{"id":72367,"date":"2019-09-26T05:56:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-26T05:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/?p=72367"},"modified":"2019-09-26T05:56:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-26T05:56:00","slug":"less-fewer-the-least-the-fewest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/less-fewer-the-least-the-fewest\/","title":{"rendered":"Less, Fewer, The Least, The Fewest"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Less <\/b>is the comparative of little<\/b>. It is used before uncountable nouns.<\/p>\n
    \n
  • I have less money <\/b>than you.<\/li>\n
  • He was less hurt <\/b>than frightened.<\/li>\n
  • Tom is less clever <\/b>than his brother.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Fewer<\/b> is the comparative of few<\/b>. It is used before plural nouns.<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Fewer people<\/b> live to be hundred.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      In an informal style, less<\/b> is quite common before plural nouns. Some people consider this incorrect.<\/p>\n

        \n
      • I have got less problems<\/b> than I used to have. (Less formal than I have got fewer problems <\/b>than I used to have.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Less\/fewer of<\/h3>\n

        Before determiners (articles, demonstratives and possessives) and pronouns we use less of<\/b> and fewer of.<\/b><\/p>\n

          \n
        • I would like to spend less of my time<\/b> travelling. (NOT — less my time traveling.)<\/li>\n
        • I want less of this <\/b>and more of that. (NOT I want less this —)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          Before nouns without determiners, of <\/b>is not used.<\/p>\n

            \n
          • If you want to lose weight, eat less food. <\/b> (NOT — less of food.)<\/li>\n
          • Fewer people<\/b> live to be hundred. (NOT Fewer of people —)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Lesser<\/h3>\n

            Lesser <\/b>means \u2018not so much\u2019. It is used in a few expressions.<\/p>\n

            a lesser-known <\/b>writer
            \nthe lesser <\/b>of two evils.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n

            The least <\/b>means the smallest or lowest quantity or degree. It is the superlative of little. <\/b> It is used before uncountable nouns.<\/p>\n

              \n
            • He went up the steps without showing the least <\/b>anxiety.<\/li>\n
            • She had not the least <\/b>idea of what was going on.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Before plural abstract nouns we can use the least of.<\/b><\/p>\n

                \n
              • \u2018I think she is really upset with you.\u2019 \u2018That is the least of <\/b>my worries.\u2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                The fewest <\/b>is the superlative of few<\/b>. It is used before plural nouns.<\/p>\n

                Less and Fewer<\/h3>\n

                Less<\/b> is the comparative of little<\/b>. It is used before uncountable nouns. Fewer <\/b>is the comparative of few<\/b>. It is used before plural nouns.<\/p>\n

                  \n
                • New cars tend to cause less <\/b>air pollution.<\/li>\n
                • He earns less <\/b>money than his wife.<\/li>\n
                • I have got fewer <\/b>problems than I used to have.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                  Note that in an informal style less <\/b>is quite common before plural nouns.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                  Less is the comparative of little. It is used before uncountable nouns. I have less money than you. He was less hurt than frightened. Tom is less clever than his brother. Fewer is the...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[251],"tags":[1584,1586,1585,1583,1590,1589,1588,1587],"class_list":["post-72367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar","tag-fewer","tag-fewest","tag-least","tag-less","tag-less-of","tag-lesser","tag-the-fewest","tag-the-least"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72367"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72368,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72367\/revisions\/72368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/perfectyourenglish.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}