Use of Fewer and Lesser - Commonly Confused Words

source: Twominute English     2013年11月18日
'Fewer' and 'Lesser' are two words that are used to express quantity, but there are important differences in how these words are used. 'Fewer' is used to talk about countable things, and 'Lesser' is used to talk about things you don't count.
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0:16 Hey John! What’s up?
0:18  Hello Lisa. I was just looking in the fridge. We have less bottles of soda left!
0:25You mean few. We have few bottles of soda left.
0:29 I can’t use less here?
0:32 No John. Less or lesser is only used when you want to talk about things you don’t count.
0:38 What about few?
0:41 You use few to talk about things that you can count. For examples, bottles of soda, apples, fingers on your hand.
0:49 Oh, I understand. Can you give me some examples of lesser too?
0:55 Sure. Lesser work, because you don’t count it. Less stress. Lesser energy. Anything you don’t want to express in numbers.
1:04 Nice! I am going to get some more bottles of soda because I have few left.
1:10 John, you should drink less soda.
1:14 Why did you use less here instead of few?
1:17 It’s simple. You can count bottles of soda, but you can’t count soda itself. That’s why when I didn’t specify that I am talking about bottles, I used less.
1:28 It’s so clear now. Thanks Lisa. What about some sample conversations now?
1:41 Good morning! How can I help you?
1:43 I am stuck! My car has stopped working and I have to reach Health Square.
1:48 Don’t panic, Sir. Where you are now?
1:51 I am at the Dublin city center.
1:54 Well, Health Square is less than four miles away. I am sending you few people from my team to help you with the car.
2:01 Thank you so much.
2:10 Hey, how are you doing now?
2:12 I am pretty fine now, Jake.
2:14 I heard only few people survived the fire?
2:17 Yes, you heard it all correct. There were 5 casualties and 2 survivors.
2:22 That’s so sad.
2:30 You cannot take this inside the flight, Sir.
2:32 Why not? It weighs just 12 kg.
2:35 Your cabin baggage must weigh less than 10 kg.
2:39 Okay. I’ll check it in then.
2:44 Well, health square is less than four miles away.
2:50 I am sending you few people from my team to help you with the car.
2:57 I heard only few people survived the fire?
3:03 Your cabin baggage must weigh less than 10 kg.
3:09 We have few bottles of soda left.
3:15 John, you should drink less soda.

# relevant grammar videos: 
1. Comparisons: comparative and superlative forms of adjectives, adverbs, and nouns
2. Quantifiers