Forum anglais: Questions sur l'anglais
Tout ce qui a un rapport avec l'apprentissage de l'anglais: grammaire, orthographe, aides aux devoirs, phrases etc.
less or fewer ?
Message de speedtiti posté le 17-04-2007 à 13:05:57 (S | E | F | I)
Hello,
I'd like to thank you for all the anwers you've already brought me previously !
Well, this time, I wonder whether we must use "less" or "fewer" in the sentences below :
1-
"There are less people than what I expected !"
or
"There are fewer people than what I expected !"
In this case, I'd pick out the second one but I'm not sure....
2-
On the other hand, "It's less expensive than the other" is correct and I don't think we could use "fewer" in that case ?
Thanks !
-------------------
Modifié par lucile83 le 17-04-2007 15:14
Message de speedtiti posté le 17-04-2007 à 13:05:57 (S | E | F | I)
Hello,
I'd like to thank you for all the anwers you've already brought me previously !
Well, this time, I wonder whether we must use "less" or "fewer" in the sentences below :
1-
"There are less people than what I expected !"
or
"There are fewer people than what I expected !"
In this case, I'd pick out the second one but I'm not sure....
2-
On the other hand, "It's less expensive than the other" is correct and I don't think we could use "fewer" in that case ?
Thanks !
-------------------
Modifié par lucile83 le 17-04-2007 15:14
Réponse: less or fewer ? de marie11, postée le 17-04-2007 à 14:48:41 (S | E)
Bonjour Speedtiti.
Voici quelques éléments de réponse.
Vous trouverez des compléments dans un bon livre de grammaire.
Less est le comparatif de little.
Fewer est le comparatif de few.
I- Less ....than ──> se traduit par "moins...que".
Less, précède un nom indénombrable.
Ex: I earn less money than a postman.
Je gagne moins d'argent qu'un facteur.
II- Fewer ──> se traduit par "moins de".
Fewer, précède un nom pluriel.
Ex: I've got fewer problems than I used to have.
J'ai moins de problèmes qu'autrefois.
Cependant on entend de plus en plus dans le langage courant des anglais employer less à la place de fewer
I've got less problems than I used to have.
Réponse: less or fewer ? de mp27, postée le 17-04-2007 à 15:19:12 (S | E)
Hello speedtiti!
Phrase 2- (with adjective)
-> It's less expensive than the other ( ...) --> yes
-(cheaper....
)Vois les notes de marie11 ci-dessus pour réviser "less & fewer".
Phrase 1- (with plural noun)
-> There are less people than what I expected ! / There are fewer people than what I expected ! yes
- people = countable nouns, so, choose: "fewer"
- but, “less” is acceptable.
- Better if you remove "what I".
-------------------
Modifié par mp27 le 17-04-2007 15:29
Réponse: less or fewer ? de speedtiti, postée le 17-04-2007 à 15:34:35 (S | E)
Once again, thank you for these explanations ! everything seems to be easier with the answers !!!
