two hours less x two less hours Hi, everyone In the following sentence, a person said "two more hours" My question is: what if he/she had used "less". Which option would be correct? "Two less hours"

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Hernandez

two hours less x two less hours Hi, everyone In the following sentence, a person said "two more hours" My question is: what if he/she had used "less". Which option would be correct? "Two less hours" or "two hours less"? "If the normal work day where I work is considered to be eight hours, and I am scheduled for only four hours today, then working two more hours (two less hours/two hours less) would be working extra hours for me" Thank you

2020년 4월 9일 오전 12:39

답변 · 5

"Two less hours" or ""two hours less? Neither one is correct. As Stacey said, it should be "two FEWER hours." Few is used for nouns that you can individually count: hours, dogs, days, cars, etc. Less is used for nouns that are grammatically singular, and you can't individually count: time, patience, water, etc Examples: I worked fewer hours yesterday. I worked less time yesterday than I did today. I have fewer water bottles than Mary. I have less water in my glass than Mary. I eat fewer candy bars because I am trying to lose weight. I eat less food because I am trying to lose weight. In everyday life, people often use "less" incorrectly. For example, in most U.S. supermarkets there is a special line (queue) for people who aren't buying many things. The sign for this line says, "10 Items or Less" or "12 Items or Less," even though the grammatically correct way is "10 Items or Fewer".

2020년 4월 9일

From a very technical standpoint, the answer is "two hours fewer." You can say: "It took less time." However, because hours can be counted, "fewer" is the grammatically correct choice. But then again, this rule isn't usually followed in colloquial speech.

2020년 4월 9일