More or Less

Of the four major supermarket chains in Britain, it is Waitrose who have taken a stand on correct grammar at the checkout. Most chains of supermarkets have a "fast lane" for people who have only a few purchases, and most stores around Britain have bold signs that state: "6 (or whatever number they have decided on) items or less." Waitrose is the gramatically correct exception with the sign - this one is in in their Peterborough store - "6 items or fewer." The rule about "less" and "fewer" is that the latter should apply to quantities that are easily identified as being made up of individual units. The mnemonic that I was taught was "Fewer than six bottles will cost less than five pounds." Bottles can only be subdivided as individual units, whereas pounds can be subdivided into pounds and pence. To many people this will sound pedantic, but others will smile when they see traditional English usage, and the same people probably cringe at incorrect grammar.

Liverpool has two locations for its renowned football teams, and the council has been very conscientious in the road signs around the city. The signs say "Football Stadia." When I was driving there earlier this year, I smiled. My Latin teacher would have been pleased, because the correct plural of stadium is stadia. But how many football supporters studied Latin, and wouldn't "Stadiums" be more readily understood by most motorists? If you're printing leaflets that advertise places to book a holiday, should you write "travel bureaus" or the more correct "travel bureaux?"

Purists would argue that something cannot be "more correct."
It's either correct or it isn't. To take another example,would you object to "my writing this..." - which is grammatically correct, while "me writing this" is wrong in this context? But gerunds - as Nigel Molesworth would certainly have claimed in Down with Skool and How to be Topp - are dead. And I choose him as the example because I suspect that less than 5% of you will have any idea about Nigel, or any of the other characters that kept me amused when I was in short trousers. All of which serves nicely to make my point.

Being right or being clever or witty won't serve the purpose. The objective is to get your message across, whether you are preparing a presentation, or a document, or a speech. It will serve no purpose if your audience go blank at the mention of Nigel Molesworth. Similarly your customer for a holiday might think "bureaux" is a misprint, while your motorist could take a wrong turning at "football stadia."

It's all about communication. Always. It's not what you write, it's what they read, and it's not what you say, it's what they hear.

But when all is said and done, I still admire Waitrose... more or less.