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Wednesday 20 February 2013

Less or fewer?


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.