Less and fewer: A simple explanation about comparisons

One of the most irksome things, to me, anyways, is the conflation of less and fewer.

Here, we can see an example of that in action

He says "less resources", but he means "fewer" resources

http://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/4/24/15286624/race-rural-america-trump-politics-media

To review:

Less is used for non-count nouns ("Humans have less to gain by looking for bigfoot, and more to gain from actual science"). Fewer is used for count nouns ("There have been fewer reports of Bigfoot since the advent of the cell phone camera").

In one case, you can count something ("15 items or fewer"), and in the other case you're using a much more figurative comparison.

Irksome, indeed.

The Case of the Missing Article

This one is not a pet-peeve, but still very funny.

I was watching Desperate Housewives on Netflix, and happened upon the following scene:

==Characters==

Xiao-Mei, a Chinese slave who becomes a surrogate to stay in the country after missing all of her appeals deadlines after she is rescued by an I.C.E. raid, and placed in the Solis family home by a Catholic aid organization.
Gabrielle Solis is incredibly mad at Xiao-Mei after finding out that Xiao-Mei had an affair with her husband, Carlos. Carlos has becomes emotionally attached to Xiao-Mei while acting as a surrogate for the baby the couple strongly wants.
Xiao-Mei: You are meanest person I know!
Gabrielle: I am the meanest person. You’ve been in this country a year, modify your nouns, damn it!
Xiao-Mei: What a bitch!

Pet Peeve #2–The Tale of the Deformed Adverb

My second big “pet-peeve” is when people use a verb in place of an adverb, like “It will come out beautiful!”, rather than “It will come out beautifully”.

 

I really notice this one – so much that it might just give me whiplash! Am I the only one lamenting the loss of the adverb?

 

In, Do it Real Quick, Or The Death of the Adverb, the author describes exactly what I’m writing about: http://blog.oup.com/2007/08/adverb/ 

Where Have All the Grammars Gone, Indeed.

This is my first post.

 

The purpose of this blog is to document my biggest grammar “pet-peeves”. I will soon be posting a living list, a list that I will be updating frequently, that includes my top grammar annoyances. After this, I will be documenting them in popular culture, media, and publications.

 

Note: I use logical punctuation in recognition of the international reach of the internet, as well as for aesthetic purposes. Therefore, quoted information  will comprise of the quote unit, and only punctuation that is part of the quote unit, such as from a direct quote, will carry a punctuation mark within the quotation mark.

 

I suppose that can be Grammar Pet Peeve #1: Logical punctuation. http://drkblog.wordpress.com/ and I have been having this discussion for years.