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  • Hi, I'm Sam from BBC Learning English

  • and today we're going to look at the difference between

  • 'less' and 'fewer' when comparing things.

  • It's actually very simple.

  • We use 'fewer' with countable nouns

  • and 'less' with uncountable nouns.

  • But even native speakers get this wrong,

  • so let's have a look at some examples.

  • I moved recently, and comparing my old area

  • to my new neighbourhood, I can say:

  • There are fewer restaurants and fewer cafes

  • and there is less traffic and less pollution.

  • Cafes and restaurants are countable nouns.

  • You can count them on your fingers

  • and you can make them plural, so we use 'fewer'.

  • Pollution and traffic are uncountable nouns.

  • You can't count them on your fingers

  • and you can't make them plural, so we use 'less'.

Hi, I'm Sam from BBC Learning English

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