The grammar gods

...have finally smiled down upon South Texas grocery stores.

For those of you who don’t know, there is a difference between “fewer” and “less”. “Fewer” is used in reference to countable nouns, and “less” is used in reference to uncountable nouns.

An uncountable noun is something that can’t be counted, like “love” or “rage”. Countable nouns can be counted, like “dogs”. One dog, two dogs, three dogs… you get the picture.

How many times have you gotten into the express checkout lane and seen the sign “10 items or less” over the register? Think about the mini grammar lesson I just gave you. Notice a problem?

So imagine my (pleasant) surprise in HEB last night when I noticed that the signs had been changed to read “10 items or fewer”.

I am probably the only patron of the store who appreciates the change. But it only takes one, right?