Money and time stay with less

Learning outcome

You can keep less with money, time, and information, and fewer with seats and questions.

Concepts and reasons

Money, time, and information are used here as uncountable nouns. The match is less money, less time, less information. Seats and questions are separate things you can count. The match is fewer seats, fewer questions. When information means facts or knowledge, do not add s to make informations.

Worked examples

1. She has less money than Ravi. Money is a mass here, so less fits.
2. Fewer questions were left. Questions can be counted, so fewer fits.
3. She has less time to revise today than yesterday, but she checks her phone fewer times. Time means available duration; times counts occasions. The meaning changes, so the choice changes.

Common traps

Use less money when comparing the amount of money. Counting coins does not make the noun money plural. For a smaller amount of information, write less information, not less informations. The form information stays unchanged in this meaning.

Practice questions

1. Choose fewer or less: She has [blank] time to revise today than yesterday.
2. Choose fewer or less: There are [blank] seats left than yesterday.
3. Choose fewer or less: She checked her phone [blank] times today than yesterday.

Answers and explanations

1. Less. Time means the duration available for revision.
2. Fewer. Seats can be counted.
3. Fewer. Times means separate occasions here, not an amount of time.

Analogy

Imagine water being poured from a jug into cups. Less water compares the amount of liquid; fewer cups compares the number of containers. The jug itself is countable too: fewer jugs. Choose the word for the noun you are comparing, not for whether the container is full.

Quick reference

• Less money, less time, less information.
• Fewer seats, fewer questions.
• Do not write informations.