Commonly Confused Words

Less vs. Fewer

1 min read

People often mix up less and fewer — but there’s a simple rule that will help you get it right every time!

Fewer

Fewer is used with countable nouns — things you can count one by one.

There were fewer people at the event this year.
I drank fewer cups of coffee today. ☕
We need fewer distractions during meetings.

If you can count the items individually (books, apples, mistakes), use fewer.

Less

Less is used with uncountable nouns — things you can't count one by one, like time, money, or water.

Try to spend less time on social media. ⏳
There's less sugar in this recipe.
We have less money this month.

Use less for things that are seen as a whole or in amounts, not separate items.

💡 Tip

Fewer = countable
Less = uncountable

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

There were ___ cars on the road this morning.

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Commonly Confused Words

Less vs. Fewer

1 min read

People often mix up less and fewer — but there’s a simple rule that will help you get it right every time!

Fewer

Fewer is used with countable nouns — things you can count one by one.

There were fewer people at the event this year.
I drank fewer cups of coffee today. ☕
We need fewer distractions during meetings.

If you can count the items individually (books, apples, mistakes), use fewer.

Less

Less is used with uncountable nouns — things you can't count one by one, like time, money, or water.

Try to spend less time on social media. ⏳
There's less sugar in this recipe.
We have less money this month.

Use less for things that are seen as a whole or in amounts, not separate items.

💡 Tip

Fewer = countable
Less = uncountable

Test your knowledge 📝

Question 1 sur 8Score: 0/8

There were ___ cars on the road this morning.

Discover the app: Shaky English

Join 100,000 people who are improving their English skills on the Shaky English app

Other similar rules

Common confusions

Whether vs. If

Common confusions

Raise vs. Rise

Common confusions

Then vs. Than

Conjugation

Articles: A, An, The

Common mistakes

Modal Verbs for Advice (should, ought to, had better)

Agreement rules

Incomplete Comparisons

Agreement rules

Misplaced Modifiers

Common confusions