CQS tonight

[Nick_H]

she sounded gorgeous! ... I must try to arrange a visit to meet her in person

She's also keen to meet up

 

[BlueSkyNick]

She's also keen to meet up

GIT!

 

[MapisM]

Nah this is easier than colregs. Less than 20 metres in length. A boat has less length not fewer length. It could be a vessel with fewer than 20 measurement units in its length. And I'm not even English!

LOL, I guess I'm even less English than yourself, so to speak, but in the wording "A vessel of less than 20 metres in length", I'd say that "less" is associated to "20 metres" rather than to "vessel", from a grammar standpoint...?

 

[jfm]

LOL, I guess I'm even less English than yourself, so to speak, but in the wording "A vessel of less than 20 metres in length", I'd say that "less" is associated to "20 metres" rather than to "vessel", from a grammar standpoint...?

Yup but the rule is that "fewer" must be used for a number of items and "less" for a matter of degree. So, "eat fewer donuts and you'll have less fat". Likewise, fewer cars, fewer hours of sunshine, fewer millimetres of rain, less heavy, less important, less tanned, less dark and so on. With "less than 20 metres in length" you're straddling the boundary of the rule but I think the metres are not discrete items and the expression is a statement of degree, so "less than 20 metres in length" is correct imho. For sure, "fewer than 20 metres in length" or indeed "my boat is fewer than 20 metres long" feels very odd to a mother tongue speaker. It trips you up when you hear it and I think it must be wrong - I'd never say it, for sure.

Oddly perhaps, EN doesn't have the same problem with "more". You can have more cars, more houses, more roads, more books, more metres, more weight, more sunshine, etc

Yet with comparatives/superlatives and words meaning diminishment, EN has the opposite circumstances. When expressing "more" you have to remember the rule of using the right form of comparable or superlative, so something can be "more difficult" or "heavier", and not "difficulter" or "more heavy" Yet when expressing diminishment there is no rule you need to remember because everything is "less": things can be "less difficult" or "less heavy".

I gotta say to you again Mapism, bravo/chapeau to you for the degree of perfection you reach with your EN :applause: :encouragement:

 

[MapisM]

For sure, "fewer than 20 metres in length" or indeed "my boat is fewer than 20 metres long" feels very odd to a mother tongue speaker.

Agreed, that would sound weird also to my very far from mother tongue ears.
Actually, coming to think of it, I would probably just say "my boat is shorter than 20m", but I guess there must be a rule conflict in that, somewhere....?

 

[benjenbav]

Agreed, that would sound weird also to my very far from mother tongue ears.
Actually, coming to think of it, I would probably just say "my boat is shorter than 20m", but I guess there must be a rule conflict in that, somewhere....?

Ah but MM, perhaps you have the advantage of us anglophones here, as your country's cinematic heritage includes both: "Per qualche dollaro in meno" and "For a few dollars more".