Writing Tip 6: “Fewer” vs. “Less”
From grocery store check-outs to live election-coverage, one mistake is made over and over again. I’m talking the number of items in your cart and vote counts. Oh yes, I’m going there. Social faux-pas be damned.
This is important. Let’s talk about the difference between “less” and “fewer.”
- “Less” is properly used in a comparison when the different amounts in question are not countable (e.g., less happy, less powerful, less rice, less sand on the beach).
- “Fewer” is properly used in a comparison when the different amounts are countable (e.g., fewer votes, fewer people, fewer apples, fewer boxes of cereal).
All those “10 items or less” lines? They’re all grammatically incorrect. I applaud the rare stores using “10 items or fewer.”
All those declarations of candidates winning less votes? I just don’t know what to believe when a news outlet’s grammar is questionable.
These are the subtleties that sometimes are never taught, but now you know. It’s time to get it right.