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Fewer vs. Less 1680 Views


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English Language
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Transcript

00:07

Fewer versus Less, a la Shmoop. Do numbers make you… twitch?

00:12

Well, then, the grammar rule for “fewer” versus “less” is going to drive you nuts.

00:17

“Fewer” and “less” have the same meaning...

00:20

...the opposite of “more”...

00:22

...but they have different uses. If you're dealing with count nouns, you want “fewer”...

00:28

...and if you're dealing with mass nouns, you want “less”.

00:32

We warned you numbers were involved. Now, a count noun is just what it sounds like...

00:37

...a noun you can count. You can count the number of kids in your class...

00:40

...and the number of books in your backpack...

00:43

...and the number of pimples on Gary’s face. A mass noun is a noun you can't count individually.

00:47

You can't count the clutter on your teacher's desk...

00:51

...or the flour used to make the white bread they serve at lunch...

00:55

...or the grass on a football field. Let's look at some examples. There are fewer

01:00

cookies in the box than there should be.

01:02

There were fewer points scored in today's football game than at last week's.

01:07

There is less water in the swimming pool than there was yesterday.

01:12

There was less hair on Annie's head after she went to the salon.

01:18

There is a major exception to the “fewer” versus “less” rule...

01:21

...use “less” to describe time, money, and distance.

01:25

Ray had less than five dollars in his bank account after he paid his parking ticket.

01:30

Alex was less than a mile from home when he encountered an alligator crossing the street.

01:36

There's an easy way to remember the “fewer” versus “less” rule. Have you ever stood

01:39

in line at the grocery store...

01:41

...at the counter that's supposed to take “10 items or less”? Well, the sign above

01:46

the aisle is wrong.

01:49

It should read “10 items or fewer”. Do you know why? Because you can count the number

01:54

of items you're buying...

01:56

...1-2-3-4-5-6....

01:56

...and the number of items the fool in front of you is buying...

02:00

...1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16. Argh!

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