Vraag

Is ‘less’ voor meervoudige zelfstandige naamwoorden acceptabel (bijv. less visitors)?

Antwoord
Op basis van de volgende informatie, luidt mijn antwoord: ja.

Bronnen

A Grammaticaboeken

M. Swan,
Practical English (2007,Oxford University Press):

”Less is quite common before plural nouns. Especially in an informal style. Some people consider this incorrect.
I  have got less problems than I used to have.”

Cobuild,
English Usage (2002, Collins):

“Less is sometimes used in front of plural nouns:
This proposal will mean less jobs and a dwindling rail network
However, fewer sounds formal when used in conversation.”

L. Alexander,
Longman English Grammar (1988, Longman):

“In practice the informal use by native speakers of less and the least with plural countables or collective words like people is commonly heard (less people, less newspapers).”

P. van der Voort,
Core Grammar for Higher Education (2009, Noordhoff)

“In modern English less/least are quite common instead of fewer/fewest, especially in informal style.”

R. Close, A Reference Grammar for Students of English (1981, Longman)

“There is a growing tendency to put ‘less’ before a count plural noun. “

B Wat blijkt uit geschreven authentieke teksten?

Uit zoekresultaten (UK sites) op Internet  blijkt dat in geschreven taal voor meervouden zowel fewer als less gebruikt worden. Fewer komt echter vaker voor. Enkele getallen:

Fewer visitors: 6390  less visitors: 4510

Fewer students: 10.000     less students: 6470

Fewer complaints: 14000   less complaints 3930

Enkele citaten met less + meervoud in een formele context:

These tend to have less job vacancies than the job boards - especially for local or niche industry publications. (www.jobcentreguide.co.uk/online-job-searching/16/searching-for-jobs-online)

We've got several babies who are having heart surgery that we're actually helping them through the heart surgery because they have less problems with infection.  
(www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland)

However, the blood vessels, being larger, would potentially present less problems during surgery. The research is published in the magazine Nature.
(news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/)

In both cases, the patients had significantly less problems with stiffness and spasms when they were taking the IVIg therapy. (news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1722143.st)

The providing School may cancel this module if six or less students are registered on it. (reading.ac.uk)

De volgende twee citaten laten zien dat in dezelfde alinea
less en fewer zelfs door elkaar worden gebruikt als het gaat om meervouden:

Fewer people are reporting graffiti vandalism in the East Midlands. Derby, Lincoln and Leicester councils say they are receiving less complaints.
(news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/4247461.stm)

Foods with a low "calorific density" allow people to eat more, yet actually take in less calories, because they contain fewer calories per bite than traditional low fat foods.
(www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-460790)

Titels
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Grammaticakaart
GrammarCheck

Backbone Grammar
Dual Track TTO
Tools4Writing

De Engelse brief
Basic Business Grammar
Core Business
Core Grammar for Higher Education
English Grammar for International Studies

Sentence Analysis




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