Key Rule: Less vs. Fewer

• “Less” is used with uncountable nouns—things that can’t be individually counted but measured, like water, sand, or time.
• “Fewer” is used with countable nouns—items you can count individually, like books, apples, or (in this case) items.

So, when we’re talking about a specific number of countable items (like “10 items”), we should use “fewer” instead of “less.” Therefore, the grammatically correct expression is “fewer than 10 items” because “items” are countable.

Examples to Clarify

• Correct: “I have fewer than 10 items in my cart.”
• Incorrect: “I have less than 10 items in my cart.”

Why This Rule Matters

Using “fewer” with countable nouns and “less” with uncountable nouns adds clarity and precision to your sentence. While people may still understand what you mean if you say “less than 10 items,” following this rule helps you sound more fluent and grammatically correct in English.

Practice Exercise

Let’s try a few sentences to reinforce this concept!

1. There were ______ than 5 people at the meeting.
2. She has ______ sugar in her coffee.
3. He drank ______ water than yesterday.
4. The store allowed us to take ______ than 3 samples.

Answers:

1. Fewer
2. Less
3. Less
4. Fewer