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This video explains the difference between affect and effect and provide tips for remembering which is which and when to use each one. If you suffe...
Fewer vs. Less 1680 Views
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Want even more deets on Fewer vs. Less? Click here to review. Or take a look at our entire grammar section for all the goods.
Transcript
- 00:07
Fewer versus Less, a la Shmoop. Do numbers make you… twitch?
- 00:12
Well, then, the grammar rule for “fewer” versus “less” is going to drive you nuts.
- 00:17
“Fewer” and “less” have the same meaning...
- 00:20
...the opposite of “more”...
- 00:22
...but they have different uses. If you're dealing with count nouns, you want “fewer”...
Full Transcript
- 00:28
...and if you're dealing with mass nouns, you want “less”.
- 00:32
We warned you numbers were involved. Now, a count noun is just what it sounds like...
- 00:37
...a noun you can count. You can count the number of kids in your class...
- 00:40
...and the number of books in your backpack...
- 00:43
...and the number of pimples on Gary’s face. A mass noun is a noun you can't count individually.
- 00:47
You can't count the clutter on your teacher's desk...
- 00:51
...or the flour used to make the white bread they serve at lunch...
- 00:55
...or the grass on a football field. Let's look at some examples. There are fewer
- 01:00
cookies in the box than there should be.
- 01:02
There were fewer points scored in today's football game than at last week's.
- 01:07
There is less water in the swimming pool than there was yesterday.
- 01:12
There was less hair on Annie's head after she went to the salon.
- 01:18
There is a major exception to the “fewer” versus “less” rule...
- 01:21
...use “less” to describe time, money, and distance.
- 01:25
Ray had less than five dollars in his bank account after he paid his parking ticket.
- 01:30
Alex was less than a mile from home when he encountered an alligator crossing the street.
- 01:36
There's an easy way to remember the “fewer” versus “less” rule. Have you ever stood
- 01:39
in line at the grocery store...
- 01:41
...at the counter that's supposed to take “10 items or less”? Well, the sign above
- 01:46
the aisle is wrong.
- 01:49
It should read “10 items or fewer”. Do you know why? Because you can count the number
- 01:54
of items you're buying...
- 01:56
...1-2-3-4-5-6....
- 01:56
...and the number of items the fool in front of you is buying...
- 02:00
...1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-13-14-15-16. Argh!
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