IreneUsing 'less' versus 'fewer'
May 19th 2008 16:27
The other day, I went to Starbucks and took a few napkins with my coffee. Here's a picture:
I'm not sure if these napkins are new (I rarely go to Starbucks), but my initial reaction was, What? I don't get it. After a while, I realised that the napkins are recycled (hence "less"), which means that fewer trees will be cut down to make more napkins, which means more planet, in a way. *shrug*
As if the napkin's message weren't enough, the misuse of "less" caught me off guard. A coffee shop napkin shouldn't cause so much consternation, but the rule is simple.
Use "less" for things that cannot be counted (mass nouns). Use "fewer" for things that can be counted (count nouns).
We've all seen the grocery store signs that say "Express lane - 8 items or less"; even Jennifer Love Hewitt says in a (North American) TV spot for acne medication that she noticed "less and less pimples" on her face. Indeed, using "less" instead of "fewer" is so common that even people who know the rule don't notice or care much. But the rule is a good thing to know, especially when you are saying or writing something that will be recorded for posterity or heard/read by many people.
Some examples of the rule are illustrated thus; note that some nouns can work as either mass or count nouns, depending on meaning and context:
Mystifying Starbuck's napkin
I'm not sure if these napkins are new (I rarely go to Starbucks), but my initial reaction was, What? I don't get it. After a while, I realised that the napkins are recycled (hence "less"), which means that fewer trees will be cut down to make more napkins, which means more planet, in a way. *shrug*
As if the napkin's message weren't enough, the misuse of "less" caught me off guard. A coffee shop napkin shouldn't cause so much consternation, but the rule is simple.
Use "less" for things that cannot be counted (mass nouns). Use "fewer" for things that can be counted (count nouns).
We've all seen the grocery store signs that say "Express lane - 8 items or less"; even Jennifer Love Hewitt says in a (North American) TV spot for acne medication that she noticed "less and less pimples" on her face. Indeed, using "less" instead of "fewer" is so common that even people who know the rule don't notice or care much. But the rule is a good thing to know, especially when you are saying or writing something that will be recorded for posterity or heard/read by many people.
Some examples of the rule are illustrated thus; note that some nouns can work as either mass or count nouns, depending on meaning and context:
| Count nouns - use "fewer" | Mass nouns - use "less" |
| Snacks - "Try to have fewer snacks." | Food - "Try to eat less junk food." |
| Sheets - "There are fewer sheets in the copier machine." | Paper - "There is less paper than before." |
| Soda cans - "I see fewer soda cans on the sidewalks." | Litter - "I see less litter on the streets these days." |
| Words - "The politics essay has fewer words than the philosophy one." | Writing - "It has less writing because the student was tired." |
| Work (as a count noun) - "There are fewer works of art by Arnoldin than we realise." | Work (as a mass noun) - "He did less work in his later years." |
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