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Does “bored” mean the same as “boring”? What’s the difference between “funny” and “fun”? Here are some commonly confused English word pairs.
LESS AND FEWER LESS is the comparative of little (used especially before uncountable nouns).
Examples:
They always try to spend less money. (money -> uncountable noun)
Debra eats less chocolate (chocolate -> uncountable noun) and fewer biscuits (biscuits -> plural noun) than she used to.
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FEWER is the comparative of few (used before plural nouns).
Examples:
Despite an excellent programme (US spelling -> program) and speakers fewer delegates (delegates - > plural noun) attended our conference last year.
Brian has got fewer problems than he used to have. (problems -> plural noun)
Note: Less is quite common before plural nouns, as well as uncountable nouns, especially in an informal style.
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