Fewer or Less and Is or Are

Question

I understand that fewer denotes a reduction in the number of nouns. Fewer hands, fewer baskets etc. Whilst 'less' refers to an amount/effect of some thing. Less daunting, less water etc. However would it be correct to say "50% less" or "50% fewer"? Would it be incorrect to say "less money"?

In regards to "is" and "are", I understand that "is" refers to a singular noun and "are" to a plural noun. For example "a peach is tasty" and "peaches are tasty". However what if a sentence were to read "the distinction between the possessive and nominative forms of language are not difficult". Considering that the sentence features two words which constitute the "forms", is the "...are not difficult" part correct? Or should it be "is not difficult"?

Thank you.

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Hi Mach 2, thanks for joining us. Welcome to English Forums!

We like to talk about countable and uncountable nouns. (Sometimes a given noun may act one way at one time and the other way at another time.) Both types could involve scalar quantities.
For example, "rice" is an uncountable noun. "Please put some rice in my bowl."
If you wish to measure the rice, then the unit of measure becomes the countable noun. I have only three grains of rice. I wish to buy five pounds of rice. The recipe calls for one cup of rice. One cup of water is all I need.

This is tricky, because you may also say "Two cups of water is all I need," because you're talking about the amount of the uncountable substance. "Beer" is uncountable, but you may say, "Three bottles of beer are sitting on the bar," or "Three bottles of beer is all I can handle."

"Fewer" is used with countable nouns (fewer baskets, fewer dollars), while "less" is used with uncountable nouns (less water, less money).

I believe "50%" acts adverbially to modify the adjectives in question, in the same way "much" would: This car consumes much less fuel. This car consumes 50% less fuel per mile than does the old car I traded in. We received 50% fewer contributions than last year, but only 10% less money.

Re the adverbs, we'd probably prefer "The orchard yielded far fewer apples than last year," rather than "much fewer," but I think both are correct.

Re "is" and "are," the subject of your sentence is singular (distinction) and therefore requires a singular verb (is not difficult).

It's like "The sum of four and six is ten." "Sum" is a singular noun.

I've made a mess of this, but I'm sure others will give you more concise answers.

Best regards, - A.

Mach2Infinity · Answer

Hello Avangi and the rest of the forum!

Thank you very much for your welcome. I'd also like to thank you for answering my questions concisely and explaining them in an understandable manner!

Fewer or Less and Is or Are

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