The words “less” and “fewer” are like a set of identical twin babies. It may seem difficult to distinguish between the two at first, but there are subtle differences that parents know to look for. Learning how to use these words properly isn’t as important as identifying your children, of course, but it’s still worth knowing.
The general rule of thumb is to use “fewer” when discussing things that can be counted, such as “fewer children” or “fewer books,” and to use “less” when the context is a measurable quantity, such as “less water” or “less rice” (you wouldn’t count individual grains of rice).
Despite these distinctions, the confusion is understandable because “less” and “fewer” were once used interchangeably. That shifted in the late 18th century, at least in part due to writer and grammarian Robert Baker’s Remarks on the English Language, in which he discussed his own personal preference for when to use “less” vs. “fewer.” In time, people adopted Baker’s opinion as conventional wisdom, essentially redefining each word in line with the modern usage.
While “less” is generally used for measurable quantities and “fewer” for countable amounts, there are some exceptions that muddy the waters a little bit. For example, units of time are countable, but when using these comparative words, it fits better under the measurable quantity umbrella. It makes more sense to say “I have less than 24 hours to finish the project. “Less” is also used in comparisons of distance (e.g., “less than 10 miles”), money (“less than a dollar”), and weight (“less than 5 pounds”). That’s because people generally treat those concepts as measurable amounts rather than exact countable numbers. These examples show that despite a general rule, there is almost always an exception when it comes to the English language.
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