Just a couple of quick tips today:-
First, when to use less’ and when to use fewer’. Though the opposite of both words is more’, they are used differently. Some examples of correct usage are as follows:
I’ve got less money than you’ but I’ve got fewer customers than you.’ Less caffeine would be good for me’ but Fewer glasses of wine would be good for me too.’ Developing a website is less hassle than you might think’ but Fewer people read books these days.’
Put in a nutshell, fewer’ refers to several things (plural) of which there are not as many as there used to be or as there might be, whereas less’ refers to one thing which has become smaller or is not as large as it might be.
Secondly, when to use somebody and I’ or somebody and me’. Let’s take as an example: My friend and I’.
You would correctly say My friend and I are going out to dinner tonight’. You would not, however, be correct to say – though people often do – Some colleagues have invited my friend and I to dinner’.
People are sometimes hesitant to say (correctly) – Some colleagues have invited my friend and me’ because they’ve been told they should never use phrases like me and my friend’ or my friend and me’ – and indeed you wouldn’t say Me and my friend are going out to dinner’ (at least you wouldn’t say that if you wanted to be correct).
The way to get it right is to test it out, dropping my friend and’. You wouldn’t say Me is going out to dinner’ – but neither would you dream of saying My colleagues have invited I to dinner.’ So then when you’ve mentally constructed the sentence just using I’ or me’ as appropriate, add in my friend and’, my wife and’ or whatever it is, and you’re bound to get it right.
Virginia Rounding is a published writer whose website of
Internet Resources for Writers looks at additional ways for
writers to earn money, in the hope of making it possible
for them to keep writing without having to resort either to
full-time employment or to destitution. For a selection of
free resources or to subscribe to her new ezine Poetry
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http://www.virginiarounding.com/links.html
