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Difference between "less" and "fewer"?
It is common to say "less noise" - "fewer noise" sounds incorrect. But in a different context "fewer benefits" is correct whereas "less benefits" is not. It appears that "fewer" is used when dealing with plurals and "less" is used for a singular. Is this so and what is the exact name given to this device in the English language?
1 Answer
- norcekriLv 79 years agoFavorite Answer
I don't recall a name for this semantic class distinction.
"Fewer" is a discrete description: it refers only to countable items.
"Less" is a collective description: it refers only to continuous masses.
If your measurement of benefits is counting how many individual benefits you have, then "fewer" is correct. If you consider this a mass evaluation, perhaps a continuous score, you would use "less benefits".
You're almost right with the singular / plural idea, in that "fewer" would refer to a noun that is countable and multiple -- thus, a plural; "less" would refer to a collective, which (in English) is always expressed in the singular.
