GRAMMAR: Less or fewer?

I enjoy watching BBC1's Pointless at tea time but Alexander Armstrong drives me nuts with his incorrect use of 'less' when he should be using 'fewer' - here's some tips to help you remember which to use.

FEWER should be used when the items can be counted.
LESS should be used for general, not coutable, descriptions.

*There was less sand which meant there were fewer grains of sand.
*There were fewer raindrops, so there was less rain.

FEWER is used when referring to things in plural.

*As more people read the news online, people are buying fewer newspapers.
*Fewer than 20 children returned their reply slip on time.
 
LESS is used if items can't be counted or can't be pluralized.

*I spend less time reading these days.
*I seem to have less money spare at the end of the month.
 
LESS is also used with numbers that are on their own and with expressions of measurement or time.
 
*Their relationship lasted less than two years.
*His diet was a great success, he went from 15 stone to less than 11.

 
So, Mr. Armstrong, the contestants need to score fewer points than the other contestants, not less points!

OPINION: Waterstone's and their apostrophe

Waterstone's, the UK chain of bookshops, has announced that it will be ditching its apostrophe and, in future, will be known as Waterstones.

Apparently, in the age of the internet, texting and mobile technologies the use of an apostrophe can't be justified.

What absolute rot!

Apostrophes, like all aspects of grammar, are there to assist comprehension and the loss of apostrophes, while it may save the odd half second of time, will lead to confusion and a lack of understanding in the written word.

I realise that, shockingly, lots of people misuse the apostrophe but should we really be lowering our language to the lowest common denominator? Should we try to educate these dullards who find it impossible to obey very simple rules?

Yes, dullards, or fucktards, or idiots, or remedials - there is no justification for the "greengrocer's apostrophe" - if you can't use it correctly, quite frankly, you shouldn't have been allowed to leave school - you are a retard.

Waterstone's is a book shop. They trade, and profit, through the written word. It is treachery of a very serious level for them to turn on the language that has made them money over the years. It is treasonous.

Waterstone's COULD have become Waterstone and nullified the need for any apostrophe. That would have made sense. That wouldn't have betrayed the hundreds of years of evolution through which the English language has developed but, oh no, they've dropped the apostrophe, abandoned the possessive and made themselves into a meaningless plural.

Waterstone's should hang their corporate head in shame and, if they fail to reverse this nonsensical decision, the public should continue to include an apostrophe within their name.

Even better, when they get round to changing their shop signage around the country, I hope the public go armed with bottles of Tippex to reinstate the lost and abandoned apostrophe.

Punctuation saves lives!