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MCL-13129

Grammar mistake on version chooser: "less" vs "fewer"

During selection of installation options the expandable section offers "less options" button to hide the section. It should be "fewer options".

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Less options sounds correct. 10 items or less express lanes for example

Less is used for uncountable nouns, fewer for countable. If "options" is plural, that makes it countable by definition. Express lanes are, unfortunately, a strong contributor of this misconception. Here is a good reference: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/fewer-vs-less/

 

And here is Weird Al correcting an express lane: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGWiTvYZR_w 😃

And here is Tom Scott talking about prescriptivism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qT8ZYewYEY 🙂

Lets also note that the The Cambridge Guide to English Usage notes that the "pressure to substitute fewer for less seems to have developed out of all proportion to the ambiguity it may provide in noun phrases like less promising results".

It describes conformance with this pressure as a shibboleth and the choice "between the more formal fewer and the more spontaneous less" as a stylistic choice

Thank you for explaining your perspective and the time you invested. I guess with the way my brain is wired (and that's likely why I'm passionate about Minecraft) I may sometimes struggle to appreciate language dynamics. I understand you feel strongly about it and feel free to close this Jira ticket.

Closing the bug, interesting discussion and I agree with Tom Scott 

Br.
David

Michael Laskowski

(Unassigned)

Confirmed

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