In a previous article, WordPlay made clear a simple distinction between the words “less” and “fewer:”
“Less,” as a descriptive adjective, pertains to amounts. “Fewer” pertains to numbers.
Examples: “There is less gin in the bottle than there was last night.” “There are fewer tar balls on the beach this year.”
A basic understanding of this principle is quite sufficient–most of the time. What is one to do to do, however, with a dilemma like the following?
A. We have less than two hours.
-vs.-
B.
We have fewer than two hours.
Two hours, certainly, is a matter of numbers, not amounts. Or is it?
Actually, neither A nor B is the correct answer. Either C or D, below, are grammatically acceptable:
C. We have less than two hours’ time.
D. We have less time than two hours.
-I.M.K.
WordPlay 