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Fewer people are often less competitive.
This one is really easy, which makes it odd that so many people get it wrong.
'Fewer' belongs only with 'more'. It applies to things you can count: literally, things you can point at and go "1,2,3..." So the sign at the checkout has to say 'Ten items or fewer'.
Ten items or less
Let's have fewer clutter around here
Both of these are wrong. 'Less' describes the extent of something, not the number of items. So you can be less competitive but you can't be fewer competitive.
You can also have less clutter, because 'clutter' is an indeterminate number of items, placed around your living room for a 'good reason' so you can have arguments with your spouse.
Incidentally, time and money are exceptions because we sort of think of them as continuous. So it's correct to say, "In less than two hours I will make more than a grand." |
