Some food for thought, more or less...

If you don't eat it all up, you're toast?

Quiz...

There is a grammatical mistake here (ST, June 5):
(answer at the end of this blogpost)

Mr Salmito, I feel your pain!

I know exactly how this Brazilian official feels. How many times, when I'm overseas, has an angmoh, usually an American, asked me: "Which part of China is Singapore located in?" (sometimes that question would pop up even after I had pointed out the Little Red Dot's location on a map). Then there's that look of incredulity... "What do you mean Singapore does not have a capital city? Every country must have a capital city!" Hey, mister, at least they address you as "Mr Salmito". I have given up trying to explain to them that my last name comes first, that I have no middle name, and that my first name (two words, taken together) come last!

So robots will take over the job so that those who want it will still be jobless?

Not only that, if you so much as take out a paper tissue...

...as soon as you have blown your nose, you will be surrounded!

But, hey, the sign on this bin is cute!...

How many more must die? Let them go!!

Quiz: The answer...

When something is countable, as in the number of people, use "fewer", not "less". Likewise, "fewer" dollars. But there are exceptions, such as "cash" and "money" which have no plural form. So, less cash/money is needed.

"Less" is also used with numbers when they are on their own and with expressions of measurement or time. See this link:

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/less-or-fewer