Comparing things · CEFR B1 · Independent
less / the least in English
Less is the opposite of more, and the least is the opposite of the most. With countable nouns, "fewer" is the careful choice.
The shape
less + adjective + than · the least + adjective
Compare downwards instead of upwards.
In Hindi
less, more का उल्टा है और the least, the most का। गिनने योग्य चीज़ों के लिए fewer सही रहता है।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
There were less people today. | There were fewer people today. People can be counted, so careful English uses "fewer". |
Learn these first
These come first. The rest of this makes more sense once they are automatic.
Questions people ask
- What is the less / the least used for?
- Less is the opposite of more, and the least is the opposite of the most. With countable nouns, "fewer" is the careful choice. In practice: compare downwards instead of upwards.
- How do you form the less / the least?
- less + adjective + than · the least + adjective.
- What is the most common mistake with the less / the least?
- Saying “There were less people today.” instead of “There were fewer people today.”. People can be counted, so careful English uses "fewer".
Where less / the least fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
less / the least is a CEFR B1 structure — the independent band — and it belongs to comparing things. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
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