Grammatically Correct 10/26/04
A weekly grammar tip created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors.
University of Houston-Victoria
3007 N. Ben Wilson
Victoria, TX 77901
Amount vs. Number, Fewer vs. Less
by David Felts
Proper word choice allows for clear meaning in a sentence.

Amount relates to a quantity of things that are measured in bulk. Number relates to things that can be counted individually.

Ex: The amount of space at the convention could not hold the number of people expected to arrive.
Ex: I could not write the number of words needed for my paper because of the amount of time I had to do it in.

Here is a chart that will help differentiate the words related to amount and number:

amount
number
quantity number
little few
less fewer
much many

So, less relates to amount and refers to things measured in bulk. And, fewer relates to number and refers to things that can be counted.

Ex: You can eat fewer cookies, but you drink less milk.
Ex: After I was robbed, I had fewer possessions and less security.

***Note an Exception: When referring to time or money, less is often used even with numbers. Specific units of time or money use fewer only in cases where individual items are referred to.

Ex: I have less than ten minutes to get there.
Ex: He has less than five dollars.
Ex: He has fewer nickles than dimes.

Note that the most likely occasion on which you might say, “He has fewer than five dollars,” would be when you are speaking of specific dollar bills: “He has fewer than five one dollar bills in his pocket.”
Recommended Grammar Website of the Week
by David Felts
Along with our own website, this week we recommend the following website: Indiana State University Writing Center. This site has over 250 worksheets covering a wide range of subjects pertaining to writing.

Visit Indiana State University Writing Center at http://isu.indstate.edu/writing/.

Test Your Knowledge
by David Felts
Test your understanding by correcting the following sentences.

1. There were less days below freezing last winter than the meterologists expected..

2. I have fewer than twenty dollars.

3. The number of chairs did not equal the amount of people.

4. Even though I told her to sell the junk on eBay a number of times, the attic is still filled with a large number of stuff.

Answers

1. There were fewer days below freezing last winter than the meterologists expected.

2. I have less than twenty dollars.

3. The number of chairs did not equal the number of people.

4. Even though I told her to sell the junk on eBay a number of times, the attic is still filled with a large amount of stuff.

 

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

Subscribe/Unsubscribe/View Archive