2020-09-25
คำชวนสับสน ชุด F - Fewer - Less
การใช้ภาษาอังกฤษ ที่ถือว่า ถูกต้อง ในที่นี้ เป็นไป ตามมาตรฐาน ของภาษา
การใช้ภาษาอังกฤษ ไม่กำหนดมาตฐาน ถือตามส่วนใหญ่ที่ใช้แต่ละท้องถิ่น
ความหมาย อาจยืดหยุ่น ขึ้นอยู่กับ ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค
Dictionary.com
ออกเสียง“Fewer” = ‘FYOO-er’
ออกเสียง “Less” = ‘LES’
Dictionary.com
WORDS OFTEN CONFUSED WITH LESS
Even though less has been used before plural nouns ( less words; less men ) since the time of King Alfred, many modern usage guides say that only fewer can be used in such contexts.
Less, they say, should modify singular mass nouns ( less sugar; less money ) and singular abstract nouns ( less honesty; less love ). It should modify plural nouns only when they suggest combination into a unit, group, or aggregation: less than $50 (a sum of money); less than three miles (a unit of distance). With plural nouns specifying individuals or readily distinguishable units, the guides say that fewer is the only proper choice: fewer words; fewer men; no fewer than 31 of the 50 states.
Modern standard English practice does not reflect this distinction. When followed by than, less occurs at least as oftenas fewer in modifying plural nouns that are not units or groups, and the use of less in this construction is increasing in all varieties of English: less than eight million people; no less than 31 of the 50 states. When not followed by than, fewer is more frequent only in formal written English, and in this construction also the use of less is increasing: This year we have had less crimes, less accidents, and less fires than in any of the last five years.
BRITISH DICTIONARY DEFINITIONS FOR LESS
USAGE FOR LESS
Less should not be confusedwith fewer.
Less refers strictly only toquantity and not to number: there is less water than before. Fewer means smaller in number: there are fewer people than before
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Less vs. Fewer: Usage Guide
Adjective
The traditional view is that less applies to matters of degree, value, or amount and modifies collective nouns, mass nouns, or nouns denoting an abstract whole while fewer applies to matters of number and modifies plural nouns.
Less has been used to modify plural nouns since the days of King Alfred and the usage, though roundly decried, appears to be increasing. Less is more likely than fewer to modify plural nouns when distances, sums of money, and a few fixed phrases are involved less than 100 miles an investment of less than $2000 in 25 words or less and as likely as fewer to modify periods of time. in less (or fewer) than four hours
Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Usage Notes
'Fewer' and 'Less'
We all want fewer problems and less trouble with fewer and less
What to Know
Generally, fewer is usedwhen the number of things is counted (fewer problems) whereas less is used when the number is measured (less trouble or less time). However, this is not a hard rule and there are accepted instances of "less" being used with countable amounts such as "250 words or less," "3 items or less" and especially with money (less than $20) and distance (less than 3 miles).
There's a commonly repeated rule about fewer and less. It goes like this: fewer is used to refer to number among things that are counted, as in "fewer choices" and "fewer problems"; less is used to refer to quantity or amount among things that are measured, as in "less time" and "less effort."
This rule is simple enough and looks easyenough to follow, but it's not accurate for all usage. The fact is that less is also sometimes used to refer to number among things that are counted.
Origins of The Fewer vs Less Rule
This isn't an example of how modern English is going to the dogs. Less has been used this way for well over a thousand years—nearly as long as there's been a written English language. But for more than 200 years almost every usage writer and English teacher has declared such use to be wrong. The received rule seems to have originated with the critic Robert Baker, who expressed it not as a law but as a matter of personal preference. Somewhere along the way—it's not clear how—his preference was generalized and elevated to an absolute, inviolable rule.
Exceptions to the Rule
Despite the rule, less used of thingsthat are countable is standard in many contexts, and in fact is more likely than fewer in a few common constructions, especially ones involving distances (as in "less than three miles"), sums of money (as in "less than twenty dollars"), units of time and weight (as in "less than five years" and "less than ten ounces"), and statistical enumerations (as in "less than 50,000 people")—all things which are often thought of as amounts rather than numbers.
The use of less to modify ordinary plural count nouns (as in "made less mistakes") is pretty rarein writing and is usually better avoided, though it does occur frequently in speech.
But less is actually preferred in phrases like "an essay of 250 words or less." It's also—to the chagrin of some—the preferred choice in the supermarket checkout line's "twelve items or less" sign. (Some grocery stores have apparently been convinced by the chagrin, though, and use "items or fewer." They are still very much in the minority.)
Less is common following a number, as in "a package containing three less than the others," and is the typical choice after one, as in "one less worry."
A definitive rule covering all possibilities is maybe impossible. If you're a native speaker your best bet is to be guided by your ear, choosing the word that sounds more natural in a particular context. If you're not a native speaker, the simple rule is a good place to start, but be sure to consider the exceptions to it as well.
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words
fewer
of a smaller number: He said the same thing, but in fewer words.
Not to be confused with:
less – to a smaller extent, amount, or degree: He was less than courteous. [Few and fewer should be used only before a plural: a few cookies remained; fewer people attended. Less should modify onlysingular nouns: less money, less courage. When a plural noun suggests a combination into a unit, less is used: less than fifteen cents (a sum of money); less than fifteen miles (a unit of distance); less sugar (a mass noun).]
Collins English Dictionary
Usage: Less should not be confused with fewer. Less refers strictly only toquantity and not to number: there is less water than before. Fewer means smaller in number: there are fewer people than before
Collins COBUILD English Usage
less
1. used in front of nouns
You use less in front of an uncountable noun to say that one quantity is not as big as another, or that a quantity is not as big as it was before.
A shower uses less water than a bath.
His work gets less attention than it deserves.
Less is sometimes used in front of plural nouns.
This proposal will mean less jobs.
Less people are going to university than usual.
Some people think this use is wrong.
They say that you should use fewer in front of plural nouns, not 'less'.
There are fewer trees here.
The new technology allows products to be made with fewer components than before.
However, fewer sounds formal when used in conversation. As an alternative to 'less' or 'fewer', you can use not as many or not so many in front of plural nouns. These expressions are acceptable in both conversation and writing.
There are not as many cottages as there were.
There aren't so many trees there.
After not as many and not so many you use as, not 'than'.
2. 'less than' and 'fewer than'
You use less than in front of a noun phrase to say that an amount or measurement is below a particular point or level.
It's hard to find a house in Beverly Hills for less than a million dollars.
I travelled less than 3000 miles.
Less than is sometimes used in front of a noun phrase referring to a number of people or things.
The whole of Switzerland has less than six million inhabitants.
The country's army consisted of less than a hundred soldiers.
Some people think this use is wrong.
They say that you should use fewer than, not 'less than', in front of a noun phrase referring to people or things.
He had never been in a class with fewer than forty children.
In 1900 there were fewer than one thousand university teachers.
You can use less than in conversation, but you should use fewer than in formal writing.
However, fewer than can only be usedwhen the following noun phrase refers to a number of people or things.
Don't use 'fewer than' when the noun phrase refers to an amount or measurement.
Don't say, for example, 'I travelled fewer than 3000 miles.
3. 'less' used in front of adjectives
Less can be used in front of an adjective to say that someone or something has a smaller amount of a quality than they had before, or a smaller amount than someone or something else has.
After I spoke to her, I felt less worried.
Most of the other plays were less successful.
Be Careful!
Don't use 'less' in front of the comparative form of an adjective.
Don't say, for example, 'It is less colder than it was yesterday'.
Say 'It is less cold than it was yesterday'.
4. 'not as ... as'
In conversation and informal writing, people don't usually use 'less' in front of adjectives.
They don't say, for example, 'It is less cold than it was yesterday'.
They say 'It is not as cold as it was yesterday'.
The region is not as pretty as the Dordogne.
Not so is also sometimes used, but this is less common.
The officers here are not so young as the lieutenants.
After not as and not so, you use as, not 'than'.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language
Usage Note:
The traditional rule holds that fewer should be used for things that can be counted (fewer than four players), while less should be used with mass nouns for things of measurable extent (less paper; less than a gallon of paint). The Usage Panel largely supports the traditional rule. In our 2006 survey, only five percent accepted the sentence There are less crowds at the mall these days, while 28 percent accepted the following sentence, in which less is contrasted with more: The region needs more jobs, not less jobs. The Panel was a little more accepting (but still not in favor) of the familiar supermarket usage The express lane is reserved for shoppers with 10 or less items. The traditional rule is often hard to follow in practice, however, in part because plural nouns and mass nouns are similar in being divisible and in lacking distinct boundaries. For this reason, plurals and mass nouns are used in many of the same ways. Both can be used without determiners (I like apples, I like applesauce), and they both can take certain quantifiers like some and more (more apples, more applesauce). Less falls in the same class as some and more and is used in some well-established constructions where fewer would occur if the traditional rule were applied. Less than can be used before a plural noun that denotes a measure of time, amount, or distance: less than three weeks; less than $400; less than 50 miles. Less is sometimes used with plural nouns in the expressions no less than (as in No less than 30 of his colleagues signed the letter) and or less (as in Give your reasons in 25 words or less). And the approximator more or less is normally used after plural nouns as well as mass nouns: I have two dozen apples, more or less. To use fewer in such constructions sounds fastidious, so writers who follow the traditional rule should do so with caution.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary,
usage: Many usage guides say that fewer should be used before plural nouns specifying individuals or distinguishable units: fewer words; no fewer than 31 of the 50 states. less, the guides maintain, should modify only singular mass nouns (less sugar; less money) and singular abstract nouns (less doubt; less power). It should modify plural nouns only when they suggest combination into a unit, group, or aggregation: less than $50 (a sum of money); less than three miles (a unit of distance). Standard Englishpractice does not consistently reflect these distinctions. The use of less or less than where usage guides recommend fewer (than) is common in most varieties of English: less than eight million people; no less than 31 of the 50 states; We did more work with less people. Though these uses are often criticized, they appear to be increasing in frequency.
