The other day I went to the grocery store and checked out in the express line. The sign above it said, "15 Items or Fewer." I thought, Finally, somebody got it right! Most stores' signs say, "15 Items or Less."
What's the difference? Fewer is used when you can count individual items; less is used for an indeterminate amount. For instance, "He watched fewer hours of sports on TV this week"; "He played sports less often."
Today I read this sentence in a book published by a major publisher: "Less people are in church on a weekly basis, and churches have fewer services each week." Both instances should be "fewer," since we can count both the number of people in church and the number of services.
Checking Write Right, I also found this: "Less takes a singular verb and fewer a plural one." The example given is "Less fat is needed if fewer calories are to be consumed."
