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Fewer vs. less

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Fewer vs. less

by hoji » Tue Nov 08, 2011 2:39 pm
1) there are fewer than one-quarter of that amount;
2) With a total population of less than two hundred.

What is difference between the two? why is "fewer" used in the first example, whereas "less" in the second?

PS: I know that the rule sounds: "Less" can also be used for sum of money, periods of time and distance, numerical and statistical data.

if we assume that the rule is always right, then the two are the same to me!
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by VivianKerr » Tue Nov 08, 2011 6:45 pm
"fewer" can be used because it refers to the countable 1/4.

"less" modifies "two hundred" which is a singular number.

If we added a plural noun such as "persons", we could say "fewer than two hundred persons."
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by hoji » Tue Nov 08, 2011 9:33 pm
@ Vivian, What do you say about: "your essay should be a thousand words or less."
My confusion is :

- the town spent less than four percent of its budget on snow removal;
- the town has a population of fewer than one quarter of 4000 people.

these two examples look like quite the same to me. how can i distinguish between two?
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