The words ‘less’ and ‘fewer’ are both comparatives of the word ‘little’, with ‘least’ being the superlative. Although these two words are used to mean the same thing, there are grammatical rules determining which one should be used in certain contexts. Read on to learn more about when to use ‘less’ and when to use ‘fewer’.
Less
‘Less’ is a comparative of the word ‘little’ and means ‘a smaller amount of’. It can be used as an adjective, as an adverb meaning ‘to a smaller extent’ and as a noun. Here are a few examples of each of its uses.
Adjective: ‘Sidney’s new job meant he had less time to spend with his family’.
Adverb: ‘Lady Charterwell is less happy with her life than you might think’.
Noun: ‘He’s lucky. People have been fired for less’.
It should be used as an adjective when you are discussing something which cannot be counted individually or which does not exist in the plural, like money or oxygen. For example:
‘There is much less milk in the jug, have you used it?’
Fewer
‘Fewer’ is a comparative adjective of the word ‘few’ and means ‘a smaller number of’. It is used to mean exactly the same thing as ‘less’ but can only refer to nouns which are in the plural or which can be counted individually. For example:
‘There are fewer than 2000 mountain pygmy possums left in Australia’.
‘Fewer graduates than ever are securing jobs with decent wages’.
The Exception to the Rule
‘Fewer’ is generally used when discussing things which can be counted and ‘less’ is used when discussing things which cannot. However, ‘less’ is used when discussing time, distance, volume and weight when they are in the plural. For example,
‘He travelled less than two miles before he came to a petrol station.’
‘You owe me less than $10 so don’t worry about paying me back’
‘Two miles’ and ‘ten dollars’ are considered one thing rather than a collection of several individual things, meaning that ‘less’ applies instead of ‘fewer’.
Remember:
-use ‘fewer’ when discussing a smaller number of things
-use ‘less’ when discussing a smaller amount of something.
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Less
‘Less’ is a comparative of the word ‘little’ and means ‘a smaller amount of’. It can be used as an adjective, as an adverb meaning ‘to a smaller extent’ and as a noun. Here are a few examples of each of its uses.
Adjective: ‘Sidney’s new job meant he had less time to spend with his family’.
Adverb: ‘Lady Charterwell is less happy with her life than you might think’.
Noun: ‘He’s lucky. People have been fired for less’.
It should be used as an adjective when you are discussing something which cannot be counted individually or which does not exist in the plural, like money or oxygen. For example:
‘There is much less milk in the jug, have you used it?’
Fewer
‘Fewer’ is a comparative adjective of the word ‘few’ and means ‘a smaller number of’. It is used to mean exactly the same thing as ‘less’ but can only refer to nouns which are in the plural or which can be counted individually. For example:
‘There are fewer than 2000 mountain pygmy possums left in Australia’.
‘Fewer graduates than ever are securing jobs with decent wages’.
The Exception to the Rule
‘Fewer’ is generally used when discussing things which can be counted and ‘less’ is used when discussing things which cannot. However, ‘less’ is used when discussing time, distance, volume and weight when they are in the plural. For example,
‘He travelled less than two miles before he came to a petrol station.’
‘You owe me less than $10 so don’t worry about paying me back’
‘Two miles’ and ‘ten dollars’ are considered one thing rather than a collection of several individual things, meaning that ‘less’ applies instead of ‘fewer’.
Remember:
-use ‘fewer’ when discussing a smaller number of things
-use ‘less’ when discussing a smaller amount of something.
If you would like to have a 500 word sample of your paper proofread for free, simply upload your document to Proofread My Document today!