The words less and fewer are used to talk about a smaller amount or quantity of something. However, they are not interchangeable.
Even native speakers often get these words mixed up, so let’s take a look at the difference between fewer vs less and how to use them correctly.
When to use fewer vs less
The quick, general rule for less vs fewer is:
Fewer = Not as many. The comparative form of ‘few’. It is used with plural nouns.
E.g. “I have fewer oranges than you.”
Less = Not as much. The comparative form of ‘little’. It is used with singular nouns.
E.g. “I have less time than you.”
You may also hear the distinction between countable and uncountable nouns: Fewer is used with countable nouns (things that can be counted with numbers) and less is used with uncountable nouns (things that cannot be counted with numbers). We will explain later on why this is less accurate.
However, whichever rule you use, there are several notable exceptions. The singular/plural rule will work in the majority of cases, but keep reading if you want to know a detailed answer that covers all scenarios.
We’ll also cover some phrases that people often ask questions about, such as less than vs fewer than.
Similarities between less and fewer
It might help to begin by looking at how these words are similar.
- They are both the same part of speech: adjectives, and also determiners.
- They are both the opposite of the comparative adjective ‘more’. In other words, both describe a reduction, referring to a smaller quantity, degree, or amount of something.
It is probably because of these similarities that the words are often confused. Interestingly, though, we generally only hear ‘less’ being used where ‘fewer’ is correct (with plural countable nouns), not vice versa.
Perhaps we just know that it sounds wrong to use ‘fewer’ in certain contexts.
What is the difference between fewer and less?
Now, let’s look at the differences between less and fewer.
1. Fewer is used with plural nouns; Less is used with singular nouns
As mentioned above, this is a general rule with some exceptions, but it’s the easiest way to note the main difference between these words.
The reason why this is more accurate than distinguishing between usage with countable and uncountable nouns is because you may want to form a sentence with a singular, countable noun and this would use ‘less’ (following the singular rule) rather than ‘fewer’ (following the countable rule).
E.g. “There’s less than one sausage left on the plate.”
There is a similar distinction between few and a few.
2. Less can be an adverb
We noted earlier that less and fewer are both adjectives, but only ‘less’ can also be used as an adverb. This is because ‘fewer’ only describes countable items, and verbs are not countable.
E.g. “You should worry less.”
Exceptions to the rule
Now you have learned the general rule for when to use fewer and less, let’s consider the exceptions.
Less vs fewer with money, time, and measurements
Units of weight, distance, time, and currency are countable, but we usually consider the amount as one unit of measure. For instance:
- Five miles
- 100 dollars
- 30 minutes
- Ten meters
- Six hours
- 200 grams
If your bus is delayed by 30 minutes, you would view that as a single unit of time rather than 30 individual minutes. Similarly, if a recipe calls for 100 grams of flour, you would view that as one mass rather than 100 individual grams.
So, in these cases, we use ‘less’ rather than ‘fewer’, overriding the singular/plural rule.
- I always use 50 grams of sugar less than the recipe states, otherwise it’s too sweet.
- I ran two miles less today than I did yesterday.
- This route will take less than 25 minutes to drive.
- I live less than five kilometers from my office.
- She used to weigh 86 kilos but now she weighs less than 70.
- It cost me less than $200 to give my kitchen a makeover.
When to use less or fewer with percentages and fractions
It can be tricky to determine whether a percentage or fraction is singular or plural, and therefore whether to use, for example, less than half or fewer than half.
Is it correct to say “Less than half of the cookies turned out well.” or “Fewer than half of the cookies turned out well.”?
And what about phrases like “Less than 70% of the students passed the test.” vs “Fewer than 70% of the students passed the test.”?
While some people would argue that the adjective should agree with the noun in question (and so both examples above should be ‘fewer’ to agree with the plural nouns ‘cookies’ and ‘students’), others would say that statistics like this are treated in the same way as the measurements above, and therefore always use ‘less’.
If you are doing a formal piece of writing following a style guide, you can check to see whether it mentions any preference on this matter. Otherwise, you’re probably safe to use ‘less’ for statistics and fractions, unless you particularly prefer to follow the singular/plural rule.
Other possible exceptions
Do keep in mind that in casual speech you will hear people using ‘less’ with a count noun, as in “They’ve given us less drinks than we ordered’.
Although this is not technically grammatically correct usage, it is becoming more widespread – perhaps as people show decreasing regard for proper English grammar! We would recommend avoiding such use of the language. Stick to the rules as much as you can.
However, there are a couple of scenarios where it may be considered acceptable to use ‘less’ with countable nouns.
X words or less
When you write something, if you consider it a body of text rather than a collection of individual words then you may use ‘less’ rather than ‘fewer’. For example, “Please answer in 200 words or less.”
X items or less
This one has caused quite some controversy when it comes to supermarket signs. Certain shoppers were outraged with being told they could use the express checkout if they had ’10 items or less’ in their basket, instead insisting that it should be ’10 items or fewer’.
To avoid this situation altogether, some grocery stores switched their signs to say ‘Up to 10 items’ instead. Other establishments gave in to the demands of their pedantic customers and made the switch to ‘fewer’.
When to use fewer or less with common phrases
Finally, we will look at some phrases that commonly cause confusion when deciding between fewer vs less.
Is it less than or fewer than?
Because these words are comparative adjectives, both use the ‘… than’ construction. You’ll need to refer to the notes above to decide which is correct in any given context.
Remember, the simple rule to apply in most cases is: Use ‘less’ with a singular noun and ‘fewer’ with a plural noun’.
Is it one less or one fewer?
Because ‘less’ is used with singular nouns, it’s correct to say ‘one less’:
“Charline has one less doll than Casey.”
“That’s one less thing to worry about.”
However, if you increase the number in this comparative phrase, it should switch to ‘fewer’:
“Charline has two fewer dolls than Casey.”
That said, the exceptions above (for money, measurements, etc.) still apply:
“I have 50 dollars less than him.”
Less people or fewer people?
‘People’ is a plural noun, so it’s correct to say ‘fewer people’ rather than ‘less people’:
“Fewer people attended the event than we expected.”
Less calories or fewer calories?
Again, because ‘calories’ is plural, it uses ‘fewer’:
“You must consume fewer calories if you want to lose weight.”
Conclusion
We hope this detailed explanation of the difference between fewer vs less has helped you clear up any confusion and avoid these mistakes in the future.
If you still have questions about this topic, feel free to leave a comment below, and include any example sentences you are unsure about.
