“Ten items or less” is one of the most argued-about signs in the supermarket. Should it say “fewer”? The answer depends on what you are counting, and on how strictly you follow the rule.
The traditional rule
The rule taught in many schools is simple:
- Use fewer with things you can count one by one: fewer apples, fewer people, fewer mistakes.
- Use less with things you measure as an amount rather than count: less water, less time, less noise.
A quick test: if the noun is plural, as in “apples”, “people” or “mistakes”, the traditional rule says fewer. If it is singular and can’t be counted, as in “water”, “traffic” or “patience”, use less.
- There are fewer cars on the road today.
- There is less traffic on the road today.
Both sentences describe the same quiet road. “Cars” can be counted, so it takes fewer. “Traffic” can’t, so it takes less.
Where the rule bends
Real English is a bit messier, and most style guides accept several exceptions.
Time, money, distance and weight. We count these in units, but we usually think of them as amounts. So “less” is normal and correct:
- It took less than ten minutes.
- I paid less than £20.
- The shop is less than two miles away.
- The parcel weighs less than five kilograms.
Saying “fewer than ten minutes” would sound odd to most people, because you are thinking about a stretch of time, not ten separate minutes.
“Or less” after a number. Phrases like “25 words or less” are widely used and widely accepted, because they describe a limit rather than a set of separate items.
Fractions and percentages. These follow the noun they describe: “less than half of the cake” (cake is an amount), but “fewer than half of the guests” (guests are counted).
Age. We usually say “less than 18 years old”, or more simply “under 18”, because age is treated as an amount of time rather than a set of separate years.
“One less”. “One less thing to worry about” is an established idiom, and few people would change it to “one fewer”.
So what about the supermarket sign?
By the traditional rule, “ten items or fewer” is correct, because items are counted. Some shops have changed their signs to say exactly that.
But “less” with countable nouns has been used in English for a very long time, long before anyone made a rule about it. The strict fewer/less rule is usually traced back to an 18th-century writer who said he thought “fewer” sounded more elegant. It grew into a school rule from there. So “ten items or less” isn’t nonsense. It’s just informal.
In practice: use fewer with countable nouns in careful writing, such as essays, reports and job applications. In casual speech, nobody should be judged for saying “less”.
The mirror pair: many and much
The same split shows up in other words, which can help you remember it.
- Many and few go with countable nouns: many books, few chances.
- Much and little go with uncountable nouns: much effort, little time.
- Number of goes with countable nouns, amount of with uncountable ones: the number of visitors, the amount of rain.
If you would say “many”, you probably want “fewer”. If you would say “much”, you probably want “less”.
Quick practice
- I’ve had ___ headaches since I started drinking more water.
- You should use ___ salt in that recipe.
- The journey takes ___ than an hour.
- ___ than twenty people came to the meeting.
Answers: 1. fewer 2. less 3. less 4. Fewer
The takeaway
Can you count it? Use fewer. Do you measure it? Use less. And when it comes to time, money, distance and weight, “less” is perfectly fine.