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Fewer vs. Less 1674 Views
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Want even more deets on Fewer vs. Less? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
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”...
Full Transcript
- 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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