Fewer vs. Less
One morning as the radio alarm signaled 6:30 a.m., the news announcer was quoting local election numbers. She said, “(The candidate) received less votes.” Much to my husband’s annoyance, I sleepily corrected she-who-could-not-hear-me, “Fewer.” I could not fall back asleep afterward. But, really, who could have?
The English language has rules for using “less” and “fewer,” and many of those rules are broken on a daily basis. So, to borrow a phrase from the Pirates of the Caribbean series, they’re more like guidelines.
When to Use Fewer
Fewer is used when talking about nouns that can be counted individually. Think nouns like apples, beans, or, in my announcer’s case, votes. If you can use one-to-one correspondence for items, then push the fewer button.
Most of the time, fewer is used as a comparative adjective that modifies a plural noun. It often appears with the word “than.”
She had fewer reasons to go to the party than reasons to stay home.
Marilyn could not all add the color she wanted to her project as she had fewer crayons than her heart’s desire.
To win the game of Uno, a player must have fewer points than their opponents.
Rarely, fewer is used as a pronoun or an implied noun; however, it still refers to a smaller number of items or people and is often paired with than.
Fewer showed up for the protest than expected.
When talking about mistakes, we’d like to see fewer made.
Basically, if you can count it, use fewer.
When to Use Less
In contrast to fewer’s match with countable nouns, less is used with uncountable or bulk nouns. Bulk nouns don’t have plural forms, including “water,” “evil,” “sunshine,” or “wood.” Words like “some,” “little,” “more,” and “much” and our focus word less modify bulk nouns when talking about amounts.
Like it’s cousin fewer, less is often—but not always—seen with the word than.
Due to the drought, the reservoir has significantly less water than last year.
We all could use a little less evil in our daily lives.
In addition to an adjective, less can be used as a noun or an implied noun, and sometimes an adverb.
We will simply have to survive with less.
If we take care of the details, there will be less to worry about.
For advice, I look to the musical Hamilton: “Talk less; smile more.”
It’s More of a Guideline…
The following are examples that turn the less rules into guidelines.
Less with Money
Because “money” is considered a bulk noun, it calls for using the word less.
With the sale and the coupon, her dress cost less than $40.00.
However, if referring to concrete bills or coins, both plural nouns, use fewer.
I had fewer singles than five-dollar bills in my wallet.
Less with Weight
Weight is a bulk noun as well, so it requires less. I know I prefer less weight and bulk.
They worried about an eating disorder when her weight was less than 100 pounds.
Less with Time
When talking about time, less makes sense most of the...uh…time.
It took less than three years to complete the project.
Less with Amounts
Less is used in situations when talking about total amounts. It’s common to see a sign at the grocery store indicating a checkout aisle for those who have “10 items or less.” (Inevitably, this is when you find eleven items in your basket.) We can count the items, so if going by the rules, fewer would be the choice, but nope. It’s less. Go figure.
For another common example, I quote a prompt from one of my daughter’s college applications:
In 150 words or less, describe your perfect job.
She simply wrote “sultan of a small country,” which was enough for the admission folks to call her out at the admissions welcome party. “Hey, guys, ‘sultan of a small country’ is here!” We guess that answer wrote her ticket to the ball. Less can indeed be more!
Following a Number, Especially After “One”
When getting down to the first prime number, less is the only word that will do.
Well, that’s one less thing to worry about.
You remember your third-grade math word problems, right? Let’s harken back to those testing times.
Bambi bought 10 melons. Xavier bought 8 melons. What is 5 less than the total melons Bambi and Xavier bought?
There’s the less after the numeral 5, but honestly! Wouldn’t we all rather know WHY Bambi bought 10 and Xavier bought 8 melons? Who needs that many melons? And how did they get them home? How many bags did it take? How much stronger than Xavier is Bambi? These are far more pressing issues!
Guidelines to Live By, More or Less
When in doubt, use these guidelines:
Use fewer to modify a noun you can count or make a plural noun.
Use these models:
Fewer ice cubes; less water.
Fewer trees; less wood.
Fewer accidents; less havoc.
When all else fails, trust your ear. Go with what sounds right.