Dec 12 2007
Fewer or Less?
Many very intelligent people use “fewer” when they should use “less,” and vice versa.
It’s not a crime, of course, and it’s certainly not as reprehensible as belching during a public prayer. But the “fewer-less conundrum” is so easy to sort out, why not take a minute and master it forever? You’ll avoid that unpleasant phone call should your old high school English teacher ever happen to read your stuff. Plus you’ll be able to silently look down your nose at those who get it wrong – and you’ll be surprised how often that happens in written and spoken communications.
Here’s the rule:
“Fewer” refers to a number and is used with plural nouns. “Less” refers to an amount or degree and is used with singular nouns.
The best way to remember this is to commit this simple sentence to memory: “If it’s plural, it’s ‘fewer.’” A few examples will drive this home….
WRONG: We had less accidents this year than last year.
RIGHT: We had fewer accidents this year than last year.
WRONG: We have less cash but less debts.
RIGHT: We have less cash but fewer debts.
RIGHT: We had less conflict last year than ever before.
RIGHT AGAIN: We had fewer conflicts last year than ever before.
Did you catch the last two? “Less conflict” is right because the word “conflict” is used in that sentence as a singular noun. In the last sentence, “conflicts” is a plural noun – things that can be counted. So “fewer” is correct.
A little “s” can make a big difference.
