Common Mistakes in English & Grammar Errors.
Share
Sign Up to our social questions and Answers Engine to ask questions, answer people’s questions, and connect with other people.
Login to our social questions & Answers Engine to ask questions answer people’s questions & connect with other people.
Lost your password? Please enter your email address. You will receive a link and will create a new password via email.
Please briefly explain why you feel this question should be reported.
Please briefly explain why you feel this answer should be reported.
Please briefly explain why you feel this user should be reported.
Grammar Essentials
Fewer vs Less: The Complete Guide
Interactive lesson with video explanation, practice exercises, and memory tricks for Indian English learners
Questions →
Common Mistakes →
Fewer vs Less
📑 Quick Navigation
Understanding when to use fewer vs less is one of the most common grammar challenges for English learners, especially in India. The confusion between fewer and less occurs because Hindi uses one word (“kam” – कम) for both concepts. In this comprehensive guide, you’ll master the fewer vs less rule with clear examples, interactive practice exercises, and memory tricks that actually work.
⚡ Quick Answer
FEWER = Countable things (1, 2, 3… you can count them)
LESS = Uncountable things (no individual units to count)
The Test: Can you say “1, 2, 3…” before the word? Use FEWER. Can’t count it? Use LESS.
🇮🇳 Why This Confuses Indian Learners
In Hindi, we don’t distinguish between countable and uncountable nouns the way English does. We simply use “kam” (कम) for both!
Examples:
• “Kam log” (fewer people) ✓
• “Kam paani” (less water) ✓
Both use “kam” – but in English, we need TWO different words!
📈 Real-World Usage Data
Analysis of 1 million English sentences shows:
Source: Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA)
🔑 Key Difference
FEWER
Used with: Countable nouns
Things you can count individually:
🍎 fewer apples
👥 fewer people
📚 fewer books
☕ fewer cups
🚗 fewer cars
💼 fewer jobs
• There are fewer students in today’s class.
• I received fewer emails this week.
• She has fewer responsibilities now.
LESS
Used with: Uncountable nouns
Things that cannot be counted:
💧 less water
⏰ less time
💰 less money
🍚 less rice
📢 less noise
☁️ less pollution
• I have less patience these days.
• This project needs less effort than expected.
• There’s less traffic on weekends.
📊 Side-by-Side Comparison with Full Sentences
“I saw fewer cars on the highway today.”
“There was less traffic during the holidays.”
“He has fewer coins in his collection now.”
“I have less money left after shopping.”
“We have fewer minutes before the deadline.”
“I have less time to prepare for the exam.”
“There are fewer bottles in the fridge.”
“We have less juice than we need.”
“This method gives us fewer problems to solve.”
“Working from home means less stress for me.”
“We got fewer assignments this semester.”
“The teacher gave us less homework today.”
☀️ Structured Breakdown
1. Fewer (for countable nouns)
Use fewer when referring to things you can count individually.
Examples in Context:
2. Less (for uncountable nouns)
Use less when referring to things that cannot be counted individually or measured in bulk.
Examples in Context:
🎭 Memory Trick
Think of it this way:
✋ If you can grab and count each piece, use fewer.
Example: Imagine a jar of jellybeans. If you remove some jellybeans, you have fewer jellybeans. (You can count: 1, 2, 3…)
💨 If you have a pile or measurement of something, use less.
Example: But if you scoop out some jellybean powder, you have less jellybean powder. (You can’t count powder – you measure it)
💬 Questions from Classroom & Online Sessions
From an online session:
“Sir, why do we say ‘less than 5 minutes’ but not ‘fewer than 5 minutes’? Minutes are countable, right?”
Prashant’s Answer:
Great question! When we talk about measurements or distances, we use less even if the unit is technically countable. “Less than 5 minutes” treats time as a continuous amount, not individual units. Similarly: “less than 10 kilometers” (not fewer), “less than $50” (not fewer). But if you’re counting the actual units separately, use fewer: “There are fewer minutes left” ✓
From a classroom discussion:
“I always get confused with ‘information’ – is it fewer information or less information?”
Prashant’s Answer:
It’s less information! “Information” is always uncountable in English – you can never say “one information” or “two informations.” Think of it like water – you can’t count individual “waters.” However, you CAN say “fewer details” or “fewer facts” because these are countable pieces of information.
From a live webinar:
“What about calories? ‘Fewer calories’ or ‘less calories’?”
Prashant’s Answer:
Technically, it’s fewer calories because calories CAN be counted (100 calories, 200 calories…). However, in everyday speech, many native speakers say “less calories” when talking about diet or health. Both are understood, but “fewer calories” is grammatically correct and sounds more educated!
Have a question? Drop it in the comments below and I’ll answer personally! 👇
🎯 Quick Understanding Check
Test yourself! Click to reveal the correct answer:
Question 1: Which is correct?
There are less people today
There are fewer people today
Show Answer
✓ Correct: “There are fewer people today”
Why? People are countable (1 person, 2 people, 3 people…), so we use “fewer.”
Question 2: Fill in the blank:
“I have _______ time than yesterday.”
Show Answer
✓ Correct: “I have LESS time than yesterday”
Why? Time is uncountable. You can’t say “1 time, 2 times” (in this context), so we use “less.”
Question 3: Which is correct?
He drinks less cups of coffee
He drinks fewer cups of coffee
Show Answer
✓ Correct: “He drinks fewer cups of coffee”
Why? CUPS are countable (1 cup, 2 cups…). BUT if we said “less coffee,” that would be correct because coffee itself is uncountable!
📝 Practice Time
Fill in the blanks with fewer or less:
🟢 Beginner Level
✅ Show Answers
🟡 Intermediate Level
Correct the mistakes in these sentences:
✅ Show Answers + Explanation
🔴 Advanced Level
Write your own sentences using both “fewer” and “less” correctly:
Prompt 1: Compare two cities (traffic, buildings, pollution)
Prompt 2: Describe your daily routine changes (tasks, stress, time)
Prompt 3: Write about healthy lifestyle changes (calories, exercise, junk food)
💎 Premium Feature: Get Prashant Sir’s personalized feedback on your answers!
Upgrade to Premium
💡 Common Mistakes and Tips
❌ Incorrect: “I have less books than you.”
✅ Correct: “I have fewer books than you.”
Full sentence: “I have fewer books than you, but I have less time to read them.”
❌ Incorrect: “There is fewer sugar in my tea.”
✅ Correct: “There is less sugar in my tea.”
Full sentence: “There is less sugar in my tea, so I added fewer teaspoons.”
❌ Incorrect: “We have less options now.”
✅ Correct: “We have fewer options now.”
Full sentence: “We have fewer options now, which means less confusion when choosing.”
🤔 Tricky Case: Money vs Coins
• “I have less money in my wallet today.” ✅ (money is uncountable)
• “I have fewer coins in my pocket.” ✅ (coins are countable)
Think of it as: The SUBSTANCE is uncountable, but the CONTAINER/UNIT is countable!
🏆 Final Mastery Check
Challenge: Get all 7 correct!
🎉 Reveal Answers
✅ Got 6-7 correct? You’ve mastered Fewer vs Less!
4-5 correct: Almost there! Review the examples above.
0-3 correct: Watch the video lesson and retry the exercises.
📚 Related Grammar Questions
Much vs Many: When to use each with examples
Little vs A Little: Understanding the difference
Some vs Any: Complete grammar guide with practice
Amount vs Number: Countable and uncountable explained
Want structured learning with all grammar rules?
📚 The Ultimate Grammar Course
🎓 Take Your Grammar to the Next Level
Structured courses by Prashant Sir for serious learners
View all courses on WordPandit →
💬 Still confused? Drop your question in the comments below and Prashant Sir will personally answer!
Last updated: October 2025 | Part of the Ask English Pro comprehensive learning series
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “FAQPage”,
“mainEntity”: [
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “When should I use fewer instead of less?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “Use FEWER for countable nouns (things you can count: fewer books, fewer people). Use LESS for uncountable nouns (things you measure: less water, less time). The simple test: if you can put a number before it (1, 2, 3…), use fewer. If you cannot count it individually, use less.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “What is the rule for fewer vs less?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “The golden rule: FEWER is for countable nouns (you can say 1, 2, 3…). LESS is for uncountable nouns (no individual units to count). For example: fewer cars (countable) vs less traffic (uncountable), fewer coins (countable) vs less money (uncountable).”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “Is it fewer people or less people?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “It’s FEWER people (correct). People are countable – you can say 1 person, 2 people, 3 people. Since people are countable, we use fewer, not less. Example: ‘There are fewer people at the office today.'”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “Why do Indian learners confuse fewer and less?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “In Hindi, we use ‘kam’ for both countable and uncountable nouns. We say ‘kam log’ (fewer people) and ‘kam paani’ (less water) using the same word ‘kam’. English requires two different words (fewer and less), which creates confusion for Hindi speakers.”
}
},
{
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “Is it fewer calories or less calories?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: “Technically, it’s FEWER calories because calories can be counted (100 calories, 200 calories). However, in everyday speech, many native speakers say ‘less calories’ when talking about diet. Both are understood, but ‘fewer calories’ is grammatically correct.”
}
}
]
}
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “BreadcrumbList”,
“itemListElement”: [
{
“@type”: “ListItem”,
“position”: 1,
“name”: “Home”,
“item”: “https://askenglishpro.com/”
},
{
“@type”: “ListItem”,
“position”: 2,
“name”: “Questions”,
“item”: “https://askenglishpro.com/questions/”
},
{
“@type”: “ListItem”,
“position”: 3,
“name”: “Common Mistakes”,
“item”: “https://askenglishpro.com/category/common-mistakes/”
},
{
“@type”: “ListItem”,
“position”: 4,
“name”: “Fewer vs Less: When to Use Each”
}
]
}
{
“@context”: “https://schema.org”,
“@type”: “HowTo”,
“name”: “How to Use Fewer vs Less Correctly”,
“description”: “A comprehensive guide to understanding and using fewer and less correctly in English, with examples, practice exercises, and memory tricks for Indian learners.”,
“step”: [
{
“@type”: “HowToStep”,
“name”: “Understand the golden rule”,
“text”: “Use FEWER for countable nouns (things you can count). Use LESS for uncountable nouns (things you measure).”
},
{
“@type”: “HowToStep”,
“name”: “Apply the number test”,
“text”: “Ask yourself: Can I put a number before this word? If yes, use FEWER. If no, use LESS.”
},
{
“@type”: “HowToStep”,
“name”: “Practice with examples”,
“text”: “Study real-world examples: fewer people vs less traffic, fewer coins vs less money, fewer minutes vs less time.”
},
{
“@type”: “HowToStep”,
“name”: “Test your understanding”,
“text”: “Complete practice exercises at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels to master the concept.”
}
]
}
🔑 Key Difference
🌟 Structured Breakdown
1. Fewer (for countable nouns)
2. Less (for uncountable nouns)
🎭 Analogy
Think of it this way:
For example:
📝 Practice Time
Fill in the blanks with fewer or less:
✅ Answers:
💡 Common Mistakes and Tips
✅ Correct: “I have fewer books than you.” (Books are countable!)
✅ Correct: “There is less sugar in my tea.” (Sugar is uncountable!)