One of the most common errors I correct is the misuse of the words less and fewer. When should you use “less” and when should you use “fewer”?
Use fewer when referring to a number. If you can count the items there are fewer, not less, of them. Example: Bob took off fewer days this year than he did last year.
Use less when referring to something you cannot count. Example: There was less traffic today than there was yesterday.
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Explanation:
Count (or quantifiable) nouns versus mass (or singular) nouns
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Less and fewer are synonyms. They are both comparative words, and they both mean the opposite of more.
Rule: Use fewer with count nouns and less with mass nouns.
It is easy to remember! Count nouns are simply things that you can count. A mass noun is something you cannot count independently.
Another way to remember: Mass nouns cannot be pluralized. In the above example, we can say “days” but we can’t say “traffics.” Fewer days, less traffic.
The exception: money. Bob earned less than $5,000 last year.