🔑 Key Difference

• Fewer is used with countable nouns (things you can count).
• Less is used with uncountable nouns (things you cannot count).

🌟 Structured Breakdown

1. Fewer (for countable nouns)

• Use fewer when referring to things you can count individually.
• Examples:
  • “There are fewer apples in this basket.” (You can count apples 🍎.)
  • “She has fewer friends than her brother.” (You can count friends 👫.)

2. Less (for uncountable nouns)

• Use less when referring to things that cannot be counted individually or measured in bulk.
• Examples:
  • “I have less water in my bottle.” (Water is uncountable 💧.)
  • “The recipe calls for less sugar.” (Sugar is measured, not counted 🍬.)

🎭 Analogy

Think of it this way:

• If you can grab and count each piece, use fewer.
• If you have a pile or a measurement of something, use less.

For example:

• Imagine a jar of jellybeans. If you remove some jellybeans, you have fewer jellybeans.
• But if you scoop out some jellybean powder, you have less jellybean powder.

📝 Practice Time

Fill in the blanks with fewer or less:

1. This supermarket has _________ checkout lines than the one downtown.
2. We need _________ salt for this dish.
3. He drinks _________ cups of coffee than I do.
4. There’s _________ traffic on Sundays.

✅ Answers:

1. Fewer (countable: lines)
2. Less (uncountable: salt)
3. Fewer (countable: cups)
4. Less (uncountable: traffic)

💡 Common Mistakes and Tips

• ❌ Incorrect: “I have less books than you.”
  ✅ Correct: “I have fewer books than you.” (Books are countable!)
• ❌ Incorrect: “There is fewer sugar in my tea.”
  ✅ Correct: “There is less sugar in my tea.” (Sugar is uncountable!)