In my Shakespeare English class last night, the professor diverged from our riveting discussion to something that was actually quite interesting. We were going over some grammar rules, as our term papers (the 8 pg one I talked about in my first post) are due in a couple weeks, when she began a hilarious rant about a grammar mistake that exists in one of the unlikeliest places I would have ever thought of: a grocery store!



Observe the sign above, particularly the crossed out word. Can you find the mistake or should I bail you out of this one and tell you? The problem is that the word "less" must refer to nouns that cannot be quantified. Do you say that I have "fewer food" or "less food"? Less food, right? The reason is because food cannot be quantified. It is not possible to count the particles of food. On the other hand, if you want to talk about a quantifiable noun like marbles then you would say "fewer marbles." So there you have it. Most grocery stores incorrectly use grammar on their express checkout line signs! How could such a big industry filled with multinational corporations endorse such horribly incorrect grammar? I do not know, but maybe you should find out. Do what my professor did and send a letter!

Now that I have uncovered this hideous misuse of grammar, have you ever noticed this mistake when scavenging the checkout lanes for the shortest line or did you pass by such a blatant disregard for the English language in an ignorant bliss? Let me know!

By the way, here is how the express lane signs should look: