Hey there! This is TOP episode 294. Less or Fewer? The One-Minute Rule You’ll Never Forget
Are you tired of lacking confidence when speaking English? Does it block you from achieving your true goals? This podcast is the place for you. This is Teacher Ola Podcast. My name’s Ola Mierniczak and I empower English learners like you, to become confident speakers. The key to fluency is in your pocket. You’ll boost your vocabulary, brush up your grammar and improve your pronunciation. Enjoy your journey to fluency!
Hey there. Thank you for choosing this episode! If you love this podcast share your opinion, rate this podcast on Spotify, like it on YouTube. That will help me a lot! Also! Make sure you’ve subscribed to this podcast! Ok, so it’s grammar day today. Let’s learn and practice the difference between ‘less’ and ‘fewer’. But first, a little update.
I signed up for a teacher training course in English. The training is tomorrow, and I’ve got this tight feeling in my stomach—but not from stress! Something just hit me.
I suddenly realized that I signed up for this course without giving it a second thought. There will be workshops, and we’ll be talking with teachers from all over Europe—and I’m not feeling the slightest bit nervous or anxious about speaking English.
The language isn’t a barrier. It’s not holding me back in any way.
And you might say, “Well yeah, Ola, you teach English. Of course it’s not a problem for you.”
But honestly? It wasn’t always that way for me. Back in university and even afterwards, I struggled with the fear of making mistakes and being judged.
That’s why I really appreciate moments like this—because I worked hard to get here. And guess what? You can get here too.
The doors to the Say It Out Loud course are open until June 3rd. Join us!
If you’re able to understand this podcast with no problem, but… speaking is still a struggle—this course is exactly what you need.
Go to siol.pl and sign up today. Remember, you can pay in installments. You also get a 15-day trial—test it out, and if it’s not for you, you can cancel with no questions asked.
Make sure you join by Friday, because on Saturday we’re having your very first Extra Class!
That’s a bonus live lesson with me and students from all editions of the course. You don’t have to say a word if you don’t want to—you can just listen in.
So? Any questions? Send me an email or drop me a message on Instagram.
📧 contact@teacherola.com
Also! You can still rewatch the Webinar that took place last week. Go to teacherola.com/video. 3 hours of free training available till the 3rd of June.
Here’s the basic rule. Super short and super useful:
Use “fewer” with countable nouns.
Use “less” with uncountable nouns.
Ok, easy. But let’s break that down.
If you can count something one by one—like apples, people, pens, chairs—you use “fewer”.
If you can’t count it easily—like water, sugar, time, news or information—you use less.
Here are 5 everyday examples with “fewer” for countable nouns:
One. I’ve been eating fewer snacks since I started working out.
Two. There were fewer people in the meeting today.
Three. I’ve been sending fewer emails and making more phone calls.
Four. I get fewer notifications now—I’ve turned off most of them.
Five. He made fewer mistakes on his test this time.
Now let’s look at “less” with uncountable nouns:
One. I’ve been drinking less coffee lately.
Two. We’ve got less time than I thought, so let’s get started.
Three. There’s less noise in the office since they renovated.
Four. I try to eat less sugar during the week.
Five. They gave me less information than I expected.
Easy! If you can pour it, measure it, or it feels like a “mass” rather than individual things—use less.
But wait—English loves exceptions.
Here’s the tricky part:
We often use less with money, time, and distance even though they look countable. They ar uncountable, for instance:
- It costs less than 10 euro.
- We’re less than 5 minutes away.
- The station is less than 2 kilometers from here.
Don’t worry—everybody makes mistakes here. Feel free to make them too. Everybody will understand you. This mistake is not blocking communication, although it is a mistake and many students ask about the difference between less and fewer so, here you have it. I hope it’s all clear now.
So here’s a quick way to check yourself:
Can you count it one by one? Say “fewer.”
Is it a substance, idea, or anything uncountable? Go with “less.”
Now it’s time to practice!
I’ve been eating fewer snacks since I started working out.
There were fewer people at the meeting today.
I’ve been sending fewer emails and making more phone calls.
I get fewer notifications now—I’ve turned off most of them.
He made fewer mistakes on his test this time.
I’ve been drinking less coffee lately.
We’ve got less time than I thought, so let’s get started.
There’s less noise in the office since they renovated.
I try to eat less sugar during the week.
They gave me less information than I expected.
That’s it for today!
If you enjoyed this quick grammar fix, share it with someone who needs English! Catch you next time—and remember: little grammar tips, big confidence! Also! Three things:
One. Head over to teacherola.com/294 to grab your free worksheet.
Two. And if you’re tired of learning about English but not really speaking it—go to teacherola.com/video. This is a recording from my our last webinar.
Three. Join the SIOL course! I really want to work with you! If you resign from speaking English even though you understand so much… No! That would be a disaster. Let’s get you speaking! Join the new group at siol.pl
That’s all for today. Thank you for listening! I’ll see you in the next episode. Stay fearless, take care, and say it out loud! I’m your teacher, Teacher Ola, and you’ve been listening to Teacher Ola Podcast. Bye for now!