amount/number

You guys kill me. You really do. Thank goodness there are so many people who incorrectly use the language. Correcting you gives me something to do. It provides a laugh or two along the way, too.

Here's today's lesson. Remember when I discussed "less" and "fewer" not too many posts ago? Of course you do. Unfortunately, the guy at the grocery store who makes those checkout signs still hasn't read the blog. Since you guys have, will you please tell him? Please? If you have no idea what the heck I'm talking about, go back to the less/fewer post and you'll see.

I digress. I mention "less" and "fewer" because today's pair of words is somewhat similar.

"Amount," just like "less," refers to a matter of degree. "What amount of sauce do you want on your spaghetti?" How about, "The amount of work I have is overwhelming"?

"Number," like "fewer," is used when referring to something that can be counted. "A large number of dogs roamed the neighborhood," or "I corrected a number of papers last night."

There you have it. Nice and neat. Now I have to sit back and ponder tomorrow's post. I have a "number" of topics from which to choose.

So many problems to fix, and so little time. . .so little time.