Words

Mississippi

Suggest improvements for the highlighted problem areas: Ms. Manthey happyly reported the results of the quiz to the class. On question number two they were alright. Every student had correctly picked Osceola as the town that had once been on the banks of the Mississippi. On question number five, however, there was disagreement between the students. They discussed the answer for awhile. Less than five students knew that the Mississippi carried sediment at a rate of 30 tons per second. A larger amount of them thought that it was less. On the essay question, one student, Quanah, described the river as plaiful because it meanders back and forth below the confluence of the Ohio River. Answer: - Less versus Fewer - - Amount versus Number - More errors are found several sentences later in our opening paragraph: Less than five students knew that the Mississippi carried sediment at a rate of 30 tons per second. A larger amount of them thought that it was less. The words fewer and number should be used when we refer to things that can be counted. The words less and amount should be used when we refer to a degree or quantity of something. So in our opening paragraph, because we are talking about separate, countable students, we should substitute the correct words: Fewer than five students knew that the Mississippi carried sediment at a rate of 30 tons per second. A larger number of them thought that it was less. A silly mnemonic might help to remember the correct use of these words: The fewer the number of birds in the air, the less the amount of goo in our hair.

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