{"id":44,"date":"2019-08-27T00:46:17","date_gmt":"2019-08-27T05:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=44"},"modified":"2021-08-16T13:08:46","modified_gmt":"2021-08-16T18:08:46","slug":"fewer-v-less","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/definitions\/fewer-v-less\/","title":{"rendered":"Fewer<\/em> vs. Less<\/em>: Should I Use Fewer<\/em> or Less<\/em>?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Less<\/em> and fewer<\/em> rank among the closest in meaning between two words, often leading to confusion about which to use in a sentence. They both refer to smaller sizes, amounts, or degrees of something. For example, you could say you are looking forward to fewer<\/em> hot days in the fall and hoping for less<\/em> snow this winter. The tough part can be identifying which one to use in different contexts. In this post we\u2019ll help to clear that up for you.<\/p>\n

Fewer<\/em><\/h2>\n

Fewer<\/em> refers to things that are countable.<\/p>\n

\nExamples<\/strong><\/em>
\nWe had fewer<\/u> people at the fundraiser than we had hoped.<\/p>\n

Fewer<\/u> tornadoes occurred this year than last year.<\/p>\n

The graduate class will have five\u00a0fewer<\/u> students this semester.<\/p>\n

My supplier brought me ten\u00a0fewer<\/u> jars than usual, but they are larger.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note that in each sentence, items (people, tornadoes, students, jars<\/em>) are identified as counted quantities.<\/p>\n

Less<\/em><\/h2>\n

Generally, less<\/em> refers to things that are not countable.<\/p>\n

\nExamples<\/strong><\/em>
\nSue has less<\/u> concern for her dog’s safety now that the backyard fence is completed.<\/p>\n

Less<\/u> talking would help my concentration.<\/p>\n

I hope we spend less<\/u> time waiting at the airport.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s less<\/u> frustrating to be cut off in traffic when the other driver apologizes.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In each sentence, the smaller amount concerns concepts that are not counted as separate items (concern, talking, time, frustrating<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Less Than<\/em><\/h2>\n

An exception to the basic principle for less <\/em>as a modifier of noncountable items is the expression less than,<\/em> which is used before a plural noun that denotes a measure of time, money, weight, and distance.<\/p>\n

\nExamples<\/strong><\/em>
\nWe will go on vacation in less than<\/u> four weeks.<\/p>\n

She owes him less than<\/u> $30.<\/p>\n

Now that Jackson has been jogging, he weighs less than<\/u> 200 pounds.<\/p>\n

We had less than<\/u> 25 miles to go but ran out of gas.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This usage is more idiomatic and developed by regular exposure to American English. If you are ever in doubt about whether to use fewer <\/em>or less than<\/em>, you can either follow your instincts based on the guidelines above or refer to a style guide such as The Associated Press Stylebook <\/em>or The Chicago Manual of Style.<\/em><\/p>\n

No Less Than<\/em><\/h2>\n

In informal usage, no less than<\/em> may be used for emphasis with plural nouns, even though fewer <\/em>would be the formally correct choice:<\/p>\n

\nNo less than<\/u> 300 people showed up for the concert.<\/em> OR<\/p>\n

<\/strong>No fewer than<\/u> 300 people showed up for the concert.<\/em>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Or Less<\/em><\/h2>\n

In informal usage, or less<\/em> might be used in special cases where fewer<\/em> would be the formally correct choice:<\/p>\n

\nWrite a paragraph about an environmental issue in 200 words or less<\/u>.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m hoping to finish my term paper in three hours or less<\/u>.<\/em>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

Using what you\u2019ve learned in this article, choose the correct word or phrase in each sentence.<\/p>\n

1. I need [less\/fewer] advice and more open-minded questions.
\n2. We had [less\/fewer] injuries on the team than our coach expected.
\n3. No [fewer\/less than] eight students flunked the exam.
\n4. We had [fewer than\/less than] two hours before we had to take the exam.
\n5. [Fewer\/Less] seats were filled for the concert because of the rain.
\n6. No [fewer\/less] than 30 people applied for the job.
\n7. The muffin should cost a dollar or [fewer\/less].<\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1. I need less<\/strong> advice and more open-minded questions.
\n2. We had fewer<\/strong> injuries on the team than our coach expected.
\n3. No fewer<\/strong> (OR less<\/strong>) than eight students flunked the exam.
\n4. We had less than<\/strong> two hours before we had to take the exam.
\n5. Fewer<\/strong> seats were filled for the concert because of the rain.
\n6. No fewer<\/strong> (OR less<\/strong>) than 30 people applied for the job.
\n7. The muffin should cost a dollar or less<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Less and fewer rank among the closest in meaning between two words, often leading to confusion about which to use in a sentence. They both refer to smaller sizes, amounts, or degrees of something. For example, you could say you are looking forward to fewer hot days in the fall and hoping for less snow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-44","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-definitions"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5390,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44\/revisions\/5390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}