Fewer vs. Less

Both “fewer” and “less” describe the opposite of more.

 

But you need to look at the noun in order to decide which word to use.

 

“Fewer” is used for countable nouns, like books, cars, people or cups.

 

Basically, if a number can come before the noun, like 2 books, 10 cars, 100 people, or 5 cups, then the noun is countable.

 

“Less”, on the other hand, is used for uncountable nouns, like love, water, electricity, or science.

 

 If you can’t make the noun plural, then it’s an uncountable noun.

 

For example, you would say “this parking lot is too crowded. I wish there were fewer cars”, but “I wish you would turn off the lights, so we could use less electricity”.