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Comment by quarterto | Hacker News Reader

The purpose of language is communication. Did you understand what melvinmt meant? Yes, of course you did. What's the big deal? What are you gaining by "correcting" a pointless[1] semantic distinction, other than your own smug satisfaction?

[1]: Yes, it's pointless. Why is there no such distinction for "more"?

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He was just giving a tip. Your "smug satisfaction" view is in your mind. I would want to know if I was misusing a word.

"If I were misusing a word."

Just trying to help ;-)

Can you elaborate? I thought 'was' is for 1st person (I) and 3rd person (he/she), and 'were' is for 2nd person (you,your, etc).

Update: So I just googled around and learned that "were" is used for the subjunctive mood i.e. wishes/thoughts. Good to know!

Your update is correct. Verbs have moods, which is so cool to me. An article/blog about subjunctive verbs: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/subjuncti...

Fun fact: all our perceptions of other people's emotion is "in our mind". Doesn't make the perception invalid.

Why misusing? Language has meaning by the convention of its users -- not by the fiat of English teachers. By the consensus of informal English, "less" and "fewer" can both be used in that scenario (by definition, since lots of people do it).

Usually when you use a citation, it's supposed to provide substantive evidence. Not just reiterating your opinion[1].

[1] This is a fact.

Some people use that form factor as footnotes or offhand comments.

Indeed, some people like PG...

> Why is there no such distinction for "more"

Because English is weird. I still want two use it correctly.

Who decided what's correct, if not the community of English speakers?

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