English usage and grammar

In my native language there's a word for that kind of words, but I'm not sure how they are called in english.

Of course the official rule is that for countable things, like apples, we say fewer, as in, "Why are there fewer apples?" And for things that you can't really count, you use less, as in "We need more dream time and less screen time."

But recently, even from native speakers who've been to university, you can hear people using 'less' when the grammar books say they should use 'fewer'. Language changes and there are many examples of things that we say differently than we write. What are your thoughts?

Should we grammar nazi this until everyone gets back in line? Should we just let language evolve and enjoy the ride? Do you think it will settle in with spoken and written forms being different? Do you think this will become the norm in English?

By the way, I blame supermarkets with their "9 items or less" signs.

I see there are no comments here yet.

I am an English professor, and have experience in magazine, book, and test editing. I often comment on grammar related subs on "that other social media site", but I'm trying to help Lemmy grow by contributing here instead. But to do that, there ~~needs~~ need to be posts. : )

The way to get a community growing is to start posting. I'm going to start some seed topics, so please comment on them and add your own. Questions are good too.

Imagine there's a sequence of items, it started somewhere in the past and will keep on going. The kind of items could be anything – say days, or football matches, or lectures, or widgets out of an assembly line.

I'd like to refer to the future item that will be, say, the 100th if I start counting them from now. I hope you understand what I mean: the 1st would be the next, the 2nd would be the one after the next, and so on.

How do I denote that future 100th item with a concise expression? I thought of "the next 100th item", but it doesn't sound right.

The problem is that if I just say "the 100th item", that refers to the number 100 since the sequence started, not the number 100 starting counting from now.

Example:

The last 10 widgets were red and blue; the 20th widget from now will be yellow.

Saying "the 20th widget from now" doesn't sound right – but maybe it is? Nor does "the next 20th widget" sound right.

As usual, if possible please also give some references. Cheers!

Sometimes it's necessary to make clear that an item is singled out for some reason, for instance if it's been specially chosen. I often use the words specific and particular for that. Example:

"She is going to buy a specific book"

Omitting specific, the sentence could otherwise suggest that she just wants to buy any book; she'll decide which after browsing some at the book store.

I was wondering if there are any differences that I should be aware about among specific, particular, certain, and similar words in this context.

Giving your opinion about their usage is OK, but I'd also like to have some references if possible.