A new Calculus poll suggests that any gains made by the PM after Liz Truss's disastrous spell in charge have been wiped out, with Labour recording a 21 point lead as Tories turn on Rishi Sunak
No. In simple terms, you use ‘fewer’ for things you can count, and ‘less’ for things you can’t. For example, the Tories could win fewer than 100 seats, which would mean they would have less political influence than before.
The key thing is whether you can count it or not. If you remember that simple rule, you will make fewer grammatical mistakes and you will be less wrong.
Uhh… Isn’t that what less than means?
No. In simple terms, you use ‘fewer’ for things you can count, and ‘less’ for things you can’t. For example, the Tories could win fewer than 100 seats, which would mean they would have less political influence than before.
The key thing is whether you can count it or not. If you remember that simple rule, you will make fewer grammatical mistakes and you will be less wrong.
Interesting that we call the mathematical sign ‘<’ a less than sign then. Maybe it has a more technical term than ‘less than’.