Fewer or less

Fewer is used with countable nouns: people, animals, chairs, shoes.

Less is used for uncountable, usually abstract nouns: money, happiness, snow, idealism.

Less is also used with adjectives and adverbs.

The rule for when to use fewer or less is similar to the rule for when to use amount or number. Number and fewer are both used when you can count the items to which you are referring. Amount and less are both used when you cannot count the items to which you are referring.

Choose the right answer

Questions:
1. There are ______women in my family than men.
2. The express line is only for shoppers with ten items or ______
3. Mandy dumped me, but that doesn't mean I like her any ______
4. You should try to use ______energy by turning off the light. when you leave the room.
5. We have ______students this year than last.
6. There seem to be ______tourists around this year.
7. Maybe he would worry ______if he understood the situation.
8. She has ______interest in gardening than he does.
9. There are ______buses on Sundays.
10. Doctors recommend eating ______salt.
11. David has ______ideas than everyone else.
12. I hope ______snow falls this year.

REPONSES:
1. fewer
2. fewer
3. less
4. less
5. fewer
6. fewer
7. less
8. less
9. fewer
10. less
11. fewer
12. less

Quantifieurs : Much, many, little and few

We use much and little with uncountable nouns:

muchtime/ muchluck / littleenergy /littlemoney/

We use many and few with plural nouns:

many friends / manypeople / few cars / fewcountries

We use much/many especially in negative sentences and questions. A lot (of) is also possible:

• We didn't spend much money, (or We didn't spend a lot of money.)

• Do you know many people? (or Do you know a lot of people?)

• I don't go out much, (or I don't go out a lot.)

In positive sentences a lot (of) is more usual. Much is unusual in positive sentences in spoken English:

• We spent a lot of money, (not 'We spent much money')

• He goes out a lot. (not' He goes out much')

You can use many in positive sentences, but a lot (of) is more usual in spoken English:

• A lot of people (or Many people) drive too fast.

But note that we use too much and so much in positive sentences:

• We spent too much money.

Littleand few (without 'a') are negative ideas (=not much / not many):

• We must be quick. There is little time. (=not much, not enough time)

• He isn't popular. He has few friends. (=not many, not enough friends)

You can say very little and very few:

• There is very little time.

• He has very few friends.

Put in much, many,few or little:

Questions:
1. He isn't very popular. He has ______friends
2. Ann is very busy these days. She has ______free time.
3. Did you take ______photographs when you were on holidays?
4. I'm not very busy today. I haven't got ______to do.
5. The museum was very crowded. There were too ______people.
6. Most of the town is modern. There are ______old buildings.
7. The weather has been very dry recently. We've had ______rain.

REPONSES:
1. few
2. little
3. many
4. much
5. many
6. few
7. little

Little, a little, few and a few

A little and a few are more positive. A little = some, a small amount:

• Let's go and have a drink. We've got a little time before the train leaves.

(a little time = some time, enough time to have a drink)

• 'Do you speak English? 'A little.' (so we can talk a bit)

A few = some, a small number:

• I enjoy my life here. I have a few friends and we meet quite often,

(a few friends = not many but enough to have a good time)

• 'When did you last see Clare? 'A few days ago.' (= some days ago)

Compare:

• He spoke little English, so it was difficult to communicate with him.

He spoke a little English, so we were able to communicate with him.

• She's lucky. She has few problems. (= not many problems)

Things are not going so well for her. She has a few problems. (= some problems)

Note that 'only a little' and ' only a few' have a negative meaning:

We must be quick. We’ve only got a little time.

The village was very small. There were only a few houses.

Put in little/ a little/ few/a few:

Questions:
1. We must be quick. We have ______time
2. Listen carefully. I'm going to give you ______advice
3. Do you mind if I ask you ______questions?
4. This town is not a very interesting place to visit, so ______tourists come here.
5. I don't think Jill would be a good teacher. She's got ______patience.
6. ' Would you like milk in your coffe?' Yes please. ______.
7. This is a very boring place to live. There's ______to do.
8. 'Have you ever been to Paris?'' Yes, I've been there ______times.
9. He has ______money left.
10. He has ______dollars left.

REPONSES:
1. little
2. a little
3. a few
4. few
5. little
6. a little
7. little
8. a few
9. a little
10. a few

Comparer : plus de, moins de...

La comparaison ne se fait pas qu'avec les adjectifs. Elle se fait aussi avec les noms.

 Si 'plus' est suivi d'un nom pluriel : MORE

 ex: Elle a plus d'amis que son frère => She has got more friendsthan her brother

 Si 'moins'est suivi d'un nompluriel : FEWER

 ex: Elle a moins delivres que son frère => She has got fewerbooks than her brother

 Si 'moins' est suivi d'un nom singulier : LESS

 ex: 'Elle a moins de temps que son frère => She has got less time than her brother

 Consigne: Comparer Polly et Victor en suivant les indications du tableau.

 Toujours utiliser le verbe 'has got'

 Modèle de phrases à faire: => she/he has got...than ...

Polly / Victor
Friends / - / +
Patience / - / +
Time / + / -
Money / + / -
Funny clothes / - / +
Talents / - / +
Suitcases / - / +
Experience / - / +
Luck / + / -
Luggage / - / +
Humour / - / +
Funny ideas / - / +

* luggage = un indénombrable en anglais( en français = des bagages)

Questions:
1. Polly can be moody sometimes, that's why ______.
2. Victor loves children and ______.
3. Victor works in a big circus; ______.
4. Polly 's parents are very rich; ______.
5. Victor is a clown; ______.
6. Polly would like to be a clown but ______.
7. Victor has a lot of clothes so ______.
8. Polly is very young so ______.
9. Victor's life is hard: ______.
10. Polly doesn't travel much; ______.
11. Victor knows lots of funny stories; ______.
12. Polly isn't a clown so ______.

REPONSES:
1) she has got fewer friends than Victor
2) he has got more patience than Polly
3) he has got less time than Polly
4) she has got more money than Victor
5) he has got more funny clothes than Polly
6) she has got fewer talents than Victor
7) he has got more suitcases than Polly
8) she has got less experience than Victor
9) he has got less luck than Polly
10) she has got less luggage than Victor
11) he has got more humour than Polly
12) she has got fewer funny ideas than Victor

Vocabulaire:
- moody : maussade, d'humeur changeante
- (to) trvael : voyager
- money : de l'argent
- stories : des histoires
- ideas : des idées