Lesson Thirty

more / less, fewer

When increasing the quantity of a noun, use the word "more."

  • He wants more opportunities to go to the beach.
sitting in the sun
  • He needs more water.
water

When decreasing the quantity of a noun, choose between the words "less" or "fewer," depending on the type of noun it is. In this case, you need to consider if a noun is a count noun or a noncount noun. (Learn the differences between count and nouncount nouns in Blue Level Lesson Nineteen.)

  • He has fewer opportunities to go to the beach these days because he’s so busy.

The word "opportunities " is a count noun.

space on the beach
  • He should drink less lemonade. He might get sick.

The word "lemonade" is a nouncount noun.

guy drinking

Using "more" is fairly easy because you can use "more" with both count nouns and noncount nouns:

  • Let’s get some more food. (The word "food" is a noncount noun.)
  • I want to read more books this year . (The word "onion" is a count noun.)

Choosing between "less" and "fewer" is not as easy. You really have to pay attention to the type of noun you are describing.

  • I’m trying to eat less food in order to lose weght. (The word "food" is a noncount noun.)
  • The students have fewer books to read this semester. (The word "book(s)" is a count noun.)

Generally, words that end in an "s" are plural count nouns. Words that don’t end in "s" but are considered plural are noncount nouns.

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Next: Yellow Level Review