What do these sentences have in common--besides the word "less"?
 
· Less than half of our agents have a degree.
 
· Jerome has less credit cards than I do.
 
· Su Lin has fewer patience than I do with whiners.
 
· He has less problems than I do.
 
· Less than twenty of the cars were damaged.
 
They're all incorrect. Here's the skinny on these often-confused words:
 
Fewer - Use when items can be counted: fewer letters
 
Less - Use with quantities that cannot be counted: less nitrogen
 
Less is more--more than a meaningless modifier.
 
 
© Dianna Booher, Booher Consultants, Inc.
Author of 42 books (Simon & Schuster/Pocket, Warner, and McGraw-Hill), Dianna Booher, CSP, CPAE, delivers programs on communication and life-balance issues. Her latest books: Speak with Confidence, Your Signature Life, Your Signature Work, E-Writing, and Communicate with Confidence. For more information, visit www.booher.com or call 800-342-6621.