169 less and fewer

1 the difference
Less is the com parative of little (used especially before u ncountable nouns).
Fewer is the com parative of fe w (used before plural nouns). Compare:
I earn less money than a cleaner. I've got few er problem s than I used to have.
In an informal style, less is quite com m on before plural nouns. Some people
consider this incorrect.
I've got less problem s than I used to have.
2 less/fewer with and without o f
Before another determ iner (article, possessive, etc) or a pronoun, we use less of
and few er of. Compare:
- I f you w ant to lose weight, eat less food, ( n o t . . . less o ffo o d.)
Fewer people make their own bread these days, ( n o t Fewer-e f people . . .)
- I'd like to spend less o f m y time answering emails.
A t the college reunions, there are few er o f us each year.
3 less and few er without nouns
Nouns can be dropped after less and few er if the m eaning is clear.
Some people go to church, but less/fewer than 20 years ago.
Less can be used as an adverb (the opposite of the adverb more).
I worry less than I used to.
F o r lesser, ► 5 1 0 .

170 least and fewest

1 the least as determiner: superlative of little
The least can be used as a determ iner before uncountable nouns; it is the
superlative of little (= not m uch, ► 168), and the opposite of the most.
I think I probably do the least work in this office.
The least can be used w ithout a noun if the m eaning is clear.
Jess earns the m ost money in our family; Dan earns the least.
We use the least o f before plural abstract nouns to m ean ‘the smallest o f.
‘ What will your mother think?’ ‘That’s the least o f m y worries.'
2 'any . . . at all'
With singular abstract nouns, the least can m ean ‘any . . . at all'.
Do you think there's the least chance o f Sm ith winning the election?
‘What's the time?' 'I haven’t got the least idea.'
3 the few est as determiner: superlative of few
The few est can be used before plural nouns as the superlative of fe w (► 168).
The translation with the few est mistakes isn’t always the best.
Least is often used instead of few est before plural nouns (. . . the least mistakes),
especially in an informal style. Some people feel this is incorrect.
For other uses of least, see the Index.

gram m ar *169 less and fewer