{"id":8195,"date":"2021-09-03T09:40:15","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T13:40:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/?p=8195"},"modified":"2021-09-03T09:40:15","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T13:40:15","slug":"fewer-less-and-knowing-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/fewer-less-and-knowing-the-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Fewer, Less, and Knowing the Difference"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Image by\u00a0\uc774\ub3d9\uc6d0 lee<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

In English, we use quantifiers<\/strong> with our nouns all the time. A quantifier describes the number or amount of something within a phrase. Unfortunately, many English speakers confuse their quantifiers, using one when they should use another. Do you mean fewer<\/em> of something or less<\/em> of something? This is because many quantifiers are not specific. Graded quantifiers are used when the noun in the sentence is uncountable.<\/p>\n

Countable and Uncountable Nouns<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Let\u2019s begin by understanding what we mean by countable. If I said that I want every Sherlock Holmes book ever written, the quantifier in that sentence is every<\/em>. Now, every<\/em> is a huge number. There could be tens of thousands of Sherlock Holmes books. But it is nevertheless a specific number. Countable nouns are things that can be counted, like books, even though the number might be vast. Or small. \u201cI want a blueberry.\u201d It may not be very satisfying, but a single thing, a blueberry, is still quite specific and the quantifier in the example sentence is a<\/em>.<\/p>\n

An uncountable noun is something more abstract, like imagination, or faith. It could also be something that lacks substance, like gasses or liquids. Uncountable nouns are considered singular and do not have plural forms. Tea, knowledge, suspicion, water \u2013 these are all uncountable nouns. If you tell a waiter that you\u2019ll have coffee, what you really mean is that you will have a cup of coffee or a serving of coffee. The cup and the serving are<\/u> countable nouns: a<\/strong> cup.<\/p>\n

Specific Quantifiers<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A specific quantifier, then, tells us exactly how many countable things you are referring to.<\/p>\n