In many grammar books, fewer and less are opposed. fewer should be used with plural count nouns: fewer books, while less is only to be used with noncount nouns: less money.
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Generally, fewer is used when a number of things can be counted ("fewer problems") and less is used when an amount is measured ("less trouble" or "less time").
Fewer is the comparative form of few. We usually use less with uncountable nouns. We use fewer with plural nouns: I do less work at weekends than I used to. Better cycle routes would mean fewer cars and fewer accidents.
It’s important to understand the difference between “less” and “fewer” when talking about quantities in English. Remember, “less” is used with uncountable nouns, and “fewer” is used with countable nouns.
Some [*] regard the use of the determiner less with countable quantities to be incorrect, stating that less should indicate only a reduction in uncountable quantity, or in size or significance, leaving fewer to indicate a smaller numerical quantity.
In this post, we'll explain the difference between less and fewer and give you some tips on how to use them correctly. We'll also show you some examples to see how they're used in context.
Use "fewer" for plural nouns (e.g., "apples" or "books") and "less" for singular nouns (e.g., "money" or "water").
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