My grandson is in first grade. As a gabby pedant and a caring grandfather, I am making certain to teach him the verities I was taught.

Regular readers will recall that he knows that it is 15 items or fewer, not 15 items or less. No native English speaker says “I would like fewer water.” The general rule is that if you can count it, the word is “fewer.” To which he said, “If you freeze it and break it into pieces, you can ask for fewer water.” He apparently understands not just the concept, but its application.

Then, as we were watching television together[1], I heard a character say “very unique.” Nope, I opined, “Unique is binary; either it is or isn’t one of a kind. It cannot be very one of a kind, so don’t add any modifiers.” Now he spots that error too. As I taught him, he mocks it on television and in books, but not in person.[2]

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[1] If I am going to let him watch the idiot box, I am going to be there to insure he gets something from it besides tranquilization

[2] With the exception of his sister.