What’s the difference between ‘fewer’ and ‘less’?
‘Fewer’ and ‘less’ are both used as opposites of the word ‘more’, but they can’t be used in place of each other. Let’s understand how to use them correctly.
FEWER
‘Fewer’ is used with nouns that can be counted. So, we say fewer problems, cookies, people, children, or items.
LESS
‘Less’ is used with nouns that cannot be counted. For example, we use less with water, trouble, time, or snow. It can be seen that none of these words have plural forms.
Exceptions:
Less is used with measurements of time, money, weight, and distance. Even though these can be counted, they are considered as singular amounts.
I can finish the food in less than 20 minutes.
She has less than 1000 rupees in her account.
Their combined weight is less than 100 kilograms.
We have to cover less than 500 meters.
Watch the video below to understand the differences between ‘fewer’ and ‘less’.
Also checkout Knudgeman’s reaction to this commonly made mistake:
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