Fewer or Less?

Use fewer with objects that can be counted one-by-one.

Use less with qualities or quantities that cannot be individually counted.
Incorrect: There were less days below freezing last winter.
Correct: I drank less water than she did.
(Water cannot be counted individually here.)
When referring to time or money, less is normally used even with numbers.
Specific units of time or money use fewer only in cases where individual items are
referred to.
Examples: I have less than an hour to do this work.
I have less time to do this work.
I have less money than I need.
I have less than twenty dollars.
He worked fewer hours than I did.
The only occasion in which you might say, "I have fewer than twenty dollars," would
be when you were talking about specific dollar bills or coins, such as "I have fewer
than twenty silver dollars in my collection."
See also Irregular comparisons.

Fewer or Less?
The words less and fewer have similar meanings.
However, they cannot be used interchangeably. Use
fewer when referring to an amount that could be
expressed as a specific number. Use less when making
comparisons that do not lend themselves to numeric
amounts.
Heres an easy rule of thumb:
Use fewer to modify a plural noun.

Example: I have fewer papers to write than last year.

Use less to modify a singular noun.
Example: Youll need less paper if you type your report.
Write fewer or less in the blanks. The first two have been done for you.

1. A lighter car will use less gas.

2. There are fewer bugs in the updated software than in the
original version.
3. Youll make ______________ errors when you take more
time.
4. This job is ______________ difficult than I imagined.
5. I would have ordered ______________ alligator nuggets if I
had noticed the price.
6. His speech could have had ______________ words!
7. Ill have a little ______________ water in my cup, please.
8. Which candidate would spend ______________ money on
ineffective programs?
9. Which candidate would spend ______________ dollars on
ineffective programs?
10. There are ______________ worms in my cream pie than
in Angelas.

Less and fewer

Less and fewer

The difference
Less is the comparative of little (used especially before uncountable nouns). Fewer is the
comparative of few (used before countable plural nouns).
Compare:

I earn less money than a postman.

Ive got fewer problems than I used to have.

Less is quite common before plural nouns, as well as uncountables, especially in an informal
style.

Ive got less problems than I used to have.

Less/fewer with of and without of

Less of and fewer of are used before determiners (like the, my or this) and pronouns.

Id like to spend less of my time answering letters.

At the college reunions, there are fewer of us each year.

Before nouns without determiners, of is not used.

If you want to lose weight, eat less food. (NOT less of food)
Fewer people make their own bread these days. (NOT Fewer of people )

Has intentado decir un comparativo, o superlativo, en ingls sin ningn xito a pesar de saberte las reglas
gramaticales?
Esto es totalmente normal y ocurre a menudo porque las reglas de gramtica son como los puntos de
referencia en los mapas; te ayudan temporalmente a saber donde ests, pero en cuanto dejas de mirar el
mapa, se te olvidan y te pierdes.
Aprender un segundo idioma tiene mucho ms dificultad que mirar un mapa; se trata de hacer que las
expresiones, frases, verbos y vocabulario "sean tuyas".
Que "sean tuyas" significa que "tengas tan metido el idioma en el cerebro" que al hablar no dudes ni un segundo
sobre lo que tienes que decir.
Te pongo un reto.
Podras decir las siguientes frases sin dudar?

Eso es lo que menos me molesta

Hay mucho menos gente aqu que all.

El email con menos palabras es el ms me gusta

A veces los regalos menos caros son los mejores

El mensajero siempre viene cuando menos lo esperas

Quisiera tener menos problemas

Ella gana menos dinero que yo

Complicado verdad?
Para allanar el camino te dar las traducciones y luego estudiaremos los puntos de referencia (las reglas).

That is what bothers me the least

There are fewer people here than there

The email with the fewest words is the one that I like the most

Sometimes the least expensive presents are the best

The courier always comes when you least expect him to

I would like to have less problems

She earns less money than I do

Te has fijado en un detalle?

En espaol tenemos una sola palabra: "menos" y en ingls tenemos cuatro: the least, fewer, the fewest y
less. Eso significa que tenemos que aprendernos, al menos, cuatro reglas para saber cmo utilizar
comparativos y superlativos de inferioridad.
Ves ahora por qu es mejor aprenderse las frases hechas -aunque sean muchas- que las reglas
gramaticales?
Si repites mucho estas frases, no te equivocars. Sin embargo, aunque sepas las reglas si no sabes cmo
emplearlas al hablar, no te sirven.
No obstante, vamos a analizar los puntos de referencia para darte cobertura. S, probablemente, has estado
aprendiendo gramtica toda tu vida y la necesitas igual que el cojo a las muletas.
Vamos a ir, oracin por oracin, viendo porqu se utiliza una palabra y no otra.
1) Eso es lo que menos me molesta. That is what bothers me the least.
"Lo que menos" es lo contrario de "lo que ms". En ingls: "the least " is the opposite of "the most".
Si "the least" lo ponemos delante de un verbo, decimos "que es una adverbio", como en el ejemplo de arriba (el
verbo es "molestar/bother"). Pero si "the least" aparece delante de un sustantivo es "un adjetivo".
Cuando comparamos una persona, o una cosa, con un grupo de personas, o cosas, hablamos de "adjetivos
superlativos".
Por ejemplo: Ella es la ms vaga de todas. She the laziest of all. Aqu puedes leer ms sobre adjetivos
superlativos.
"Ella" comparada con un grupo de personas Qu grupo? Todas las dems. En este caso, decimos que "the
laziest" es un adjetivo superlativo de "superioridad", porque "ella" es "superior" en vaguera que las dems.

Pero si dijramos: "Ella es la menos vaga de su clase"?

Sera tambin un adjetivo superlativo, pero de "inferioridad", ya que "ella" es inferior a las dems en vaguera.
Es aqu donde entra en juego "the least", que es el adjetivo superlativo de "little" para referirse a grado
inferior.
Analiza ahora esta secuencia de adjetivos:
Little: (positivo, cualidad en el grado ms simple) Poco, menos.
She is a little lazy. Ella es un poco vaga.
Less: (comparativo) menos.
She is less lazy than her sister. Ella es menos vaga que su hermana.
Nota: Es comparativo porque la comparo a ella con solo otra persona, su hermana.
The least: (superlativo) La menos. She is the least lazy of all.
Ella es la menos vaga de todas.
Nota: Es superlativo porque la comparo a ella con todas (un grupo de personas).
Otro ejemplo con "the least":
Julia earns the most in our company and Peter earns the least. Julia es la que ms gana en nuestra empresa y
Peter es el que menosgana.
2) Hay mucho menos gente aqu que all. There are fewer people here than there.

Este es un comparativo. Estamos comparando a la gente de que aqu con la de all. Lo que llama la atencin es
"fewer" Por qu no "less"?
Porque "less" es el comparativo de "litte" (lo vimos en el punto1) arriba) y "fewer" es el comparativo de "few".
Little - less: se usan especialmente delante de sustantivos incontables (money, milk, water...) Nota: No
obstante, "less" tambin se usa delante de sustantivos plurales, sobre todo, en estilo informal. Algunas personas
lo consideran incorrecto. Por ejemplo: I've got lessthings than I used to have. Tengo menos cosas que antes.
Few- Fewer: se usan delante de sustantivos plurales (cosas, problemas)
En el ejemplo "gente" es un sustantivo plural. Por eso decimos "fewer people". Aunque habr quien diga "less
people" en estilo informal.
Otro ejemplo:
-There are fewer trees is my garden than in yours. Hay menos rboles en mi jardn que en el tuyo.
3) El email con menos palabras (de todos) es el que ms me gusta. The email with the fewest words is the one
that I like the most.

The fewest es el grado superlativo de "few". Dijimos que era "menos" cuando hablamos de sustantivos
plurales.
Nota: Tambin podramos utilizar "the least" en este caso (delante de sustantivos plurales), sobre todo, en un
estilo informal.
Diramos: The email with the least words....
Otro ejemplo:
This is the text with the fewest mistakes. Este es el texto con menos errores (de todos).
4) A veces los regalos menos caros son los mejores. Sometimes the least expensive presents are the best.
Este ejemplo ya est explicado en el punto 1) arriba. Se trata de "the least" delante de un adjetivo "expensive".
5) Me gustara tener menos problemas. I would like to have lessproblems.
"Less" es el comparativo de "litte" . Dijimos en el punto 2) arriba que lo ms correcto con sustantivos plurales
es "fewer".
Por tanto, sera: I would like to have fewer problems. Pero, en un estilo informal, lo que se suele decir con
sustantivos plurales is "less".
6) Ella gana menos dinero que yo. She earns less money than I do.
"Less" es el comparativo de "little", pero a diferencia de el caso anterior, no puedo utilizar
alternativamente "fewer" porque "less" va delante de un sustantivo incontable "money". (dinero).

Para recordar:
Adjetivos de inferioridad

Grado simple (cualidad) Little: poco. Se usa con sustantivos incontables y verbos.

Ejemplos:
-I have little money. Tengo poco dinero.

Grado comparativo: Less: menos. Se usa con sustantivos incontables (money, milk,
water...) y verbos.

Ejemplo:
-They work less than we do. Ellos trabajan menos que nosotros.

Grado simple (cualidad): Few. Pocos/as. Se usa con sustantivos plurales (things, people,

words..)
Ejemplo:
-Few animals can do that. Pocos animales puede hacer eso.
Grado comparativo: Fewer. Pocos/as/menos que. Se usa con sustantivos plurales (things,
people, words...)
Ejemplo:

- There are fewer things on my table than on yours. Hay menos cosas en mi mesa que en la tuya.

Grado superlativo: Fewest. Menos. Se usa con sustantivos plurales.

Ejemplo:
- People with the fewest problems aren't always the happiest. La gente con menos problemas (de
todos) no son siempre los ms felices. Nota: Tambin se puede decir: "People with the least
problems..."
Grado superlativo: The least: el/la que menos. Se usa con sustantivos incontables
(contables) adjetivos y verbos.
Ejemplo:

- She is the one who does the least work at her office. Ella es la que hace menos trabajo (de todos)
en su oficina.
There are late risers and early risers, those who need a lot of sleep and those who need only a .........,
(a) less
(b) nothing
(c) few
(d) little

In the following sentences, fill in the gaps with one of the following quantifiers:
much, many, a lot of, most, a little, little, a few, few
1. It seems to me that we haven't had
2. How

assignments in English this term.

material can we be expected to read in one week?

3. I've unfortunately had

headaches already because of stress.

4. Our yard looks awful this summer. There are too

5. I didn't use

weeds.

fertilizer last spring, and that has made a difference.

6. Also, I've paid very

attention to how

7. I'm afraid it's rained

dying. Farmers are very upset.

times this summer, and that is why the grass is turning brown and

8. How

rain we've had.

good would it do if we watered the plants ourselves? .

9.

of the advice I have ever received from so-called "experts" has been useless.

10. They said that just

11.

help could make a big difference.

people know as much about computers as Tomas does.

12. It does us
Final del formulario

good when the banking system collapses.

In the following sentences, fill in the gaps with one of the following quantifiers:
much, many, a lot of, most, a little, little, a few, few

1. It seems to me that we haven't had

2. How

assignments in English this term.

material can we be expected to read in one week?

3. I've unfortunately had

headaches already because of stress.

4. Our yard looks awful this summer. There are too

5. I didn't use

weeds.

fertilizer last spring, and that has made a difference.

6. Also, I've paid very

attention to how

7. I'm afraid it's rained

times this summer, and that is why the grass is turning brown and dying. Farmers are very upset.

8. How
9.

good would it do if we watered the plants ourselves? .

of the advice I have ever received from so-called "experts" has been useless.

10. They said that just

11.
12. It does us

rain we've had.

help could make a big difference.

people know as much about computers as Tomas does.

good when the banking system collapses.

Quantifiers
In the following sentences, fill in the gaps with one of the following quantifiers:
A FEW | A GREAT DEAL | A LITTLE | A LOT | A LOT OF | A MAJORITY OF | ENOUGH | MANY | MUCH OF | PLENTY | SEVERAL OF | SOME
When you've gotten all the answers right, see if you can substitute other quantifiers from the list.

1. I'm having

of trouble passing my driving exam.

2.

the movies were rated PG.

3.

information proved to be outdated.

4. We're close to the project deadline, but there is still

5. Although there are
6. We were able to destroy
7.

brilliant students in this state -- thousands, even, only

the parasites with our antigen, but

will choose to remain in the state after graduation.

of them survived to cause trouble.

a student has passed through these doors.

8. Although
9. I think he drank
10.

time left.

of the lawn is open to the sun, there are

of shade trees to make it comfortable.

wine last night.

the evidence was taken from the police safe last night.

Quantifiers
In the following sentences, fill in the gaps with one of the following quantifiers:
A FEW | A GREAT DEAL | A LITTLE | A LOT | A LOT OF | A MAJORITY OF | ENOUGH | MANY | MUCH OF | PLENTY | SEVERAL OF | SOME
When you've gotten all the answers right, see if you can substitute other quantifiers from the list.

1. I'm having

of trouble passing my driving exam.

2.

the movies were rated PG.

3.

information proved to be outdated.

4. We're close to the project deadline, but there is still

5. Although there are

brilliant students in this state -- thousands, even, only

6. We were able to destroy

7.

time left.

the parasites with our antigen, but

will choose to remain in the state after graduation.

of them survived to cause trouble.

a student has passed through these doors.

8. Although

of the lawn is open to the sun, there are

9. I think he drank
10.

of shade trees to make it comfortable.

wine last night.

the evidence was taken from the police safe last night.

Chapter 3. Commonly Misused Terms and Phrases

Few / Less
Both these words are adjectives, but few is usually used to describe countable nouns while less is used to describe noncountable nouns. Countable nouns are often physical
whereas noncountable ones are often abstract or nonphysical:
The industrial trend is in the direction of more machines and fewer people. (People are countable.)
Less destruction was caused by the earthquake than one would have expected. (Destruction is noncountable.)
If you memorize the phrase few units = less quantity, you will remember the distinctionfew is for countables occurring in units, while less is for noncountables occurring in
quantity.
As often happens in English, exceptions do arise. Sentences involving periods of time, sums of money, or specific measurements usually require less:
The sonde was lowered less than 50 feet.
Excavation took less than two weeks.

"It's common sense - fewer is for numbers of separate items or people, less is for quantities not thought of in numbers: there were fewer
people in the shops because there was less money," he says.

Less and Fewer

(Grammar Practice Worksheet.)
Both of these words 'less' and 'fewer' refer to an amount or number that is small in comparison with another amount or number that is
understood from the context or the sentence.
These two words are often mixed up by learners and by some native speakers as well!
We use less with uncountable nouns. Like this:

He has less money than me but he spends it more wisely. (Note that pennies, and pounds are countable but that the
noun money is not; we cannot say one money, two money and so on.)
She has less beauty than her sister but more intelligence.
I bought less milk this week because we have still got some left over.
She's doing really well now and needs less support from us.
We also use less to modify adjectives and adverbs in a comparative sense. For instance:
This book is less expensive than that one.
She may be less beautiful than her sister but she is more intelligent.
My broken arm is less painful now.
His mother told him to eat less quickly to avoid indigestion.
We use fewer with countable nouns. Like this:
He has fewer friends now and I really worry about that.
Fewer houses have electric heating these days.
Compared with last week, fewer members of the committee turned up.
Tyres are well designed these days and there are fewer punctures.
Some people get a little confused about what is a countable noun. As we noted above, the word money is uncountable, but there are many
more uncountable nouns that can confuse learners. These sentences are incorrect.

(!) There is fewer grass in the fields this year.

(!) We have fewer equipment for the expedition this year.
Learners and also native speakers regularly misuse these two words. People often use less when they should use fewer; the following sentences
are incorrect.
(!) There were less people at the meeting this year.
(!) We have sold less homes this year because of the higher interest rates.
(!) My Toyota car needs less repairs than my old Rover.

Other cases
In expressions about money and time, mathematical expressions of quantity and subjects such as computer programming, it is usual to use
"less than" with count numbers. For example:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.

My new camera cost less than $500.

They waited for less than three hours for the flight to arrive.
If x is less than 4 then ...
The car was travelling at less than 30 miles per hour.
Your cabin baggage must weigh less than 10 kg.
Often this is because we are referring to the magnitude of the measured quantity (eg 3 hours, 30 mph, 25kg) rather than a count of
individual units.
Can you correct these sentences?

Less/Fewer whales are found in the Arctic waters these days.

We have more space in the house now because we have less/fewer furniture.
There are less/fewer crew members wanting to stop off in Nairobi these days.
There are less/fewer policemen in the city nowadays.
We have less/fewer sheep on our farm nowadays.
There are less/fewer cyclists on the roads because it's too dangerous.
Less/Fewer people nowadays smoke cigarettes.
Nowadays less/fewer diseases are untreatable than a hundred years ago.
There is less/fewer disease in the north than in the south.
She tried to make less/fewer mistakes with her homework.
There is less/fewer crime in my town and less/fewer crimes involve guns.
There is less/fewer work available and less/fewer jobs are advertised.
Use less or fewer to complete these sentences.
1.
He decided to buy ...... items in the market this week because they were heavy.
2.
This course is far ...... interesting this term than last year.
3.
As his money was wasted on gambling, he found he had ...... and ...... friends.
4.
It's ...... true today but some men still beat their wives.
5.
This road is ...... dangerous than that one.
6.
She is far ...... optimistic than she was last year.
7.
He's ...... disappointed than I thought he would be.
8.
Sale! Buy now while they are ...... expensive!
9.
There are far ...... types of fruit available in the shops nowadays.
10.
It's difficult, but much ...... difficult than the test we did last term.
11.
Losing your wallet is ...... of a disaster if you are near home.
12.
You should walk ...... hurriedly.

Less Versus Fewer

Episode 54: May 11, 2007
Word Choice
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by Mignon Fogarty

Grammar Girl here.

Today's topic is less versus fewer.
Less and fewer are easy to mix up. They mean the same thingthe opposite of morebut you use them in different circumstances (1). The
basic rule is that you use less with mass nouns and fewer with count nouns.
Count Nouns Versus Mass Nouns

Now I'm worried that I've scared you off, but it's easy to remember the difference between mass nouns and count nouns.
A count noun is just something you can count. I'm looking at my desk and I see books, pens, and M&M's. I can count all those things, so they are count
nouns and the right word to use is fewer. I should eat fewer M&M's.
Mass nouns are just things that you can't count individually. Again, on my desk I see tape and clutter. These things can't be counted
individually, so the right word to use is less. If I had less clutter, my desk would be cleaner. Another clue is that you don't make mass nouns
plural: I would never say I have clutters on my desk or that I need more tapes to hold my book covers together.
Sometimes it isn't obvious if something is a mass noun or a count noun because some words can be used in different ways. For
example, coffee can refer to either a mass of liquid or a cup of liquid. If you're responsible for filling the coffee decanter at a wedding, and
you're getting carried away, your boss might ask you to make less coffee. But if you're a waiter serving cups of coffee to the tables, and the
crowd is waning, your boss might tell you to bring out fewer coffees next time. She means cups of coffee, but it's common to hear that
shortened to just coffee as in Bring me a coffee, please. Remember that I said mass nouns (like coffee) can't be made plural? In this
example, I've made a mass noun plural, but in the process I transformed it into a count noun. So the rule still holds.
Furniture is another tricky word; it isn't immediately obvious whether it is a mass noun or a count noun. If I think of a furniture store, I think of
lots of individual pieces of furniture, but furniture is a collective name for a mass of stuff. You could say, Look at all those couches, but you
would never say, Look at all those furnitures. Furniture is a mass noun. Therefore, you'd say, We need less furniture in this dance hall. Can
we have fewer chairs?
Exceptions
There are exceptions to these rules; for example, it is customary to use the word less to describe time, money, and distance (2, 3). For example, you
could say, That wedding reception lasted less than two hours. I hope they paid the band less than $400. So keep in mind that time, money,
and distance are different, but if you stick with the quick and dirty tip that less is for mass nouns and fewer is for count nouns, you'll be right
most of the time.
Memory Tricks
There are two ways that I remember when to use less and when to use fewer.
First, I think of the classic example of the grocery store express lane. Most of the signs for these lanes read, 10 items or less, and that's
just wrong. The signs should read, 10 items or fewer, because items are individual, countable things. Between hearing people complain
about the signs and seeing the signs every week or so, it sticks in my head that it should be fewer items. And when I stand in line and count
the 15 items that belong to the person in front of me in the 10-items-or-fewer lane, I'm strongly reinforcing the idea that items are countable.

Second, I have a memory trick. I think of Aardvark sitting by a lake. He's fishing. The water is low in the lake this year, so there is less water in the
lake. Less and lake both begin with the letter l. There is less water in the lake. Squiggly is worried about dinner. Aardvark usually catches
four fish, but what if there are only three? We'll have fewer fish for dinner, Squiggly thinks to himself fretfully. Fewer and fish both start with
the letter f, and Squiggly is counting fish in his head. We'll have fewer fish for dinner.
That's all.
Finally, my e-mail address isfeedback@quickanddirtytips.com.
References
1.
2.
3.

Lynch, J. "Fewer versus Less." The Lynch Guide to Grammar. http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/f.html#fewer (accessed May 10, 2007).
Burchfield, R. W, ed. The New Fowler's Modern English Usage. Third edition. New York: Oxford, 1996, p. 295.
few. Dictionary.com. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,
2004.http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/few (accessed: May 10, 2007).