by bystander » Wed Sep 07, 2011 1:18 pm
English Adept wrote:Whoever wrote this, if English is their first language, should be ashamed.
The first sentence should read "...are seen to have some, although
fewer, elements..." The second should be "...appears to have
fewer metals..."
reedkantor wrote:thats "fewer"metals, not "less metals." grammar is important when writing...know the difference between the use of "fewer" and "less." muchas gracias.
Axel wrote:... it [is] less of one thing and fewer of a number of things.
We are talking about one thing,
metals, a
mass noun meaning
elements heavier than hydrogen or helium. Substitute
metallic content or
metallicity, if you wish, but
less is appropriate, not
fewer.
Ann wrote:Well, as a non-native English speaker it seems to me that there might be a difference between "fewer metals" and "less metals". "Fewer metals" might mean that the spectrum of a star shows evidence of only, say, three elements apart from hydrogen and helium. "Less metals" might mean that the elements apart from hydrogen and helium exist in extremely low amounts.
English Adept wrote:Ann, that's not how it works. It's two different forms of the same meaning (fewer versus less). If the second meaning you suggest was intended, it should be stated as "lower amounts of metals", or something similar.
Actually, that's exactly how it works and Ann is correct in her interpretation. As stated above, metals, as used here, is a mass noun, much like water. The statement,
"Because of the drought, there is fewer water in the lake." is absolutely nonsensical, yet that is the usage you advocate.
[quote="English Adept"]Whoever wrote this, if English is their first language, should be ashamed. :roll: The first sentence should read "...are seen to have some, although [u][b]fewer[/b][/u], elements..." The second should be "...appears to have [u][b]fewer[/b][/u] metals..." [/quote][quote="reedkantor"]thats "fewer"metals, not "less metals." grammar is important when writing...know the difference between the use of "fewer" and "less." muchas gracias.[/quote][quote="Axel"]... it [is] less of one thing and fewer of a number of things.[/quote]
We are talking about one thing, [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal#Astronomy][b][i]metals[/i][/b][/url], a [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_noun][b]mass noun[/b][/url] meaning [i]elements heavier than hydrogen or helium[/i]. Substitute [i]metallic content[/i] or [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metallicity][b][i]metallicity[/i][/b][/url], if you wish, but [i]less[/i] is appropriate, not [i]fewer[/i].
[quote="Ann"]Well, as a non-native English speaker it seems to me that there might be a difference between "fewer metals" and "less metals". "Fewer metals" might mean that the spectrum of a star shows evidence of only, say, three elements apart from hydrogen and helium. "Less metals" might mean that the elements apart from hydrogen and helium exist in extremely low amounts.[/quote][quote="English Adept"]Ann, that's not how it works. It's two different forms of the same meaning (fewer versus less). If the second meaning you suggest was intended, it should be stated as "lower amounts of metals", or something similar.[/quote]
Actually, that's exactly how it works and Ann is correct in her interpretation. As stated above, metals, as used here, is a mass noun, much like water. The statement, [i]"Because of the drought, there is fewer water in the lake."[/i] is absolutely nonsensical, yet that is the usage you advocate.