Tip 638: Troublesome Words Four

From the Writing Workshops: Troublesome Words Four 

We’re still exploring troublesome words—words that will get you in trouble if you use them incorrectly.

Number and Amount

Use number when you can count the items: “The number of workshop participants increased from Monday to Tuesday.” You can count the number of participants: one, two, three . . . . 

Use amount when you can’t count the items “The amount of learning increased on Tuesday.” You can’t count the amount of learning. 

Fewer and Less

Similar to number and amount. 

Use fewer when you can count the items: “Fewer participants attended on Tuesday.” Again, you can count the number of participants: one, two, three . . . . 

Use less when you can’t count the items “The participants on Monday learned less than the ones on Tuesday.” Again, you can’t count the amount of learning. 

The Dreaded Exception: Time and Money

Generally, use less even when talking specifics in two situations: time and money.  

“We have less than three hours to finish the proposal.” (Time: Hours.)  

“We have less than eight dollars in the budget.” (Money: Dollars.) 

(About the only time you’d say “I have fewer than eight dollars” is when you’re referring to the paper dollars in your wallet.)  

What are your challenges? Let us know, and we’ll address them in future tips.

(Our next tip will be about the Fourth of July, but we’ll come back to troublesome words after that. We’ve got several requests to address.)

We love this stuff. We appreciate you. A lot. (Two words: “A lot.” Because alot makes as much sense as alittle.”)