Less vs Fewer in English [Advanced English Grammar]

Hey, it's Annemarie with Speak Confident English.

This is exactly where you want to be every week to get the confidence you want

for your life and work in English. As I often tell my students,

when you begin to advance your English skills,

it's important to also fine tune the little things.

To fine-tune something means to make small changes or adjustments

in order to improve or to do something exactly right.

And that's exactly what we want to do with your English grammar skills today.

We're going to fine tune your ability to use two commonly confused

words in English: less and fewer.

Less and fewer both mean the opposite of the word more.

Because of their similar meaning and the fact that they're used in similar ways,

the result is that they are easily confused and it increases the likelihood of

making mistakes when using them, for example, in this sentence,

which word should I use?

I know you want to make less or fewer mistakes in English.

If you're not sure, you definitely will be sure by the end of this lesson today.

In today's Confident English lesson, we're going to do three things. Number one,

you're going to learn a general rule of thumb to follow for deciding whether to

use less or fewer.

Then you're going to learn four important exceptions to that rule.

And I'll give you some examples to help. And then finally,

we're going to end with some tips for you to not only learn how to use less and

fewer, correctly,

but also remember it and use it automatically without thinking when you're

having conversations in English. So be sure to stick with me to the end.

To get started.

Let's begin with our commonly taught rule or a general rule of thumb

for when to use less versus fewer.

Understanding this particular rule also requires an

understanding of count versus non count nouns.

Think back to when you first started to learn English,

do you remember some examples of count versus non count nouns?

A count noun of course, is something that I can count.

For example, one pen, two pens,

and three pens. When we have more than one of something,

we add an -S to indicate that it's plural and we can count it.

But with words like information, water,

milk advice, we can't count them.

And what that means is I can't say something like I have two

informations for you. That just doesn't work for us in English.

Instead, when I talk about a word like information, I can say,

I have some important information for you or I have two

pieces of important information for you.

In that second example I can use the number two,

because I've added those words pieces of,

and the word piece is a countable noun.

I can have one piece of information, two pieces, three pieces, and so on.

If you want to see an extended list of common count and non count

nouns that you can practice with in English,

I have those available for you in my online lesson at the Speak Confident

English website.

I'll share a link directly to that lesson in the notes below the video.

But now that we have our general understanding of count versus non count

nouns,

let's talk about the rule of thumb that we have for when you should use

less versus fewer in English. In short,

fewer is used with count nouns and less is used with noncount nouns,

but let's take a look at some examples to clarify that rule and make sure that

you're using these words correctly. When you communicate in English,

here are three common count nouns in English, tourists,

cars, and mistakes. Again,

notice I'm using the -S to make those words, plural,

and here are three example sentences highlighting how we use

fewer with those count nouns. 1. During the winter months,

there are fewer tourists here in DC. 2.

With improved public transportation options, there are fewer cars on the road,

and that definitely means less traffic as well. 3.

Understanding how we use less and fewer in English correctly will result in

fewer mistakes. Now that we have our examples with count nouns,

let's look at how we use less with noncount nouns.

And here are three common examples. We're going to use the words, light,

salt, and stress. The winter months,

at least for me are really tough because there is less sunlight and the

nights are much longer. The doctor said he needs to eat less salt.

In an effort to have less stress in my life,

I'm developing a meditation practice.

Before we go on to talking about the exceptions to that general rule,

I want you to practice.

I've given you six common count and noncount nouns.

Use those same words and try creating your own example sentences.

Using the words less and fewer.

You can share your examples with me in the comments section below.

And now let's talk about those exceptions. Of course,

there are exceptions to this rule on using less versus fewer in English.

We love breaking our own rules.

And I know that that sometimes makes learning the language frustrating,

but it also keeps you on your toes and makes the language kind of fun,

right? Thankfully, when it comes to these exceptions,

there are four general categories to remember.

When we use nouns related to distance, money, time,

or weight or statistical information,

we use less. Even if the noun is countable.

For example, if I'm talking about distance,

I might be talking about miles or kilometers or meters.

All of those are countable,

but more likely to use the word less to illustrate all of this.

I have six examples sentences to help you.

Number one is the perfect answer to anytime one of your kids asks you,

are we there yet? When that happens,

you can say we have less than 20 kilometers to go.

We're almost there. Number two. Oh my gosh.

We can get tickets to Rome for less than a hundred dollars.

The price of milk is $2 less at the other grocery store,.we

have less than 48 hours to get this project finished.

He weighs three kilos less than he did a few months ago after starting a new

workout routine. And our last example,

there were less than 20 people at the event. All right,

now you have the general rule of thumb to follow for when to use

less versus fewer in English and you have our four exceptions.

So now let's talk about how can you actually remember all of this

in your English conversations,

so you don't have to think and stress or worry about it every time you're

communicating. A few months ago,

I did a lesson on how to master your skills and develop what we call muscle

memory or automaticity.

Automaticity is the ability to do something without thinking

about it. You just do it automatically.

For all of us using another language, that is definitely the goal.

When it comes to using vocabulary and grammar or pronunciation,

we want to do it in the same way that we do with our native language.

We want it to be natural.

All of that is possible in the second language,

but it does take time, focused practice,

and repetition. So how can you do that with this lesson?

If you've been following me for awhile,

you know that when I teach new vocabulary,

I always recommend that you identify a small list of new phrases,

expressions, or collocations to practice again and again and again,

throughout a week, or even up to 10 days.

Doing that gives you focused practice on the same words and the

repetition you need to help those words become automatic when you use

them. The same is true with grammar.

If you've developed a daily English habit,

focusing on practicing a specific skill for five, 10,

or maybe 15 minutes a day,

take the next week to focus on this one area

every day, practice using fewer and less.

And give yourself the opportunity to repeat,

to build that muscle memory with your language skills.

A great way to do that is to visit the online lesson at the Speak Confident

English website. In that lesson,

I have a list of common count and noncount nouns,

and you can use those to practice using less or fewer.

I also have a list of words that belong in those exception categories.

And again,

you can practice using the word less with those nouns in your own example,

sentences,

doing that consistently for a week gives you the time focused

practice and repetition.

You need to use these words less and fewer

correctly in your English conversation and writing without thinking

about it or worrying about it too much. And that is always our goal.

If you found today's lesson useful to you, I would love to know.

And you can tell me in a few simple ways, number one,

give this lesson a thumbs up on YouTube. And while you're doing it,

make sure that you also subscribe to this channel.

So you never miss one of my Confident English lessons. Number two,

go to the online lesson at the Speak Confident English website and practice with

me there. Share your examples in the comment section. And finally,

you can also share this lesson with friends, coworkers,

or family members who are also working to perfect their English skills.

You can do that by sharing it on Facebook or sending it directly by email with

that. Thank you so much for joining me.

And I look forward to seeing you next time for your Confident English lesson.