今天的问题是上海的 Zhao Gaoming 提出的，他说他感到很困惑，不知道什么时候用 less 和 fewer。他请我们讲解一下。
'Less' is used with uncountable nouns, like 'money' or 'work' or 'travel', and 'fewer' is used with countableplural nouns, like 'coins' or 'jobs' or trips. 'Less' is the comparative form of 'little' and 'fewer' is the comparative form of 'few'.
Compare the following:
I have less work now than I had this time last year. There are simply fewer jobs around that I am suitable for. I therefore have little money and few friends.
Another, more common, way of saying 'less' is not 'as much' and another, more common, way of saying 'fewer' is 'not as many'. Similarly 'little' would translate as 'not much' and 'few' would translate as 'not many'.
Compare the following.
My new car doesn't use as much petrol as my old one so it's more economical. My new car uses less petrol than my old one so it's more economical.
You don't see as many Peugeot 405s on the road now as you used to. You see fewer Peugeot 405s on the road now than you used to.
I don't have much need to use my car in town when public transport is so good. I have to admit that there are few occasions when I walk anywhere nowadays.
