Less versus fewer
Which sentences are correct?
- I have less oatmeal than you.
- I have fewer oatmeal than you.
- I have less muffins than you.
- I have fewer muffins than you.
- There is one less muffin than yesterday.
- There is one fewer muffin than yesterday.
- There are two less muffins than yesterday.
- There are two fewer muffins than yesterday.
The correct sentences are A, D, E, and H.
Why?
Muffins are a countable quantity. Oatmeal is a mass quantity and not countable. Use fewer with countable quantities. Use less with mass quantities.
There is a further refinement of the countable-quantity rule. The word fewer implies, and applies to, the loss or the lack of “more than one.” When losing only a single, discrete, countable quantity, less is the proper term. So one less muffin, but two fewer muffins.
That’s all there is to it: fewer if it’s a countable quantity; less if it’s not, or if it’s only one.
