It goes like this: fewer is used to refer to number among things that are counted, as in “fewer choices” and “fewer problems”; less is used to refer to quantity or amount among things that are measured, as in “less time” and “less effort.”
What is an example of fewer?
Fewer is the comparative of few. It is used before plural nouns. For example: Jeff drinks less alcohol than John.
“Fewer” is for plural things. About 99% of the time, this language makes no difference. Whether you use the singular-plural rule or the mass noun-count noun rule, you still end up with fewer cars and less courage.
What do you mean by fewer?
: a smaller number of persons or things. fewer. adjective. Definition of fewer (Entry 2 of 2) comparative of few.
Subtraction-minus, greater than, take away, fewer than, less than, subtract, decreased by. Multiplication-product, multiply, multiplied by, times. Division-quotient, dividend, divide, divided by, each, per, average, divided equally.
Where do we use fewer and few?
Use fewer for countable things, and less for things you don’t count. For example, you can have fewer pages, rocks, lions, or tigers, but less sugar, water, confidence, or sympathy. If you can count it, go for few or fewer. Use few for a small countable amount.
Can you say one fewer?
A. If the countable noun is plural, choose fewer; if it’s singular, choose less. When it says to reserve less for mass nouns, it means singular mass nouns.) One is always singular: there is one less food group in the new pyramid; there is one less number in this column.
“10 items or less” is not correct!
This is wrong – it should be “10 items or fewer” because “items” is a countable noun. This goes to show you that even native English speakers sometimes break the rules of English grammar!
What happened to the word fewer?
It’s being replaced by “less” and seemingly falling into disuse.
Can you say a lot less?
Grammatically speaking, ‘a lot’ is horribly colloquial, let alone ‘way. ‘ You should never write ‘way less. ‘ ‘Much less’ is the correct use in these circumstances.
How do you use less and fewer in a sentence?
Fewer means “not as many.” We use fewer with countable nouns like cookies. Cookie Monster was told to eat fewer cookies. Less means “not as much.” We use less with uncountable nouns like milk.
Smaller quantity or amount.
Is fewer a comparative?
Less is used with uncountable nouns, like money or work or travel, and fewer is used with countable plural nouns, like coins or jobs or trips. Less is the comparative form of little and fewer is the comparative form of few.
Is it less hours or fewer hours?
Senior Member. “Fewer hours”. “Hours” is countable, so you must use “fewer”. “Less” is used only for the uncountable.
Is it fewer or less minutes?
The general principle here is that less should be used when describing a continuous quantity and fewer should be used for a discrete quantity. This is not the same as countable v non-countable. Time is a continuous quantity, so “5 minutes or less” is correct.
According to usage rules, fewer is only to be used when discussing countable things, while less is used for singular mass nouns. For example, you can have fewer ingredients, dollars, people, or puppies, but less salt, money, honesty, or love. If you can count it, go for fewer. If you can’t, opt for less.
