Less Qualifications, Few Friends

Charles D. Ferguson holds a B.A. in mathematics from Berkeley, and a Ph. D. in political science from MIT. By degree, Dr. Ferguson is obviously a man of both letters and numbers. However, speaking of the mistakes made in Iraq by Paul Bremer, Director of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, and others just after the successful military invasion of United States troops, Ferguson broke a convention in the uses of "less" and "few." He said:

"Of the first 400 people who went into Iraq, less than a half dozen spoke Arabic..."

Dr. Ferguson should have said: "fewer than a half dozen spoke Arabic" because "few," "fewer" refer to number.

John B. Opdycke in the Harper's English Grammar tells us: "Few" refers to number and numbered units. "Less" refers to quantity. The Oxford English Dictionary defines "few" as "not many, amounting to a small number," and defines "less" as "of not so great size, extent or degree; of inferior dimensions, bulk or duration."

To paraphrase, Ferguson was not referring to their bulk or dimensions when he referred to Arabic speakers, he was referring to their number. In fact, he offered a numerical reference in the same sentence: a half dozen, or six. Some may ask, does this convention matter. The answer perhaps lies in the aesthetics of the utterance. It may only matter for those who know the difference. For those who do know, such an utterance is a particular thing of beauty, and misuse of the words may sound ugly or even tend to confuse.

Certainly, Dr. Ferguson meant number, not "size, extent, or degree" of Arabic speakers. However, he might have said correctly, "Though the 400 who arrived under Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority for post-war Iraq were not few, they possessed less qualifications than were required for a successful operation."

Or, more pointedly, "Because L. Paul Bremer and his proteges possessed less qualifications than desirable, the result was the United States wound up with few friends in Iraq."