{"id":1213,"date":"2024-02-19T06:03:37","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T06:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/?p=1213"},"modified":"2024-02-19T07:25:12","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T07:25:12","slug":"less-or-fewer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/less-or-fewer\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Less&#8221; or &#8220;Fewer&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Less or Fewer (Let&#039;s get it right!)\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oMSkuP1XVf0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Let&#8217;s look at a grammar point that many people &#8211; including native English speakers &#8211; often get wrong. And that is <strong>when to use the word &#8220;less&#8221; versus when to use the word &#8220;fewer&#8221;<\/strong>. The answer depends on whether the noun we&#8217;re referring to is countable or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Less<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">If the noun we&#8217;re describing cannot be counted &#8211; such as water, time or happiness &#8211; we should use the word &#8220;less&#8221;. <br><em>EXAMPLE:  &#8220;It takes <strong>less<\/strong> time to get to work by bike.&#8221;<\/em><br><em>EXAMPLE:  &#8220;There&#8217;s <strong>less<\/strong> water in the glass than I thought.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Notice how strange and wrong it would sound to say, &#8220;There are three waters.&#8221; That&#8217;s because water is not countable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fewer<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">If the noun we&#8217;re describing <em>can<\/em> be counted &#8211; such as apples, houses, or dreams &#8211; then we should use the word &#8220;fewer&#8221;.<br><em>EXAMPLE:  &#8220;Jane picked<strong> fewer<\/strong> apples than Nadia did.&#8221;<\/em><br><em>EXAMPLE:  &#8220;He has<strong> fewer<\/strong> dreams now than when he was young.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Notice how dreams are countable: &#8220;He had three big dreams when he was little; to become rich, famous, and to have a family.&#8221; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Exceptions:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">As with most grammar rules, there are exceptions here too. When using countable units that refer to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>time<\/em><\/span>, <em><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">mone<\/span>y<\/em>, or <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>distance<\/em><\/span>, &#8220;less&#8221; is usually the correct choice. Here are some examples:<br><em>EXAMPLE: &#8220;He has <strong>less<\/strong> than five minutes to finish the exam.&#8221;<br><em>EXAMPLE: <\/em>&#8220;I have <strong>less<\/strong> than twenty dollars in my wallet.&#8221;<br><em>EXAMPLE: <\/em>&#8220;She bikes <strong>less<\/strong> than five miles to work.&#8221;<\/em><br><br>Have a look at the video above for some fun practice! The video is appropriate for Intermediate and Advanced ESL students &#8211; as well as native English speakers who want to brush up on their grammar. And, regardless of your level, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">please don&#8217;t hesitate to reach out<\/a> if you would like to know more about my online classes. It will be my pleasure to help!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Cheryl<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let&#8217;s look at a grammar point that many people &#8211; including native English speakers &#8211; often get wrong. And that is when to use the word &#8220;less&#8221; versus when to use the word &#8220;fewer&#8221;. The answer depends on whether the noun we&#8217;re referring to is countable or not. Less If the noun we&#8217;re describing cannot&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/less-or-fewer\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">&#8220;Less&#8221; or &#8220;Fewer&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,15,12],"tags":[20,17,23,16,19,18,22,21],"class_list":["post-1213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advanced","category-grammar","category-intermediate","tag-advanced","tag-english-grammar","tag-english-tip","tag-esl","tag-intermediate","tag-less-or-fewer","tag-practice","tag-practice-video","entry"],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Less-or-Fewer-YT-Thumbnail.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",1920,1080,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Less-or-Fewer-YT-Thumbnail.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Less-or-Fewer-YT-Thumbnail.png?fit=300%2C169&ssl=1",300,169,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Less-or-Fewer-YT-Thumbnail.png?fit=750%2C422&ssl=1",750,422,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Less-or-Fewer-YT-Thumbnail.png?fit=750%2C422&ssl=1",750,422,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Less-or-Fewer-YT-Thumbnail.png?fit=1536%2C864&ssl=1",1536,864,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Less-or-Fewer-YT-Thumbnail.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",1920,1080,true],"trp-custom-language-flag":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Less-or-Fewer-YT-Thumbnail.png?fit=18%2C10&ssl=1",18,10,true],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Less-or-Fewer-YT-Thumbnail.png?fit=1568%2C882&ssl=1",1568,882,true]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"<p>Let&#8217;s look at a grammar point that many people &#8211; including native English speakers &#8211; often get wrong. And that is when to use the word &#8220;less&#8221; versus when to use the word &#8220;fewer&#8221;. The answer depends on whether the noun we&#8217;re referring to is countable or not. Less If the noun we&#8217;re describing cannot be counted &#8211; such as water, time or happiness &#8211; we should use the word &#8220;less&#8221;. EXAMPLE: &#8220;It takes less time to get to work by bike.&#8221;EXAMPLE: &#8220;There&#8217;s less water in the glass than I thought.&#8221; Notice how strange and wrong it would sound to&hellip;<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/category\/advanced\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Advanced<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/category\/grammar\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Grammar<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/category\/intermediate\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Intermediate<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"CherylRocks","url":"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/author\/cherylrocks\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Less-or-Fewer-YT-Thumbnail.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1213"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1217,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1213\/revisions\/1217"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.englishwithcheryl.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}