When we measure the screen height by number of lines, should we say     10 lines less than the screen height   or     10 lines fewer than the screen height   ?  The second sentence seems correct for me, but the first reads better.  I'm  specially ask about the usage of "less" and "fewer" in this context, not in a general context.
16450
I've just received a memo which says (effectively)      As more people leave, there will be less people available.   I want that word to be fewer. Are there guidelines for which word ought to be used when?
51165
What's the deal with the phrase "could care less"?  Whilst growing up, I've always known people (parents etc) to use the phrase "couldn't care less", but I've also come across people who use the phrase "could care less" to mean the same thing (that is, "I do not care at all about that").  To me "couldn't care less" seems a lot more logical. If I couldn't care less about something, that implies I do not care about it at all. In contrast to this, to my mind the phrase "could care less" seems to indicate "I do care about this to some degree at least", but that's definitely not the meaning intended.  What's going on here? Is my (logical) analysis correct or in error?
91481
This sentence was made as an example by my trainer:     Is the s-v-a in this sentence correct?           Two teaspoons of sugar IS more than enough.      According to the rule: The singular verb form is usually used for units of measurement.  But, is teaspoon not considered a partitive too?
28418
I wonder what differences a native speaker could point out between these three sentences.  1) There is not an apple on the table.   2) There is no apple on the table.   3) There is not any apple on the table.
115943
I am learning English using the Duolingo English course, one of correct solution was      I have more books at my house.   Can I use      I have more books in my house.   If it is OK, what is the difference between both?
31765
Normally, if we which to illustrate our points, we can use firstly, secondly, lastly (or last but not least or finally).     There are a few pieces of information we need to notice:   Firstly,   Secondly,   Lastly,   But consider that we have only two points, are we going to use     There are a few pieces of information we need to notice:   Firstly,   Secondly,   or     There are a few pieces of information we need to notice:   Firstly,   Lastly,   It seems like firstly→secondly does not have an ending, and firstly→lastly seems to be too fast to end. Is there a better way to talk about them for when you have just two points to make?
59339
Lately I've been hearing and reading statistics that are communicated in wording that, frankly, confuses me.  Forgive me for not citing specific instances, but I can give a hypothetical statistic that exemplifies the kind I'm referring to:     Comparing the number of tax returns the IRS audited in 2002 and 2010, the number of unlucky folks who had their returns audited in 2002 was ten times fewer than the number in 2012.    There is something about that wording that bothers me, and I'm not sure why.    After a fruitless search on the internet using numerous combinations/permutations of words and phrases such as "X times fewer," "X times less," "mathematical expressions of 'times fewer' as opposed to 'a fraction fewer,' or 'a fraction less,'" and more, I came up empty. Perhaps this question is more appropriate on a math website, but in the off-chance members of EL&amp;U might give their imprimatur to this question, here goes:  Here's a second hypothetical example.  Is it grammatical—not to mention mathematical—to say the following?:     There are ten times fewer pollinating honeybees worldwide today than there were in 1912.  [Though this is a made-up statistic, there has been a dramatic reduction in the number honey bees in America of late!]   Should not the expression be:     There are one-tenth fewer honeybees worldwide today than there were in 1912.     On the surface, the "ten times fewer" locution seems to me to be a contradiction in terms.  How can something less be 10 times fewer?    I can understand readily how, for example, 2012's bee population of, say, 90 million can be one-tenth (point one) less than 1912's population of 100 million, but ten times fewer?   I'm confused.  Which expression is "more" correct?
85651
I'm working on a story, and I find myself faced with something of a quandary.  Specifically, I need to know the proper style for the following:     “I have thousands of them,” the commissioner answered, “but I’ll start with ‘What do you need?’.”   Is it proper form to have both the question mark and period, or should one of them be dropped?
54737
"Voted on 600 questions and has better than 3:1 answer/question vote ratio" is the current text.  "Voted on 600 questions and 25% or more of total votes are on questions" is my proposed text.  (Or should it read "or less"?  I'm still not completely sure what is intended.)  "Better" in the original doesn't indicate which way is preferred (and it's not clear to me one way or the other is better, merely that a certain threshold is the requirement for this badge).  This is even slightly shorter, in both characters and as displayed for me in a proportional font, which should help for a badge with one of the longest current descriptions.
29459
Is the following grammatically correct? My friend says the second sentence is grammatically incorrect, but couldn't explain why.     I have always been fascinated by statistics. The different ways in   which you could look at data and infer knowledge from it.
29875
This is from a multiple choice question with 4 options, but I narrowed it down to 2:     Select the best version of the following sentence:    (there is really no sentence after this, just the answer choices)         a) Each of the conference rooms has a computer display.   d) Each of the conference rooms have computer displays.      In my eyes these choices are both perfectly fine, I can't see anything wrong with either of them.
17732
I never really gave a deep thought at this but recently a teacher of talked about language and there was an implicit question in it. something like  there is a difference between "rather than" and "instead of" in usage. do you know it??  please help and explain with a few examples.
33460
I know I learned the difference between the usage of farther and further in school, but I can never remember where each one should be used.  Can someone help me out here?
84594
I have seen sentences similar to the following:  (1) See the reference above. (2) See the reference below.  And,  (3) See the above reference.  But not,  (4) See the below reference.  Are all these forms acceptable? Which is/are preferred in formal writing?
30515
What’s the right version of these two?   Half of the students doesn’t bother to show up.  Half of the students don’t bother to show up.    Or are both right?  The related question  discusses some relevant concepts, but the answer is very general, and it's not clear how to apply it here since "half" is a singular noun, while "two" is a plural noun.   Barrie England's answer there says that in "2/3 of the pizza was eaten," singular agreement is appropriate because "the emphasis is likely to be on the amount of pizza eaten, and not on the number of individual thirds. In contrast, in [2/3 of the visitors were men] the emphasis is on the number of visitors who were men, so plural concord ... is required."  What does it mean to put "emphasis" on "the amount" vs. "the number"?  If "half of the students" is just an approximate or uncertain percentage (like "between 51% and 55%"), rather than an exact count, how do I know whether it's appropriate to emphasize the amount or the number of students?
48844
Which of the following sentences is correct?     a)   1. John is taller than any student in his class.   2. John is taller than any other student in his class.        b)   1. No student is taller than John in his class.   2. No other student is taller than John in his class.
94360
How do I use up less when I go down the hill? What is better? If I really drive down (I start down the hill fast and when I will at the foot of the hill I will have a rest since I slow down to my average velocity - in this point I will start pedaling again.) or if I have rest by the way down the hill and start pedal again at the foot?