Note that when we learn correct grammar, we sometimes also learn about important real-world concepts. For example, one must understand the distinction between countable vs. uncountable quantities before one can understand when it is appropriate to use the word “fewer” instead of the word “less”.
Note also that although the distinction between count-nouns and mass-nouns is a real one, a) it does not always match up with some physical difference between a countable and uncountable quantity, and b) the people who insist that “less” should only ever be used with mass-nouns are talking nonsense. “Less” with count-nouns is found all over the place in the speech and writing of competent language users.
For a) it would be good to see an example. For b), “should only ever be used” of course sounds prescriptivist; nevertheless, the distinction exists, even if it’s often blurred, and countable v uncountable is the right (and only) way to explain it.
One common linguistic treadmill is → → . The clearest example in English is ‘agenda’ (originally the plural of ‘agendum’, an obsolete word in place of which we now use ‘agenda item’), which has now generated its own plural. Other examples: ‘algae’ (still the plural of ‘alga’ to biologists but a mass noun to layfolk) and ‘virus’ (which went backwards when we learnt more about the subject; originally a mass noun, now a count noun with a plural).
Any specific usage can be justified on its own terms, but the whole process is the old philosophical problem of distinguishing a set of things from the things themselves.
Note that when we learn correct grammar, we sometimes also learn about important real-world concepts. For example, one must understand the distinction between countable vs. uncountable quantities before one can understand when it is appropriate to use the word “fewer” instead of the word “less”.
Note also that although the distinction between count-nouns and mass-nouns is a real one, a) it does not always match up with some physical difference between a countable and uncountable quantity, and b) the people who insist that “less” should only ever be used with mass-nouns are talking nonsense. “Less” with count-nouns is found all over the place in the speech and writing of competent language users.
For a) it would be good to see an example. For b), “should only ever be used” of course sounds prescriptivist; nevertheless, the distinction exists, even if it’s often blurred, and countable v uncountable is the right (and only) way to explain it.
One common linguistic treadmill is → → . The clearest example in English is ‘agenda’ (originally the plural of ‘agendum’, an obsolete word in place of which we now use ‘agenda item’), which has now generated its own plural. Other examples: ‘algae’ (still the plural of ‘alga’ to biologists but a mass noun to layfolk) and ‘virus’ (which went backwards when we learnt more about the subject; originally a mass noun, now a count noun with a plural).
Any specific usage can be justified on its own terms, but the whole process is the old philosophical problem of distinguishing a set of things from the things themselves.