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fewer vs less

Use fewer for things you can count individually (fewer cars, fewer errors) and less for quantities you measure as a mass (less traffic, less time). If you can put a number on it, use fewer.

The difference

• fewer (determiner) — a smaller number of countable things
• less (determiner) — a smaller amount of an uncountable quantity

Examples

• Fewer than ten people attended.
• It took less time than expected.

How to remember

Can you count it with a number? Use fewer. Do you measure it as an amount? Use less.

The common trap

'Less items' — items are countable, so it should be fewer items.

These distinctions are exactly what Word Meaning and Contextual Word Choice questions test. Read the Word Meaning guide or Contextual Word Choice guide, then practise the drill.