{"id":957,"date":"2014-11-02T01:34:13","date_gmt":"2014-11-02T05:34:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/?p=957"},"modified":"2016-03-24T16:29:03","modified_gmt":"2016-03-24T20:29:03","slug":"fewer-vs-less-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/fewer-vs-less-difference","title":{"rendered":"Fewer vs. Less: What\u2019s the Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"bccef0f480416e3e00e77029789ea906\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: right; margin:10px 0 10px 10px;\">\n<script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Beginning of Post Default -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:inline-block;width:336px;height:280px\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-6482188744286371\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"7571860708\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\r\n\n<\/div>\n<p>These are two words that are easy to mix up with one another. Both fewer and less are used to indicate the same thing, the opposite of more, but they are used at different times. So when do you use which one?<\/p>\n<p>The traditional rules states that you use <em>fewer<\/em> for <a href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/grammar-dictionary\/noun\">counts nouns<\/a> while you use <em>less <\/em>for <a href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/grammar-dictionary\/noun\">mass nouns<\/a>. What does this all mean? I\u2019ll explain below.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\">Count Nouns vs. Mass Nouns<\/h2>\n<p>Count nouns and mass nouns? Sounds complicated, doesn\u2019t it? Well, it\u2019s actually pretty easy to tell these a part from each other.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-958\" src=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/fewer.png\" alt=\"what is the grammar for less versus fewer\" width=\"311\" height=\"90\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/fewer.png 311w, https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/fewer-300x86.png 300w, https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/fewer-100x28.png 100w, https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/fewer-150x43.png 150w, https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/fewer-200x57.png 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 311px) 100vw, 311px\" \/>A count noun is a noun that can be enumerated or counted. Cars, for example. You can count how many cars are in a parking lot or how many Skittles you eat. I should eat fewer Skittles. Count nouns have both singular and plural forms, so if you\u2019re not sure if a noun is a count or mass noun, think to yourself if you can make it both singular and plural. If you can, it\u2019s a count noun.<\/p>\n<p>A mass noun is a noun that cannot be counted because every quantity of it is treated as an undifferentiated unit. So while you I count the number of Skittles I eat, you can\u2019t count how much applesauce I eat. Mass nouns, unlike count nouns, cannot be made plural.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\">When to Use Fewer<\/h2>\n<p>As we learned above, fewer is used with count nouns. These are generally individual items. Here are a few example sentences,<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>This game is best played with fewer than four players.<\/li>\n<li>The fewer people that come, the better.<\/li>\n<li>There are fewer students playing sports today.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: left;\">When to Use Less<\/h2>\n<p>Again, less should be used with nouns that cannot be counted, i.e., mass nouns. These tend to be for bulk or quantity.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Kids are reading less these days.<\/li>\n<li>I will need less than a gallon of paint for this room.<\/li>\n<li>The judge had less mercy on the man than the woman.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Tricks to Remember<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-961\" src=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/less1.png\" alt=\"less vs fewer grammar and worksheets\" width=\"311\" height=\"90\" srcset=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/less1.png 311w, https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/less1-300x86.png 300w, https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/less1-100x28.png 100w, https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/less1-150x43.png 150w, https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/less1-200x57.png 200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 311px) 100vw, 311px\" \/>One trick that can serve as a guide to help you keep track of these two words it to use <em>less<\/em> for singular nouns and use <em>fewer<\/em> for plural ones.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Less happiness.<\/li>\n<li>Fewer plates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Another good way to remember the difference between these two words is to think about your grocery store checkout line. Most grocery stores will have an express lane where it says \u201c10 items or less.\u201d This is incorrect, and it should read \u201c10 items or fewer\u201d because the items in your cart are individual items that are countable. But despite these stores\u2019 incorrect usage, it can serve as a good reminder.<\/p>\n<h2>Exceptions<\/h2>\n<p>Less can, idiomatically, be used with certain plural nouns, including distances, periods of time, and sums of money. All of these, however, have an element of quantity to them, so <em>less<\/em> is not completely out of place. For example, the following sentences are all acceptable English,<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>My cabin is less than 50 miles away.<\/li>\n<li>This television program is less than one hour.<\/li>\n<li>I have less than $100 to my name.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Problem Sentences<\/h2>\n<p>Even now, it\u2019s tricky to determine whether nouns are mass or count nouns. Here are some troublesome sentences how they should appear.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>She was less than 65 years old.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In this sentence, years is referring to a period of time, not 60 individuals years themselves.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I have less than $50 in my pocket.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In this sentence you are referring to the <em>amount <\/em>$50, not 50 individual dollars.<\/p>\n<p>-But-<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I had fewer than 50 $1 bills in my pocket.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In this sentence you are referring to 50 $1 bills.<\/p>\n<h2>Summary<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Fewer <\/strong>is used with nouns that can be counted and with most plural nouns.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Less <\/strong>is used with nouns that cannot be counted and are bulk quantities. Less can be used with certain plural nouns like time, money, and distances.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>These are two words that are easy to mix up with one another. Both fewer and less are used to indicate the same thing, the opposite of more, but they are used at different times. So when do you use which one? The traditional rules states that you use fewer for counts nouns while you &#8230; <a title=\"Fewer vs. Less: What\u2019s the Difference?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/writingexplained.org\/fewer-vs-less-difference\" aria-label=\"Read more about Fewer vs. Less: What\u2019s the Difference?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_aToxMjE2OTc5NDg2Ow==_1216979486":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Fewer vs. Less: What\u2019s the Difference? 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