'. You mean, I think, that it is a grammatical error.
2. 'Less' is also grammatically correct.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fewer_vs._less

According to prescriptive grammar, "fewer" should be used (instead of "less") with nouns for countable objects and concepts (discretely quantifiable nouns or count nouns). According to this rule, "less" should be used only with a grammatically singular noun (including mass nouns). However, descriptive grammarians (who describe language as actually used) point out that this rule does not correctly describe the most common usage of today or the past and in fact arose as an incorrect generalization of a personal preference expressed by a grammarian in 1770.

Historical usage[edit]
Less has always been used in English with counting nouns. Indeed, the application of the distinction between less and fewer as a rule is a phenomenon originating in the 18th century. On this, Merriam–Webster's Dictionary of English Usage notes:[1]
As far as we have been able to discover, the received rule originated in 1770 as a comment on 'less': This Word is most commonly used in speaking of a Number; where I should think Fewer would do better. "No Fewer than a Hundred" appears to me, not only more elegant than "No less than a Hundred," but more strictly proper. (Baker 1770). Baker's remarks about 'fewer' express clearly and modestly – 'I should think,' 'appears to me' – his own taste and preference....Notice how Baker's preference has been generalized and elevated to an absolute status and his notice of contrary usage has been omitted."

The oldest use that the Oxford English Dictionary gives for less with a count noun is a quotation from 888 by Alfred the Great.

Swa mid læs worda swa mid ma, swæðer we hit yereccan mayon.
With less words or with more, whether we may prove it.

This is in fact an Old English partitive construction using the "quasi-substantive" adverb læs and the genitive worda ("less of words"). When the genitive plural ceased to exist, less of words became less words, and this construction has been used since then until the present.

[Pip in a Poke]

And there we have it - a man with a St Georges flag asking for less refugees to be allowed into the Uk is now seen as racist.

As opposed to expressing an opinion and being proud of being British.

Thank you so much for completely proving the point.

Fewer

[northernladyuk]

And there we have it - a man with a St Georges flag asking for less refugees to be allowed into the Uk is now seen as racist.

As opposed to expressing an opinion and being proud of being British.

Thank you so much for completely proving the point.

Do you mean 'demonstrating' or 'testing' when you say 'proving'? Because to be fair to BB, the man with the flag probably is a racist. So you need to pull up BB on posting a picture of a probable racist with a flag as an example of flag-waving, rather than implying that the flag-waver in the picture is not a racist Your approach just makes you look like an idiot or a racist, probably both.

You would be better posting a photo like this to demonstrate a positive image of flag waving.

[BlasterBates]

And there we have it - a man with a St Georges flag asking for less refugees to be allowed into the Uk is now seen as racist.

As opposed to expressing an opinion and being proud of being British.

Thank you so much for completely proving the point.

Where do you see a statement about him being racist ?

If it floats your boat go ahead and wave the flag.

[original PM]

Indeed....plenty of people proud to wave their national flag.

And there we have it - a man with a St Georges flag asking for less refugees to be allowed into the Uk is now seen as racist.

As opposed to expressing an opinion and being proud of being British.

Thank you so much for completely proving the point.

[northernladyuk]

Oh wow man thats like invading my safe space duuuuuuuude.

Ask your Mum to double lock the front door.

[BlasterBates]

Indeed....plenty of people proud to wave their national flag.

[sasguru]

Oh wow man thats like invading my safe space duuuuuuuude.

It's not PC that's keeping you down, it's your low IQ.

[original PM]

Who cares if somebody tells you that? Stop being such a professional offence taking victim and lead your life how you want to. Have you ever tried flying the Union Flag or St George's Cross? If not, give it a go if that's your thing.

Oh wow man thats like invading my safe space duuuuuuuude.

[northernladyuk]

That's because in England we have been told that flying the Union Jack and being white is racist.

Unless you are gay or muslim


Cannot wait for Labour to get in

Who cares if somebody tells you that? Stop being such a professional offence taking victim and lead your life how you want to. Have you ever tried flying the Union Flag or St George's Cross? If not, give it a go if that's your thing.

[northernladuk]

That's because in England we have been told that flying the Union Jack and being white is racist.

Unless you are gay or muslim


Cannot wait for Labour to get in

Flying the what?

[original PM]

I was around Madrid last Sunday on the day of the referendum vote and I was watching these 'Spanish Nationalist' supporters coming back from a rally in central Madrid and they seemed to be a good mix of youths with Spanish flag capes and well dressed, middle class couples and older respectfully dressed citizens (the types that stepped out of church on Sunday in Britain). Not the types that you would see at a nationalist rally on the streets of the U.K. There was no trouble and people did not seem guilty or worried, walking home, even alone with a Spanish flag or cape on their person. Try that with a Union Jack flag around a trendy left wing area of London (Primrose Hill) and see what you get..

That's because in England we have been told that flying the Union Jack and being white is racist.

Unless you are gay or muslim


Cannot wait for Labour to get in