Common grammatical mistakes made in English: fewer versus less.
Learning a language is a process of trial and error. Of course, as a non-native speaker, you will occasionally make mistakes; you can't avoid that.
But if you become aware of some common mistakes, you will be one step closer to professionalising your business English.
A common grammatical error made in English by non-native speakers is the use of fewer versus less.
Fewer versus Less
The use of fewer and less are often confused by non-native speakers. However, there is a very clear and straightforward rule, as with much and many:
Less
Less is used to refer to a smaller quantity of something that cannot be counted. The noun will always be singular when you use less:
- I drank less coffee today than yesterday.
- I spend less time in my car since we've moved.
- They will probably pay less money, but it's a great place to work.
Fewer
Fewer is used to indicate a small amount of things/people that can be counted. The noun will always be plural when you use fewer:
- There are fewer cars on the roads than yesterday.
- I'm working fewer hours a week since I have kids.
- There are fewer people looking for jobs in sales.
* Beware: In informally spoken English you often do hear less being used with countable nouns, but this is not officially correct.
More tips on English grammar and common mistakes in English? These articles might also interest you:
- English grammar: If versus when
- English grammar: Much versus many
- English grammar: For versus since
- English grammar: Which versus who
- English grammar: Good, well or right
- English grammar: To lay versus to lie
- English grammar: Present or Present Perfect
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