What is the rule for using fewer?

What is the rule for using fewer?

According to usage rules, fewer is only to be used when discussing countable things, while less is used for singular mass nouns. For example, you can have fewer ingredients, dollars, people, or puppies, but less salt, money, honesty, or love. If you can count it, go for fewer. If you can’t, opt for less.

Is it 10 items or less or fewer?

“10 items or less” is not correct! This is wrong – it should be “10 items or fewer” because “items” is a countable noun. This goes to show you that even native English speakers sometimes break the rules of English grammar!

Is it less rain or fewer rain?

Rain is considered a singular noun. If you wanted to use fewer, you would have to use a plural noun.

Is it 1 less or 1 fewer?

“One member fewer” is OK; “One fewer member” is clumsy. “One less member” is better than both. There are contexts where “fewer” can work better, but the use of “fewer” for countable nouns has never been a rule; the only rule (to the extent that such things exist) is that you can’t use “fewer” with uncountables.

Is it less hours or fewer hours?

“Fewer hours”. “Hours” is countable, so you must use “fewer”. “Less” is used only for the uncountable.

How do you remember less or fewer?

Less vs. Fewer: Key Differences and Rules to Remember

  1. Less means a smaller amount or “not as much” and is used when describing singular or uncountable nouns.
  2. Fewer is defined as not as much and is used when describing plural or countable nouns.

How do you use fewer in a sentence?

Fewer sentence example

  1. At least for the present, the fewer people who knew, the better.
  2. In 2000, Africa had fewer than five million Internet users.
  3. We can make better food that uses fewer resources.
  4. One little girl had fewer presents than the rest, and Helen insisted on sharing her gifts with her.

What is correct less people or fewer people?

The correct usage is “fewer people” because we are talking about a group of discrete entities — a set of things that can be counted. “Less,” by contrast,is correct for dealing with more general amounts.

Is it less days or fewer days?

Good question. The word “days” is a countable noun, and thus it must have “fewer” (not “less”) before it (i.e., “fewer days”). The word “less” is reserved for uncountable nouns (e.g., “less time”).

Is it wrong to say less instead of fewer?

According to prescriptive grammar, “fewer” should be used (instead of “less”) with nouns for countable objects and concepts (discretely quantifiable nouns, or count nouns). According to this rule, “less” should be used only with a grammatically singular noun (including mass nouns).

Where do we use fewer and few?

Use fewer for countable things, and less for things you don’t count. For example, you can have fewer pages, rocks, lions, or tigers, but less sugar, water, confidence, or sympathy. If you can count it, go for few or fewer. Use few for a small countable amount.

How do you use the word less in a sentence?

The basic rule to remember: Use less when describing singular nouns; use fewer when describing plural nouns. To see the rule in action, consider the following examples of correct usage of the word “less”: You should use less sugar in your coffee. I have less money than my brother.

How do you use fewer and fewer with a noun?

Less and fewer with a noun. We usually use less with uncountable nouns. We use fewer with plural nouns: I do less work at weekends than I used to. Better cycle routes would mean fewer cars and fewer accidents.

When do we use fewer or less before articles?

When we use fewer or less before articles ( a/an, the ), demonstratives ( this, that ), possessives ( my, your) or pronouns ( him, them ), we need to use of. We use less of with singular nouns and fewer of with plural nouns: It was funny to begin with, but as time went on, it became less of a joke.

What is the difference between lessless and fewer?

Less means a smaller amount or “not as much” and is used when describing singular or uncountable nouns. Fewer is defined as not as much and is used when describing plural or countable nouns.

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