Mistake: Fewer vs Less

fewer with countables; less with uncountables.

Examples

• fewer cars
• less traffic

Key rules

• Use fewer with countable nouns: fewer cars
• Use less with uncountable nouns: less traffic
• Use less than with money, time and distance

Common mistakes

• There was less cars today → There were fewer cars today
• There was fewer traffic → There was less traffic

Use cases

• Shopping and prices
• Describing numbers of people or things
• Writing about traffic