Almost all of our native language is learned orally with students' 
learning a written dialect that is more formal than our common
speech.  Although count/noncount is basically learned orally,
more and more speakers seem not to have learned to distinguish
between less and fewer thereby requiring that it be taught in school.
My students seemed fascinated by fewer than five gallons of gas when
you can carry just so many gallon cans and less than five gallons when 
you are measuring it at the gas pump


Scott Catledge
Professor Emeritus

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