Publix Grocery Store Gets the Grammar Right!

The first ever Grammar Glitch "Getting the Grammar Right" award goes to Publix grocery stores for their Express lane sign that reads:


10 ITEMS OR FEWER


A friend pointed this out recently and said the sign used to read 10 ITEMS OR LESS but was changed in order to correct the grammar. I don't know whether that scenario is true or not, but I do know that the current sign is correct.


When you are checking out at the grocery store, you are "supposed to" count the number of items in your basket and choose the appropriate line. Anything you can count (like fewer cans of peas, fewer bags of popcorn, fewer gallons of milk) should be described with FEWER. Save LESS for those lump sum concept items (less sugar, less flour, less money!).


Here are some other examples:

I have FEWER problems with spelling than I used to.

I take LESS time proofreading than I used to.

Justin owns FEWER apartment buildings than John does.

Alice has LESS equity in her house than Sally does.

Got it? Hats off to Publix for "Getting It Right" in their grocery stores.

AS and THAN are like oil and water. They really don't mix.

Making comparisons correctly can be tricky in writing. Many writers use comparative words that do not work well together. Here is a good example from a sentence in this morning's newspaper. It is from an article for Bloomberg News http://www.bloombergnews.com by Nicole Ostrow.



Those who used the drug for six or more years were twice as likely to develop a psychosis such as schizophrenia or to have delusional disorders than those who never used marijuana.



When using AS at the beginning of a comparison, use AS rather than THAN in the second part of the comparison. This writer was probably trying to avoid using AS twice because she had the phrase "such as schizophrenia," but the comparison is still awkward. I would also use the word MARIJUANA first and then use THE DRUG in the second part of the sentence. It could be written correctly this way:



Those who used marijuana for six or more years were twice as likely to develop a psychosis like schizophrenia or to have delusional disorders as those who never used the drug.


THAN can be used in comparisons, but it won't work in this sentence because of the phrase TWICE AS LIKELY. Here are examples of using THAN correctly in comparison:



Those who turned the essay in early were more likely to get a good grade than those who turned it in on time.



Those who used salt ate more french fries than those who did not.



Those who chose Door Three were less likely to win the big prize than those who chose Door One.



Hope that helps.

In this sentence, "than" needs "more."

I did a column recently on comparative and superlative wording. Here is another problem sentence in that area--this one from an Associated Press article about the new President's Cabinet picks. It appeared in The Birmingham News this week:

"But the health post could be key in an Obama administration than in some others, making Daschle a key player in helping steer the president-elect's promised health care reforms."

This is probably just a proofreading error by a reporter who left out the word "more" and then didn't catch the omission. If you say THAN, you are implying a comparison, so you need the word MORE in front of what is being compared. In this case, what is being compared is HOW key, or important, the post of Health and Human Services Secretary will be in this administration as COMPARED to other administrations. The sentence should read as follows:

But the health post could be more key in an Obama administration than in some others, making Daschle a key player in helping steer the president-elect's promised health care reforms.

So, stay focused when you are creating comparative and superlative statements, and ALWAYS proofread to be sure you expressed the relationship as you meant to.

Please Keep Your COMPARATIVE and SUPERLATIVE straight!

This morning's The Birmingham News contains an article by Phillip Rawls about Alabama's income tax system in comparison with other states. The headline jumped out at me for more reasons than one:


Alabama puts highest taxes on poor than other states


First of all, that is a sad commentary about our antiquated tax system. Second, the grammar is incorrect. "Highest" with the "est" on the end is a SUPERLATIVE. It is used to show the farthest range (up or down) of something. The word "than" suggests a COMPARATIVE of one tax rate with another. The writer has mixed two different levels of comparison. The sentence should read as follows:


Alabama puts higher taxes on poor than other states.
OR
Alabama puts highest taxes on poor of all states.


Phillip Rawls gets the comparison language correct in the first paragraph of his article when he writes:


A new national study shows Alabama levies more income tax than any other state on a family of four living at the federal poverty line.


Hm-mmm. Maybe someone else botched the headline. I'll give Rawls the benefit of the doubt on this one.