Comparison: nouns (more money,the most points)

We can usemore,lessandfewerwith noun phrases to create comparisons which are similar to the comparative forms of adjectives and adverbs:

There wasmore snowthis year than last year.

She hasmore problemsthan most people.

You should eatless junk foodand start to take better care of your health.

There arefewer birdsin the countryside now than there were 30 years ago.

Traditionally, we uselesswith uncountable nouns andfewerwith plural countable nouns. Nowadays, many people uselesswith plural countable nouns. Some people consider this to be incorrect, and prefer to usefewer:

I think the room would look better withless furniture.(less+ singular uncountable noun)

There werefewer carson the roads twenty years ago.(fewer + plural countable noun; traditional correct form)

Less kidstake music lessons now than before.(less + plural countable noun; considered incorrect by some people)

We can usemore and more, less and lessandfewer and fewerin noun phrases to refer to things which increase or decrease over time:

There aremore and morelow-quality reality shows on TV.

I seem to haveless and lesstime to myself these days.

She visited her family onfewer and feweroccasions, till soon she stopped seeing them altogether.

We can usemost, leastandfewestwith noun phrases to create comparisons which are similar to the superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs. It is more common to usethebeforemost, leastandfewest, but we can also leave it out:

The points are added up, and the team withthe most pointswins.

Who gotmost votesin the election?

The room that hasthe least furniturewould be best for dancing.

The class withthe fewest studentswas always Miss Murray’s philosophy seminar.

Traditionally, we useleastwith singular uncountable nouns andfewestwith plural countable nouns. Nowadays, many people useleastwith plural countable nouns. Some people consider this to be incorrect, and prefer to usefewest:

Which horse eatsthe least food? That’s the one I’ll buy!(least+ singular uncountable noun)

Of all the models we tested, the B226X hadthe fewest faults.(fewest+ plural countable noun; traditional correct form)

Of the three cities, I’d say Limerick getsthe least tourists.(least+ plural countable noun; considered incorrect by some people)