Don't know when to use less and when to use fewer? Here's
how to get it right.
Use fewer when:
·
referring
to people or things
·
in the
plural
·
when they
can be counted (you don’t have to know the exact number, it is enough to know
that they are quantifiable)
Use less when:
·
referring
to things that can’t be counted ( less time, less money, less talk)
The fewer
the words, the better the
prayer. Martin Luther
The less
you talk, the more
you're listened to. Abigail Van Buren
These two quotes demonstrate the difference nicely. The words of a prayer,
are plural, can be counted and so Martin Luther used ‘fewer’ in his sentence. There is no way of quantifying talk, and so Abigail Van Buren used ‘less’ in her
sentence.
Further
examples:
Less soft fruit is expected to grace our tables, following the wet
summer.
Fewer strawberries are expected to grace our tables, following the wet
summer.
People are buying fewer paperbacks
You’ll be making less money if you continue to ignore electronic
publishing.
Fewer people are smokers these days.
I smoke less, now my wife has quit.