5 exercises — practise choosing less versus fewer correctly when reporting technical metrics.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses "fewer" with a countable metric in a performance report?
"...the service returned fewer 500 errors during peak traffic" is correct: "errors" is a countable noun (one error, two errors), so "fewer" is required. Option B incorrectly uses "less" with a countable noun. Option C mixes "fewer" with the uncountable-style phrase "amount of". Option D incorrectly adds the article "a" before "less" with a plural noun.
2 / 5
Choose the sentence that correctly uses "less" with an uncountable metric describing system performance.
"...the API experiences less latency under load" is correct: "latency" is an uncountable noun, so "less" is the correct choice. Option B wrongly uses "fewer" with an uncountable noun. Option C incorrectly pluralizes "latency" as "latencies" while still using "less" — the plural form implies a countable reading that doesn't fit here. Option D adds the redundant, wordier "amount of".
3 / 5
Which sentence correctly distinguishes "fewer" and "less" in a single sentence comparing two related metrics, one countable and one not?
"...makes fewer database calls and consumes less memory overall" is correct: "database calls" is countable (fewer), while "memory" as a resource is uncountable (less). Option B swaps the two incorrectly. Option C incorrectly applies "fewer" to the uncountable "memory". Option D incorrectly applies "less" to the countable "calls" and wrongly pluralizes "memories".
4 / 5
Select the sentence that correctly uses "fewer than" with a specific countable figure in a release note.
"...fewer than five breaking changes..." is correct: "changes" is countable, so "fewer than" is grammatically preferred, even though "less than" is extremely common in casual usage with numbers. Option B uses the informally accepted but formally discouraged "less than" before a countable plural. Option C keeps "fewer" but drops the required plural "changes". Option D adds an ungrammatical article before "fewer".
5 / 5
Which sentence correctly uses "less" with a duration expressed as a single unit, a common exception where measurements of time, money, or distance take "less" even though the underlying noun looks countable?
"...finishes in less than ten minutes" is correct: when a plural noun is treated as a single measurement of time ("ten minutes" as one duration), "less than" is the standard, accepted form, unlike counting discrete errors or calls individually. Option B applies "fewer" as if counting individual minutes as separate countable items, which is not how durations are conventionally treated. Option C drops the required plural "minutes". Option D adds an ungrammatical article.