FEWER OR LESS ?

It is not only learners of English who confuse less and fewer – some native speakers also frequently use them incorrectly.

But less and fewer are not actually so difficult to use correctly: less means ’a lower amount’ (menor cantidad de algo), while fewer expresses ‘a lower number’ (menor número de algo).
 In other words:

• fewer and less are both the opposite of more;
• we use fewer with countable nouns; Fewer con nombres contables
• we use less with uncountable nouns. Less se usa con incontables.

Let’s look at some examples:

• I’ve got less time than I had last year. (time = uncountable noun)
• He’s got less money than his wife. (money = uncountable noun)
• Low-fat milk has fewer calories than full-fat. (calories = countable noun)
• The government built fewer houses last year. (houses = countable noun)

Easy-to-remember tip

If thinking about countable and uncountable nouns is a bit too technical for you, here’s an easy way to remember how to get less and fewer right: Use fewer when the noun is plural (e.g.doors, dogs, people, mistakes, days, etc.) and you will always be correct.