Is less a negative word - Word и Excel - помощь в работе с программами

What is the difference between fewer and less? — everything is simple

Few, a few, little and a little in English are pronouns indicating quantity, in order to indicate a lack of something. These pronouns can stand in a sentence as defined to a noun, or independently of it, independently.

Depending on the form of use — whether the article is used or not — quantitative pronouns have different meanings. These differences include, as a rule, not only the semantic load, but also a certain assessment, which is found in the translation.

Rules of Use

For nouns that have both singular and plural, as well as when a noun / pronoun is only thought of, its presence becomes apparent from the context, the pronouns few / a few are used.

In this case, it does not matter at all how the noun forms its plural — for all these cases, the rule will act the same.

For example:

She went to the USA for a few months… — She went to America for several months.

Few of her friends had been in the USA… — Few of her friends were in America.

The pronouns little / a little are used in sentences with uncountable nouns. The rules for their use and their semantic meaning are absolutely the same as for the pronouns few / a few, and their translation into Russian is also no different.

Example:

She stood in the USA a little last year… — Last year she spent a little time in America.

When she first came to the USA, she little thought that she would stay there so long. — When she first arrived in America, she never thought that she would stay there for so long.

Pronoun meaning (word translation)

As we noted, the pronouns few, little, a few, and a little are used to indicate not enough of something. The difference between them appears only in the context of their use with nouns.

So, few / a few is used with countable nouns, and little / a little — with those that have only a singular, or only a plural.

However, there are still some differences in meanings, which depend on the form in which the pronoun is used, and create some difference in translation.

The pronouns few, little, used without the indefinite article, express the meaning of «little», «not enough» or «not at all.» If they stand with an article, then the meaning is interpreted as «little, but enough» or «a little».

Moreover, in the first case, the sentence will most likely contain a somewhat negative connotation, in the second — neutral:

I can’t help you. I speak very little English… — I cannot help you, I know very little English.

I can help you, I speak a little English… — I can help you, I speak a little English.

It would seem that in both cases the first part of the sentence implies the same thing — I do not speak English very well, my knowledge is hardly enough.

However, if in the first sentence the evaluative fact is negative, then in the second it bears a positive connotation, and this already implies the use of the pronoun little with the indefinite article a:

His English is intermediate, he forgets about his lessons. He has very little interest in languages… — His English is not above average, he forgets about his lessons. He has no interest in languages at all.
His English is intermediate, he coaches in it every weekends. He has a little interest in language. — His English is intermediate and he trains him every weekend. He has little interest in languages.
I didn’t read this book in original, I can say very little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, I can say very little about it.
I didn’t read this book in original, I can say a little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, but I can tell you a little about it.
Very few of his friends can speak English… — Almost none of his friends speak English.
A few of his friends can speak in English not bad at all. “Some of his friends don’t speak English bad at all.

Comparative and superlative

Like adjectives, quantitative pronouns in English can create degrees of comparison.

The pronouns few / a few form comparative and superlatives according to all the rules of the English language.

In the case of the pronouns little / a little, the situation is different:

few ⇒ fewer ⇒ the fewis — few ⇒ less ⇒ least
little ⇒ less ⇒ the least — little ⇒ less ⇒ least
a few / a little ⇒ more ⇒ the most — a little ⇒ more ⇒ most

Source: https://vseprostdo.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less.html

What is the difference between fewer and less. use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Hey, folks! In this article, you will learn: when the English sentence uses «little» and when «few», what is the difference between «small» and «less», and when to use certain words with countable or uncountable nouns. Everything is accessible and understandable! Are you ready to be surprised? Let’s go then!

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

Here we are talking about the fact that a small number of family members leave their hometown. Of course, there are still not many of them, but the emphasis here is on the fact that there are some nearest & dearest (close and dear relatives) who are moving, and not on the fact that their number is small.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

I have many besties, I have known quite a few of them since high school.
I have a lot of best friends quite a few I know of them since high school. So many mosquitoes in this house! The fewestof them are in the living room though.
There are so many mosquitoes in this house! Although in their living room least of all.Mia made fewergrammar mistakes last time.
Last time Mia did less grammatical errors.

little / a little

«Little» [«lɪtl] and» a little «follow the same pattern as» few «with» a few «. The difference is that we use «few» and «a few» with plural nouns, while «little» and «a little» with nouns, which cannot be counted by the piece:

Unfortunately, we have littletime to prepare before the exam.
Sorry, not preparing for the exam with us very little time. Unfortunately, we have a littletime to prepare before we have to go today.
Unfortunately, for preparation today we have slightly time before we have to leave.

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

homer does lesshomework than I used to.
Homer does less homework than I once did.The least environmentallyhostile generator costs a fortune.
Leastdangerousfor the environment the energy source is worth a fortune.

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://film05.ru/bathroom/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

Countable and uncountable nouns — video tutorial

Let’s say you come to someone’s house, open the refrigerator, and there all the shelves are crammed with packs of butter from top to bottom. You will express surprise by exclaiming not Wow! That’s a lot of butters !, a

That’s a lot of butter! — How much oil is there

Finding hundreds of pencils in a desk drawer, you say no Wow! That’s a lot of pencil !, a

That’s a lot of pencils! — Wow, how many pencils!

Uncountable nouns

This is because oil is an uncountable noun in English, and a pencil is a countable noun. Uncountable means the whole class of a given substance — rain (rain), snow (snow), applause (applause), guilt (wine), liking (addiction). Most of the food is also incalculable: flour (flour), rice (rice).

They can be counted only in 3 cases:

— in the limitation of stick meters

a stick of butter — a pack of butter

— to distinguish between subspecies

3 butters — lime butter, pepper butter, chilly butter — 3 types of butter — lime, pepper, chili

— to mark packages in catering

Waiter, we need some more butters here — Waiter, more packs of butter here

Countable nouns

Countable nouns in English are subject-matter — they can always be counted, put in the plural, and numbered.

5 pencils — 5 pencils

2 cars — 2 cars

7 people — 7 people

3 children — 3 children

Quantitative nouns

There are quantitative nouns and pronouns that are combined with only 1 of 2 classes. So, an amount of requires an uncountable noun, and number of requires a countable noun.

a number of cows — several cows

Similarly, less is followed by an uncountable noun, and fewer is followed by a countable noun. However, less is also used with plural price tags — after all, we are not talking about a bill, but about the whole price.

less applause — less applause

less than 10 dollars — less than 10 dollars

In some illiterate supermarkets, you can see the inscription Less than 10 items express checkout. That’s right

Fewer than 10 items — Up to 10 purchases

Fun Facts

Dandelion root can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute.

Source: https://www.lovelylanguage.ru/grammar/video-lessons/count-and-mass-nouns

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes

It is the pearl of all grammatical mistakes. And all because the words are similar in meaning and sound. But still there are nuances. To lie is translated as «to lie», «to be located», «to lie down».

I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is «to put».

She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

But continuous is about something that lasts continuously.

He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word has a second meaning: «annoyance because someone has what you yourself would like.» In other words, envy. It is how “envy” translates the second word, envy.

He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

So what’s the difference? Linguists admit that if we are talking about envy, and not about jealousy, the differences have practically disappeared and the two words can be considered synonymous. Although earlier jealous meant a more serious, terrible and dramatic degree of envy.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we are talking about something abstract and uncountable, or when we don’t mention the exact amount.

I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to impartial.

A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

In Russian, the word “worry” can be used not only in the negative (“I’m terribly worried about you!”), But also in a positive way (“I was so excited when I received your letter!”). Perhaps that is why when we speak English, in similar cases we try to use anxious. But this word translates as «alarmed, worried, nervous.»

It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

If you are happy to see friends, telling them that you are anxious to see them would be wrong. Excited is more appropriate here. By the way, the word anxious is also appropriate if we are impatient to do something or we are striving for something.

I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «influence, cause, lead to something.»

Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake between the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

It is clear that in both cases we are talking about faith, trust or assurances. But since the words sound and spelled almost the same, it’s easy to get confused. And here it is important to remember that assure is used when we want to assure or convince someone of something.

She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

It is easy to confuse these words, but it is better not to do this, because then the sentence will lose its meaning. Just one letter — and what a difference in meaning! Then is an adverb that translates as «then» and «then».

She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

Here, too, almost the same spelling and pronunciation are to blame for everything. The word «loser» is well known even to those who are not very good at English. Therefore, it seems that both lose and loose are about failures and losses. But it is important to remember that lose means “to lose”, “to lose”, “to lose”.

I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

Here, in general, the difference is only in the article. But in English, even he can significantly change the meaning of a word. The noun lot together with the indefinite article a translates as «a lot», «a large number».

I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

Here the story is similar to fewer and less. Both words refer to quantity, but amount is used when we are talking about something indefinite and uncountable, and number is used when we are talking about objects or people that can be counted.

The project will take a huge amount of time and money — This project will take a huge amount of time and money.
A small number of children are educated at home — A small number of children study at home.

UPD. Updated on October 25, 2019.

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

We learn English first at school, then at university, but the years go by — and we still make mistakes even in simple cases that do not apply to exceptions. We have prepared examples of common difficulties and rules for them. Having carefully studied and carefully understood the rules of spelling and pronunciation once, you will no longer make funny mistakes, and the level of English proficiency will be higher than that of some native speakers!

Incorrect use of apostrophes

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

Today we will look at the words with which we speak about a small amount of something or someone: few, little и a few, a little… In English, sometimes one small detail can completely change the meaning of what is said. Let’s find out how adding a before words few и little changes their meaning.

Use few

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

In this article, we will analyze when and how to use pronouns. few, a few, little, a little, a lot of, some, anycalled with a beautiful word — quantifiers (quantifiers). Often they have the same meaning, but their use in English depends on which object they describe — that is, with which noun — countable or uncountable they are used.

Scheme of using quantifiers:

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

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Have you noticed how often we use the words «a lot», «a little», «a few» in our speech and how we do not like to give exact numbers? Secretive by nature, the English also use these words very often in speech.

When we say «a lot» in English, we use the words many, much, a lot of, plenty of, and when we say «little» — few, a few, little, a little. These words are called determiners, they indicate an indefinite amount of something.

This article will show you when and where to use much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty of in English.

The noun plays a key role in the choice of the defining word. The determiner depends on which noun is in front of us, countable (countable) or uncountable (uncountable). Once again, we recall that we can count countable nouns and they have a plural form (a boy — boys). And uncountable nouns do not have a plural form (water — some water), and we cannot count them.

We have divided all words into three groups depending on which noun they are used with. We will consider each group separately.

Much / Little Many / Few A lot of / Plenty of

Uncountable nouns	Countable nouns	Countable and uncountable nouns
How much money have you got? — How much money do you have? — There is little ink left in my pen.	I have many friends. — He has got few friends. — He has few friends.	There is a lot of sugar there. — There are plenty of plants in the garden. — There are many plants in the garden.

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

Less / Fewer

«Less» and «fewer»Both words indicate quantitative indicators. «Less«- the comparative form of the word»little«, but «fewer«Is the comparative form»few».

Little [ˈLɪtəl] — a little, a little.
Few [fju] — a little, a little.

we have less milk than I’d hoped. — We have less milk than I had hoped.
There are fewer people than I expected. — Of people lessthan I expected.

Less

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Why is it so easy to get confused when using «less» and «fewer» — two pointers to many English languages?

This is because these words are translated the same way — «less», but they are used when discussing quantities of different types. In one case, the conversation is about objects that can be counted, in the other about things that require weighing.

An error in the use of both words, albeit noticeable, is not at all critical. If you are not a pedant, then perhaps you will not attach much importance to this lesson; for everyone else, it’s time to figure out how and what we consider as a smaller value.

Difference between less and fewer in English

«Little» in English

How do you say «little» in English? Find out in this article!

Hello, friends! What lovely weather outside today, right? I don’t know about you, but I love warm spring and summer! This is definitely the best time of the year! So, put off all your business for the weekend and go outside to enjoy this sunny and wonderful day!

Source: https://enjoyenglish-blog.com/razgovornyj-anglijskij/malo-na-anglijskom.html

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

It doesn’t matter what level you have. Even native speakers are sometimes confused in these words.

1. Lay and lie

What is the difference between fewer and less? — everything is simple

Rules of Use

What is the difference between fewer and less. use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

little / a little

Countable and uncountable nouns — video tutorial

That’s a lot of butter! — How much oil is there

Finding hundreds of pencils in a desk drawer, you say no Wow! That’s a lot of pencil !, a

That’s a lot of pencils! — Wow, how many pencils!

Uncountable nouns

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes

I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is «to put».

She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

Incorrect use of apostrophes

Using apostrophes is not that difficult. Today, mistakes associated with the use of apostrophes are one of the most common in the English language. The apostrophe is used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something. To indicate that an object belongs to one person, the apostrophe must be placed before the ending «-s».

Example: «The girl’s horse» — the horse belongs to the girl.

To indicate that an object belongs to several persons, the apostrophe must be placed after the end of «-s».

Example: «The girls’ horse» — the horse belongs to girls.

Your or you’re

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

Use few

Pronunciation and translation:
Few / [fyu] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Few is used with (people, chairs, flowers, apples).

This word is used to emphasize a small amount of something or someone. That is, we say that we have not enough of something or someonefor a specific business.

Few has a negative meaning, we say that something is not enough and we regret it. For example, she had littleacquaintances in this city, that is, she lacked communication and was lonely.

This country has few natural resources.
This country has little natural resources.

Few politicians admit their mistakes.
Little politicians admit their mistakes.

Little

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Scheme of using quantifiers:

The details will help you master the audio lessons from the LingQ foreign language learning system, which is described in the article. For convenience, Russian translations are provided after each English text.

1. Little — few quantifiers

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

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This article will show you when and where to use much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty of in English.

The noun plays a key role in the choice of the defining word. The determiner depends on which noun is in front of us, countable (countable) or uncountable (uncountable). Once again, we recall that we can count countable nouns and they have a plural form (a boy — boys). And uncountable nouns do not have a plural form (water — some water), and we cannot count them.

We have divided all words into three groups depending on which noun they are used with. We will consider each group separately.

Much / Little Many / Few A lot of / Plenty of

Uncountable nouns	Countable nouns	Countable and uncountable nouns
How much money have you got? — How much money do you have? — There is little ink left in my pen.	I have many friends. — He has got few friends. — He has few friends.	There is a lot of sugar there. — There are plenty of plants in the garden. — There are many plants in the garden.

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

The words many (many), few (few), a few (several) are used with countable nouns. Many denotes a large number of something: many apples (many apples), many friends (many friends), many ideas (many ideas).

The opposite of many is few: few apples, few friends, few ideas. Few often have a negative meaning: very little, not enough, so little that practically none.

A few has an intermediate meaning between many and few, translated as «a few»: a few apples (a few apples), a few friends (a few friends), a few ideas (a few ideas).

— Do you have many friends in this part of the city? — At your place lot friends in this part of town?
— No, I don’t. I have few friends in this part of the city. — I do not have little friends in this part of town. (that is, not enough, I would like more)
— I have a few friends in the city center. — I have some friends in the city center.

Much, little, a little with uncountable nouns

Less / Fewer

«Less» and «fewer»Both words indicate quantitative indicators. «Less«- the comparative form of the word»little«, but «fewer«Is the comparative form»few».

Little [ˈLɪtəl] — a little, a little.
Few [fju] — a little, a little.

we have less milk than I’d hoped. — We have less milk than I had hoped.
There are fewer people than I expected. — Of people lessthan I expected.

Less

We use «less«With uncountable nouns such as: Pollution (pollution), traffic (traffic), News (news), freedom (freedom).

there is less traffic and less pollution. — There less traffic and less pollution.
We’ve been receiving a lot less news since we switched TV providers. — We get much less news since we changed TV providers.
In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than they do here. — In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than here.

fewer

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Why is it so easy to get confused when using «less» and «fewer» — two pointers to many English languages?

Difference between less and fewer in English

fewer

«Little» in English

How do you say «little» in English? Find out in this article!

Source: https://enjoyenglish-blog.com/razgovornyj-anglijskij/malo-na-anglijskom.html

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

It doesn’t matter what level you have. Even native speakers are sometimes confused in these words.

1. Lay and lie

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

It doesn’t matter what level you have. Even native speakers are sometimes confused in these words.

1. Lay and lie

I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is “to put”.

She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

What is the difference between fewer and less? — everything is simple

Rules of Use

For nouns that have both singular and plural, as well as when a noun / pronoun is only thought of, its presence becomes apparent from the context, the pronouns few / a few are used.

In this case, it does not matter at all how the noun forms its plural — for all these cases, the rule will act the same.

For example:

She went to the USA for a few months… — She went to America for several months.

Few of her friends had been in the USA… — Few of her friends were in America.

Example:

She stood in the USA a little last year… — Last year she spent a little time in America.

When she first came to the USA, she little thought that she would stay there so long. — When she first arrived in America, she never thought that she would stay there for so long.

Pronoun meaning (word translation)

As we noted, the pronouns few, little, a few, and a little are used to indicate not enough of something. The difference between them appears only in the context of their use with nouns.

So, few / a few is used with countable nouns, and little / a little — with those that have only a singular, or only a plural.

However, there are still some differences in meanings, which depend on the form in which the pronoun is used, and create some difference in translation.

Moreover, in the first case, the sentence will most likely contain a somewhat negative connotation, in the second — neutral:

I can’t help you. I speak very little English… — I cannot help you, I know very little English.

I can help you, I speak a little English… — I can help you, I speak a little English.

It would seem that in both cases the first part of the sentence implies the same thing — I do not speak English very well, my knowledge is hardly enough.

His English is intermediate, he forgets about his lessons. He has very little interest in languages… — His English is not above average, he forgets about his lessons. He has no interest in languages at all.
His English is intermediate, he coaches in it every weekends. He has a little interest in language. — His English is intermediate and he trains him every weekend. He has little interest in languages.
I didn’t read this book in original, I can say very little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, I can say very little about it.
I didn’t read this book in original, I can say a little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, but I can tell you a little about it.
Very few of his friends can speak English… — Almost none of his friends speak English.
A few of his friends can speak in English not bad at all. “Some of his friends don’t speak English bad at all.

Comparative and superlative

Like adjectives, quantitative pronouns in English can create degrees of comparison.

The pronouns few / a few form comparative and superlatives according to all the rules of the English language.

In the case of the pronouns little / a little, the situation is different:

few ⇒ fewer ⇒ the fewis — few ⇒ less ⇒ least
little ⇒ less ⇒ the least — little ⇒ less ⇒ least
a few / a little ⇒ more ⇒ the most — a little ⇒ more ⇒ most

Source: https://vseprostdo.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less.html

What is the difference between fewer and less. use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

little / a little

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://film05.ru/bathroom/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

Countable and uncountable nouns — video tutorial

That’s a lot of butter! — How much oil is there

Finding hundreds of pencils in a desk drawer, you say no Wow! That’s a lot of pencil !, a

That’s a lot of pencils! — Wow, how many pencils!

Uncountable nouns

They can be counted only in 3 cases:

— in the limitation of stick meters

a stick of butter — a pack of butter

— to distinguish between subspecies

3 butters — lime butter, pepper butter, chilly butter — 3 types of butter — lime, pepper, chili

— to mark packages in catering

Waiter, we need some more butters here — Waiter, more packs of butter here

Countable nouns

Countable nouns in English are subject-matter — they can always be counted, put in the plural, and numbered.

5 pencils — 5 pencils

2 cars — 2 cars

7 people — 7 people

3 children — 3 children

Quantitative nouns

There are quantitative nouns and pronouns that are combined with only 1 of 2 classes. So, an amount of requires an uncountable noun, and number of requires a countable noun.

a number of cows — several cows

less applause — less applause

less than 10 dollars — less than 10 dollars

In some illiterate supermarkets, you can see the inscription Less than 10 items express checkout. That’s right

Fewer than 10 items — Up to 10 purchases

Fun Facts

Dandelion root can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute.

Source: https://www.lovelylanguage.ru/grammar/video-lessons/count-and-mass-nouns

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes

I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is «to put».

She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

But continuous is about something that lasts continuously.

He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word has a second meaning: «annoyance because someone has what you yourself would like.» In other words, envy. It is how “envy” translates the second word, envy.

He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we are talking about something abstract and uncountable, or when we don’t mention the exact amount.

I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to impartial.

A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «influence, cause, lead to something.»

Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake between the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

The project will take a huge amount of time and money — This project will take a huge amount of time and money.
A small number of children are educated at home — A small number of children study at home.

UPD. Updated on October 25, 2019.

Source: `https://lifehacker.ru/20-oshibok-v-anglijskom-yazyke-kotorye-delaet-kazhdyj-iz-nas/`

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

Incorrect use of apostrophes

Example: «The girl’s horse» — the horse belongs to the girl.

To indicate that an object belongs to several persons, the apostrophe must be placed after the end of «-s».

Example: «The girls’ horse» — the horse belongs to girls.

Your or you’re

“Your” is used when an object belongs to you.

Example: «Today is your lucky day» — Today is your lucky day.

“You’re” is used only as a shorthand for “you are”: pronoun “you” + verb “are”.

Example: “You’re beautiful” — You are beautiful.

There, their and they’re

And again these words, which sound almost the same. The word “there” is used to contrast “here”. “There” can also be used at the beginning of statements: There are no cakes left — There are no cakes left.

“Their” indicates that the object belongs to others.

Example: «Can we use their boat?» — Can we use their boat?

“They’re” is a shorthand for “they are”: the pronoun “they” + the verb “are”.

Example: «They’re going to be here soon» — They will be here soon.

Fewer or less

Even native speakers do not always understand the difference between “fewer” and “less”, mistakes are found even in advertisements of some supermarkets in English-speaking countries. Cases where people use “less” to mean “fewer” are very common.

“Fewer” is used with countable nouns, that is, words that can be counted: cake, piece, grains of sand.

Example: «Fewer grains of sand» — Fewer grains of sand.

“Less” is used with uncountable nouns, that is, those that cannot be counted: coffee, water, sand.

Example: «Less sand» — less sand.

Amount or number

The same rule applies here as in the previous example. “Number” is used with countable nouns: birds, tables, chairs.

Example: «A greater number of people» — More and more people.

“Amount” is used with uncountable nouns: water, sugar, sand.

Example: «A larger amount of water» — More water.

To, two and too

The words sound identical, which is confusing for English learners. By ear, you can distinguish them by understanding other words from the context and the general meaning of the statements.

“To” is the particle that is used to form the initial form of the verb: “to talk” — to speak. “To” is also used to mean “towards something”.

Example: «I’m going to town» — I’m going to town.

“Too” means “too”, “also”, “too”.

Example: «I’m too hot» — I’m too hot.

“Two” means “two”.

Example: «He bought two cakes» — He bought two cakes.

Then or than

“Then” and “than” are often confused not only because they sound similar, but also because they are written almost the same.

“Than” is used when we want to compare two objects.

Example: This dress is more beautiful than that one — This dress is more beautiful than that.

“Then” is used to indicate an event that will follow another, such as when making a plan or schedule.

Example: We’ll go to the cinema and then to the cafe — We will go to the cinema and then to the cafe.

Me, myself, I

Here’s an easy way to remember the difference between “me”, “myself” and “I”. When you talk about yourself and another person in the same sentence, their name should appear at the beginning of the sentence.

To check which pronoun you need at the moment, “me” or “I”, remove the name of the person you are talking about and see which pronoun sounds more correct.

In the sentence “John and I are off to the circus” — “John and I are going to the circus” you are not only talking about yourself, so it is better to use the pronoun “I”.

«Me» can only be used when you talk about yourself as an object, that is, when an action is directed at you. Also, «me» is placed after the preposition, that is, you cannot say «with I», we say «with me».

Use the pronoun “myself” if you have already used the pronoun “I” or if you want to emphasize that you are doing an action on your own or in relation to only yourself.

Who or whom

Another tricky moment for people learning English.

“Who” refers to the one who performs the action.

Example: “Who did this? He did ”- Who did it? — He did it.

Whereas “whom” is used to refer to the object to which the action is directed.

Example: “Whom should I invite? Invite him ”. Who should I invite? — Invite him.

Who and that

Often, English learners use “that” instead of “who” or “whom,” which is incorrect. You cannot use “that” when you are talking about a person.

Example: “He was the only person who wanted to come” — He was the only one who wanted to come.

Affect or effect

The words are easy to get confused because they sound and spelled almost the same. But there is a simple rule to help you remember the difference between the two.

“Affect” is a verb meaning “to influence, to influence something”. You can draw a parallel with the expression in Russian «state of passion»: he committed a crime in a state of passion, that is, under the influence of some sudden process.

Example: “They were directly affected by the flooding” — The flood directly affected them.

“Effect” is a noun meaning the result or effect of the influence exerted. You can also draw a parallel with the use of a word in Russian, for example, «negative effect of the statement», that is, there was some statement that subsequently caused a negative effect.

Example: “He waited for the medicine to have an effect” — He expected the drug to be effective.

Ie or Eg

English learners often do not know the decoding of these abbreviations, so they use them incorrectly when writing.

Ie means “that is” or “in other words”, comes from the Latin expression “id est”.

Example: «He objects to the changes — ie he won’t be accepting them» — He objects to the changes, that is, he won’t accept them.

Eg means “for example,” comes from the Latin expression “exempli gratia”.

Example: “He d many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie” — He liked many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie.

Use these abbreviations only in informal correspondence. In official documents, it is better to write their values in expanded form: “for example” and “that is”.

Its or it’s

We wrote above that apostrophes are used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something, but there is an exception to the rule — the pronoun “it”.

“It’s” is used only as a shorthand for “it is” or “it has”. Example: “It’s snowing outside” — It is snowing outside.

“Its” denotes the belonging of an object to an inanimate object, animal or plant. As with “his” and “hers,” there is no apostrophe here.

Example: «The sofa looks great with its new cover» — The sofa looks great with its new cover.

We hope that this article has explained some of the difficulties of the English language and will serve you as an assistant in learning it!

Source: https://blog.teachmeplease.ru/posts/13-trudnostey-angliyskogo-yazyka

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

Use few

Pronunciation and translation:
Few / [fyu] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Few is used with (people, chairs, flowers, apples).

This word is used to emphasize a small amount of something or someone. That is, we say that we have not enough of something or someonefor a specific business.

Few has a negative meaning, we say that something is not enough and we regret it. For example, she had littleacquaintances in this city, that is, she lacked communication and was lonely.

This country has few natural resources.
This country has little natural resources.

Few politicians admit their mistakes.
Little politicians admit their mistakes.

Little

Pronunciation and translation:
Little [? L? Tl] / [little] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Little we use with items that we cannot count(time, money, water, sugar, salt).

This word has the same meaning as few, says that something or someone is not enough for some purpose. And a person is upset by such a small amount.

For example, he has little money, that is, he does not have enough money to buy groceries.

Addicting a few

Pronunciation and translation:
A few [? fju?] / [e fyu] — several

Meaning of the word:
A small amount of

A few, just like few is used with items that we can count.

However, when we say a few, the sentence takes on a positive meaning, that is, the speaking person, is not at all upset by a small amount of something. He believes that this amount is quite enough.

For example, she had someacquaintances in this city, that is, she had someone to spend time with, this number of acquaintances was quite enough.

I have got a few suggestions.
I have some offers.

Source: https://draftee.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-primery-predlozhenii-c-a-little-upotreblenie-few-a-few/

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Scheme of using quantifiers:

1. Little — few quantifiers

We use «a little»With uncountable nouns, for example: I have some money. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We use «a few»With countable plural nouns, for example:

I know a few words of French. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We can use «little» and «few» without «a«, But in this case it means» almost no «or» almost nothing «, for example: We must hurry, we have little time.

His English is very good and he makes few mistakes.

We can also say “very little» or «very few«(Very little), for example:

She is very thin because she eats very little. I made very few mistakes in the test.

And here are some more examples using «a little» and «a few«:

I cannot buy this coat today: I have very little money. She left and returned a few minutes later. There are very few old houses left on our street. She gave us some water to wash our hands. They are very poor and they have very little money. I speak good German and also a little Spanish. There were very few people in the park: it was almost empty. Can I have some milk in my coffee, please?

I hope you think these sentences will ensure that you will make very few mistakes when speaking English.

2. Quantifiers much — many — a lot of

USING much, many, a lot of. We use much with uncountable nouns, for example: a lot of time, a lot of coffee, a lot of money, a lot of sugar.

We use many with countable nouns, for example: many books, many months, many years, many friends.

We use a lot of both uncountable and countable nouns, for example: a lot of friends, a lot of sugar, a lot of photos, a lot of time. However, it is important to note that:

1. We use a lot of mostly in positive sentences, for example: I drink a lot of tea. She carries many books.

2. We use much и many mostly in questions and negative suggestions, for example: How much money do you have? I don’t have a lot of money today. How many mistakes did you make in the test? I didn’t make many mistakes, only a few.

3. We can use lots of instead a lot of before countable nouns, for example: She has many friends.

4. We can use a lot without the noun and in this case we use it without a particle offor example: I ate a lot yesterday.

5. Sometimes much и a lot mean often, for example: Do you often go to the movies? — Not, no so much. Yes, I love movies; I go to the movies often.

More examples using much, many и a lot: I drink a lot of coffee and my sister drinks a lot of tea. What about you, do you drink a lot of coffee? I don’t know many people here. She made a lot of mistakes. There was a lot of food on the table. He talks a lot but does little. There is not much milk in the fridge. How many foreign languages can you speak? There are many trees in our park. I have money, but not much. I have read many English books.

What about you: have you read a lot of English books?

3. Quantifiers some — any

USING some и Any… We use some in positive sentences with both countable and uncountable nouns, for example: I need a little flour and a little butter to make a cake. They made several mistakes.

But the meaning may be different: using some with uncountable nouns it means «a little»; but using some with countable nouns means ‘several’, for example: Not a lot of sugar, a few books. We use Any in negative sentences, for example: We don’t have any milk. They didn’t make a single mistake.

We can also use Any in most (but not all) questions, for example: Do you have any dictionaries? Was there any water in the glass? But we usually use some not Any in questions when we offer things, for example: Would you like coffee? Or when we ask for things, like: can you lend me some money?

And here are some more examples of use Any и some: There is some oil in the refrigerator, but no milk at all. Are there eggs? — No, there are no eggs left. There are some pictures on the wall.

Do you want some tea? Do you have any brothers or sisters? Can I have some water please? Can you speak any foreign languages? I have English books, but not many. Are there shops on this street? — Yes, there are several shops on this street.

They didn’t make a single mistake. And what about you? Have you made mistakes? I hope you haven’t made any mistakes.

Few / few

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

little / a little

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://chaos-heart.ru/upotreblenie-less-i-fewer-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

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This article will show you when and where to use much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty of in English.

The noun plays a key role in the choice of the defining word. The determiner depends on which noun is in front of us, countable (countable) or uncountable (uncountable). Once again, we recall that we can count countable nouns and they have a plural form (a boy — boys). And uncountable nouns do not have a plural form (water — some water), and we cannot count them.

We have divided all words into three groups depending on which noun they are used with. We will consider each group separately.

Much / Little Many / Few A lot of / Plenty of

Uncountable nouns	Countable nouns	Countable and uncountable nouns
How much money have you got? — How much money do you have? — There is little ink left in my pen.	I have many friends. — He has got few friends. — He has few friends.	There is a lot of sugar there. — There are plenty of plants in the garden. — There are many plants in the garden.

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

The opposite of many is few: few apples, few friends, few ideas. Few often have a negative meaning: very little, not enough, so little that practically none.

A few has an intermediate meaning between many and few, translated as «a few»: a few apples (a few apples), a few friends (a few friends), a few ideas (a few ideas).

Much, little, a little with uncountable nouns

The words much, little, and little are used with uncountable nouns. Usually, the uncountable include liquids (water — water, oil — oil), objects that are too small that cannot be counted (sand — sand, flour — flour), or abstract concepts, since they cannot be seen or touched by hands (knowledge — knowledge, work — Work).

Much stands for a large amount of something uncountable: much sugar, much milk, much time.

The opposite of much is little: little sugar, little milk, little time. Little, like few, means that something is not enough, very little.

A little means a small amount of something that cannot be counted: a little sugar, a little milk, a little time.

— Did she put much salt in the soup? — She lot put salt in the soup?
— No, she didn’t. She put little salt in the soup. — No, she put little salt in the soup. (more could have been)
— I added a little salt in her soup. — I added slightly salt in her soup.

A lot of, plenty of — universal words

The words a lot of (many) and plenty of (many) are the most «convenient»: we can use them with both countable nouns and uncountable ones.

A lot of (lots of) replaces much and many: a lot of people (many people), lots of tea (lots of tea). Plenty of means that there is a lot of something, that is, enough or even more than necessary: plenty of people (a lot of people), plenty of tea (a lot of tea).

We bought lots of souvenirs and plenty of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka. — We bought lot souvenirs and lots of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka.

Features and exceptions

Much, many, few, little, a lot of with uncountable nouns
There are a number of nouns that seem to be countable, but in fact are not. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine the «countability» of a noun.

If you are not sure which noun is in front of you, it is better to check it in the dictionary.

Please note that in English, uncountable includes advice, news, work, money, research, travel, furniture.

They have much work to do. — They have lot work.

Source: https://engblog.ru/much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-plenty-usage

Less / Fewer

«Less» and «fewer»Both words indicate quantitative indicators. «Less«- the comparative form of the word»little«, but «fewer«Is the comparative form»few».

Little [ˈLɪtəl] — a little, a little.
Few [fju] — a little, a little.

we have less milk than I’d hoped. — We have less milk than I had hoped.
There are fewer people than I expected. — Of people lessthan I expected.

Less

We use «less«With uncountable nouns such as: Pollution (pollution), traffic (traffic), News (news), freedom (freedom).

there is less traffic and less pollution. — There less traffic and less pollution.
We’ve been receiving a lot less news since we switched TV providers. — We get much less news since we changed TV providers.
In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than they do here. — In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than here.

fewer

We use «fewer«With quantifiable nouns such as: restaurants (restaurants), cafes (Cafe), people (people), bags (bags).

There are fewer restaurants and fewer cafes. — Here less restaurants and cafes.
Fewer people came to the opening than we had expected! — It came to the opening less people than we expected!
There are new pills with fewer side effects. — There are new drugs with smaller the number of side effects.

An exception

When we talk about measurements of time, distance, weight and money, we use “less«.

It is less than six hours until my essay is due. — Until the delivery of the essay is left less six hours.
i live less than fifty miles from London. “I live less than fifty miles from London.

More articles about English

Source: https://english5minutes.ru/less-fewer/

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Why is it so easy to get confused when using «less» and «fewer» — two pointers to many English languages?

Difference between less and fewer in English

fewer

This is the comparative form of the demonstrative pronoun «few«- few; little, little. Used before countable nouns when indicating the reduction of the number of objects (elements).

Countable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which can be counted. It is expressed in pieces, units (pieces, bottles, packs, boxes) and has the plural:

3 packets of yeast;
2 watermelons;
8 eggs;
6 tomatoes.

An amazing selection of products for a wonderful dinner.

Fewer people today carry cash. — Fewer people nowadays carry cash with them.

Less

This is the comparative form of the adverb «little«- a little, a little.

Used by:

when indicating a reduction in the number of items;
before uncountable nouns in the singular.

Uncountable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which cannot be counted. It is expressed in terms of mass, volume, but in some cases it does not have a clear definition at all:

liquids: water (water), milk (milk), oil (oil), beer (beer);
products: cheese, bread, meat;
gaseous substances: smoke (smoke), air (air), oxygen (oxygen), hydrogen (hydrogen), nitrogen (nitrogen);
substances consisting of many small particles: flour (flour), rice (rice), dust (dust), ash (dust, ash, ash);
natural phenomena: snow (snow), light (light), rain (rain), wind (wind), fog (fog), heat (heat);
abstractions: happiness, health, education, space, work, energy, truth.

there is less privacy today because of social media. — Due to the proliferation of social networks, there is less privacy in our lives today.

Less and fewer in life

In everyday life in the United States, the word «less» is regularly misused. It applies not only to uncountable, but also countable nouns.

Films, serials, programs, advertising, news. Everything becomes a victim of simplicity and laziness. Americans concentrate on the qualitative aspect — the very fact of the reduction, and not the approach to assessing this reduction — volume, quantity.

Even big politicians who claim to be the head of state sometimes use the more widespread less in places that were not intended for that. Meath Romney — the US presidential candidate from the Republican Party in the 2012 elections said (from 02:58):

And this way you get more debt. So more debt and less work. Mitt Romney

The candidate made a reservation and used «less jobs» instead of «fewer jobs «(Less work, jobs).

Similarities between less and fewer

Less and fewer with of

It is necessary to substitute the preposition “of«Before defining words:

articles (a / an, the);
pronouns (him, it);
demonstrative pronouns (this, that);
possessive pronouns (my, her, our).

I have to spend less of my time playing computer games. — I should spend less time playing computer games.

Less without a noun

The noun after «less» or «fewer» can be omitted if it is clear what is meant.

— You bought 10 bottles of juice. — You bought 10 bottles of juice.

— No way! I am sure I bought fewer… — Can not be! I’m sure I bought less.

Use cases for less and fewer

Less, fewer and weight

The whole can also be calculated using grams, kilograms, but the habit is second nature and it tells native English speakers to use “less«Instead of» fewer «.

My weight was less than 8 pounds at birth. — At birth, my weight was less than 8 pounds.

Less, fewer and money

Money is a thing that can be easily calculated. But, in life, we think of money as a whole, as an aggregate, about a mass, and not separate units, presented in the form of banknotes and coins. Therefore, when talking about money, use “less«, Not» fewer «.

I have less than 50 bucks left in my account. — I have less than $ 50 left in my account.

You can still say — fewer than 50 bucks, but it will sound strange and unexpected to those around you.

Less, fewer and percent

Determining the right word for percentages can be problematic. To do this, you need to evaluate the whole picture and ask yourself «Is it possible to calculate what we are describing?»

Fewer than 13 percent of the US citizens have black skin. — Less than 13% of the US population is black.

Counting all citizens with a dark skin color is difficult, but doable. This means 13% is a calculated value.

On the other hand, it is impossible to count the unfinished juice.

It has left less than 30 percent juice in the pack. — The package contains less than 30% of the juice.

Less, fewer and time

It will also be common to use «less«When mentioning the time. We can count the time in seconds, minutes, hours, etc., but sentences are still built with «less».

I think they could spend less time at work. — I think they could spend less time at work.

I think they could spend fewer hours at work. — I think they could spend less hours at work.

Less or Fewer? — Short video tutorial

English subtitles are available in the video.

Less & Fewer.

Source: https://englishboost.ru/less-fewer-raznitsa/

«Little» in English

How do you say «little» in English? Find out in this article!

Source: https://enjoyenglish-blog.com/razgovornyj-anglijskij/malo-na-anglijskom.html

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

It doesn’t matter what level you have. Even native speakers are sometimes confused in these words.

1. Lay and lie

I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is “to put”.

She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

Continuous, on the other hand, is about something that lasts continuously.

He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word also has a second meaning: “annoyance that someone has what you yourself would like”. In other words, envy. The second word, envy, is also translated as “envy”.

He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we talk about something abstract and uncountable, or we don’t mention the exact amount.

I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to the Cambridge Dictionary: disinterested as «impartial.»

A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

In Russian, the word “worry” can be used not only in a negative way (“I’m terribly worried about you!”), But also in a positive way (“I was so excited when I received your letter!”). Perhaps this is why, when we speak English, we try to use anxious in similar cases. But this word is translated as «anxious, worried, nervous.»

It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

If you are happy to see your friends, telling them that you are anxious to see them would be wrong. Excited is more appropriate here. By the way, the word anxious is also appropriate if we are impatient to do something or we are striving for something.

I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «to influence, cause, lead to something.»

Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake among the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

Here, in general, the difference is only in the article. But in English, even he can significantly change the meaning of a word. The noun lot together with the indefinite article a can be translated as «a lot», «a large number».

I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

What is the difference between fewer and less? — everything is simple

Rules of Use

For nouns that have both singular and plural, as well as when a noun / pronoun is only thought of, its presence becomes apparent from the context, the pronouns few / a few are used.

In this case, it does not matter at all how the noun forms its plural — for all these cases, the rule will act the same.

For example:

She went to the USA for a few months… — She went to America for several months.

Few of her friends had been in the USA… — Few of her friends were in America.

Example:

She stood in the USA a little last year… — Last year she spent a little time in America.

When she first came to the USA, she little thought that she would stay there so long. — When she first arrived in America, she never thought that she would stay there for so long.

Pronoun meaning (word translation)

As we noted, the pronouns few, little, a few, and a little are used to indicate not enough of something. The difference between them appears only in the context of their use with nouns.

So, few / a few is used with countable nouns, and little / a little — with those that have only a singular, or only a plural.

However, there are still some differences in meanings, which depend on the form in which the pronoun is used, and create some difference in translation.

Moreover, in the first case, the sentence will most likely contain a somewhat negative connotation, in the second — neutral:

I can’t help you. I speak very little English… — I cannot help you, I know very little English.

I can help you, I speak a little English… — I can help you, I speak a little English.

It would seem that in both cases the first part of the sentence implies the same thing — I do not speak English very well, my knowledge is hardly enough.

His English is intermediate, he forgets about his lessons. He has very little interest in languages… — His English is not above average, he forgets about his lessons. He has no interest in languages at all.
His English is intermediate, he coaches in it every weekends. He has a little interest in language. — His English is intermediate and he trains him every weekend. He has little interest in languages.
I didn’t read this book in original, I can say very little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, I can say very little about it.
I didn’t read this book in original, I can say a little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, but I can tell you a little about it.
Very few of his friends can speak English… — Almost none of his friends speak English.
A few of his friends can speak in English not bad at all. “Some of his friends don’t speak English bad at all.

Comparative and superlative

Like adjectives, quantitative pronouns in English can create degrees of comparison.

The pronouns few / a few form comparative and superlatives according to all the rules of the English language.

In the case of the pronouns little / a little, the situation is different:

few ⇒ fewer ⇒ the fewis — few ⇒ less ⇒ least
little ⇒ less ⇒ the least — little ⇒ less ⇒ least
a few / a little ⇒ more ⇒ the most — a little ⇒ more ⇒ most

Source: https://vseprostdo.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less.html

What is the difference between fewer and less. use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

little / a little

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://film05.ru/bathroom/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

Countable and uncountable nouns — video tutorial

That’s a lot of butter! — How much oil is there

Finding hundreds of pencils in a desk drawer, you say no Wow! That’s a lot of pencil !, a

That’s a lot of pencils! — Wow, how many pencils!

Uncountable nouns

They can be counted only in 3 cases:

— in the limitation of stick meters

a stick of butter — a pack of butter

— to distinguish between subspecies

3 butters — lime butter, pepper butter, chilly butter — 3 types of butter — lime, pepper, chili

— to mark packages in catering

Waiter, we need some more butters here — Waiter, more packs of butter here

Countable nouns

Countable nouns in English are subject-matter — they can always be counted, put in the plural, and numbered.

5 pencils — 5 pencils

2 cars — 2 cars

7 people — 7 people

3 children — 3 children

Quantitative nouns

There are quantitative nouns and pronouns that are combined with only 1 of 2 classes. So, an amount of requires an uncountable noun, and number of requires a countable noun.

a number of cows — several cows

less applause — less applause

less than 10 dollars — less than 10 dollars

In some illiterate supermarkets, you can see the inscription Less than 10 items express checkout. That’s right

Fewer than 10 items — Up to 10 purchases

Fun Facts

Dandelion root can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute.

Source: https://www.lovelylanguage.ru/grammar/video-lessons/count-and-mass-nouns

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes

I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is «to put».

She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

But continuous is about something that lasts continuously.

He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word has a second meaning: «annoyance because someone has what you yourself would like.» In other words, envy. It is how “envy” translates the second word, envy.

He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we are talking about something abstract and uncountable, or when we don’t mention the exact amount.

I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to impartial.

A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «influence, cause, lead to something.»

Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake between the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

The project will take a huge amount of time and money — This project will take a huge amount of time and money.
A small number of children are educated at home — A small number of children study at home.

UPD. Updated on October 25, 2019.

Source: `https://lifehacker.ru/20-oshibok-v-anglijskom-yazyke-kotorye-delaet-kazhdyj-iz-nas/`

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

Incorrect use of apostrophes

Example: «The girl’s horse» — the horse belongs to the girl.

To indicate that an object belongs to several persons, the apostrophe must be placed after the end of «-s».

Example: «The girls’ horse» — the horse belongs to girls.

Your or you’re

“Your” is used when an object belongs to you.

Example: «Today is your lucky day» — Today is your lucky day.

“You’re” is used only as a shorthand for “you are”: pronoun “you” + verb “are”.

Example: “You’re beautiful” — You are beautiful.

There, their and they’re

“Their” indicates that the object belongs to others.

Example: «Can we use their boat?» — Can we use their boat?

“They’re” is a shorthand for “they are”: the pronoun “they” + the verb “are”.

Example: «They’re going to be here soon» — They will be here soon.

Fewer or less

“Fewer” is used with countable nouns, that is, words that can be counted: cake, piece, grains of sand.

Example: «Fewer grains of sand» — Fewer grains of sand.

“Less” is used with uncountable nouns, that is, those that cannot be counted: coffee, water, sand.

Example: «Less sand» — less sand.

Amount or number

The same rule applies here as in the previous example. “Number” is used with countable nouns: birds, tables, chairs.

Example: «A greater number of people» — More and more people.

“Amount” is used with uncountable nouns: water, sugar, sand.

Example: «A larger amount of water» — More water.

To, two and too

The words sound identical, which is confusing for English learners. By ear, you can distinguish them by understanding other words from the context and the general meaning of the statements.

“To” is the particle that is used to form the initial form of the verb: “to talk” — to speak. “To” is also used to mean “towards something”.

Example: «I’m going to town» — I’m going to town.

“Too” means “too”, “also”, “too”.

Example: «I’m too hot» — I’m too hot.

“Two” means “two”.

Example: «He bought two cakes» — He bought two cakes.

Then or than

“Then” and “than” are often confused not only because they sound similar, but also because they are written almost the same.

“Than” is used when we want to compare two objects.

Example: This dress is more beautiful than that one — This dress is more beautiful than that.

“Then” is used to indicate an event that will follow another, such as when making a plan or schedule.

Example: We’ll go to the cinema and then to the cafe — We will go to the cinema and then to the cafe.

Me, myself, I

To check which pronoun you need at the moment, “me” or “I”, remove the name of the person you are talking about and see which pronoun sounds more correct.

In the sentence “John and I are off to the circus” — “John and I are going to the circus” you are not only talking about yourself, so it is better to use the pronoun “I”.

«Me» can only be used when you talk about yourself as an object, that is, when an action is directed at you. Also, «me» is placed after the preposition, that is, you cannot say «with I», we say «with me».

Use the pronoun “myself” if you have already used the pronoun “I” or if you want to emphasize that you are doing an action on your own or in relation to only yourself.

Who or whom

Another tricky moment for people learning English.

“Who” refers to the one who performs the action.

Example: “Who did this? He did ”- Who did it? — He did it.

Whereas “whom” is used to refer to the object to which the action is directed.

Example: “Whom should I invite? Invite him ”. Who should I invite? — Invite him.

Who and that

Often, English learners use “that” instead of “who” or “whom,” which is incorrect. You cannot use “that” when you are talking about a person.

Example: “He was the only person who wanted to come” — He was the only one who wanted to come.

Affect or effect

The words are easy to get confused because they sound and spelled almost the same. But there is a simple rule to help you remember the difference between the two.

Example: “They were directly affected by the flooding” — The flood directly affected them.

Example: “He waited for the medicine to have an effect” — He expected the drug to be effective.

Ie or Eg

English learners often do not know the decoding of these abbreviations, so they use them incorrectly when writing.

Ie means “that is” or “in other words”, comes from the Latin expression “id est”.

Example: «He objects to the changes — ie he won’t be accepting them» — He objects to the changes, that is, he won’t accept them.

Eg means “for example,” comes from the Latin expression “exempli gratia”.

Example: “He d many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie” — He liked many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie.

Use these abbreviations only in informal correspondence. In official documents, it is better to write their values in expanded form: “for example” and “that is”.

Its or it’s

We wrote above that apostrophes are used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something, but there is an exception to the rule — the pronoun “it”.

“It’s” is used only as a shorthand for “it is” or “it has”. Example: “It’s snowing outside” — It is snowing outside.

“Its” denotes the belonging of an object to an inanimate object, animal or plant. As with “his” and “hers,” there is no apostrophe here.

Example: «The sofa looks great with its new cover» — The sofa looks great with its new cover.

We hope that this article has explained some of the difficulties of the English language and will serve you as an assistant in learning it!

Source: https://blog.teachmeplease.ru/posts/13-trudnostey-angliyskogo-yazyka

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

Use few

Pronunciation and translation:
Few / [fyu] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Few is used with (people, chairs, flowers, apples).

This word is used to emphasize a small amount of something or someone. That is, we say that we have not enough of something or someonefor a specific business.

Few has a negative meaning, we say that something is not enough and we regret it. For example, she had littleacquaintances in this city, that is, she lacked communication and was lonely.

This country has few natural resources.
This country has little natural resources.

Few politicians admit their mistakes.
Little politicians admit their mistakes.

Little

Pronunciation and translation:
Little [? L? Tl] / [little] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Little we use with items that we cannot count(time, money, water, sugar, salt).

This word has the same meaning as few, says that something or someone is not enough for some purpose. And a person is upset by such a small amount.

For example, he has little money, that is, he does not have enough money to buy groceries.

Addicting a few

Pronunciation and translation:
A few [? fju?] / [e fyu] — several

Meaning of the word:
A small amount of

A few, just like few is used with items that we can count.

For example, she had someacquaintances in this city, that is, she had someone to spend time with, this number of acquaintances was quite enough.

I have got a few suggestions.
I have some offers.

Source: https://draftee.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-primery-predlozhenii-c-a-little-upotreblenie-few-a-few/

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Scheme of using quantifiers:

1. Little — few quantifiers

We use «a little»With uncountable nouns, for example: I have some money. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We use «a few»With countable plural nouns, for example:

I know a few words of French. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We can use «little» and «few» without «a«, But in this case it means» almost no «or» almost nothing «, for example: We must hurry, we have little time.

His English is very good and he makes few mistakes.

We can also say “very little» or «very few«(Very little), for example:

She is very thin because she eats very little. I made very few mistakes in the test.

And here are some more examples using «a little» and «a few«:

I hope you think these sentences will ensure that you will make very few mistakes when speaking English.

2. Quantifiers much — many — a lot of

USING much, many, a lot of. We use much with uncountable nouns, for example: a lot of time, a lot of coffee, a lot of money, a lot of sugar.

We use many with countable nouns, for example: many books, many months, many years, many friends.

We use a lot of both uncountable and countable nouns, for example: a lot of friends, a lot of sugar, a lot of photos, a lot of time. However, it is important to note that:

1. We use a lot of mostly in positive sentences, for example: I drink a lot of tea. She carries many books.

3. We can use lots of instead a lot of before countable nouns, for example: She has many friends.

4. We can use a lot without the noun and in this case we use it without a particle offor example: I ate a lot yesterday.

5. Sometimes much и a lot mean often, for example: Do you often go to the movies? — Not, no so much. Yes, I love movies; I go to the movies often.

What about you: have you read a lot of English books?

3. Quantifiers some — any

And here are some more examples of use Any и some: There is some oil in the refrigerator, but no milk at all. Are there eggs? — No, there are no eggs left. There are some pictures on the wall.

They didn’t make a single mistake. And what about you? Have you made mistakes? I hope you haven’t made any mistakes.

Few / few

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

little / a little

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://chaos-heart.ru/upotreblenie-less-i-fewer-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

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This article will show you when and where to use much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty of in English.

The noun plays a key role in the choice of the defining word. The determiner depends on which noun is in front of us, countable (countable) or uncountable (uncountable). Once again, we recall that we can count countable nouns and they have a plural form (a boy — boys). And uncountable nouns do not have a plural form (water — some water), and we cannot count them.

We have divided all words into three groups depending on which noun they are used with. We will consider each group separately.

Much / Little Many / Few A lot of / Plenty of

Uncountable nouns	Countable nouns	Countable and uncountable nouns
How much money have you got? — How much money do you have? — There is little ink left in my pen.	I have many friends. — He has got few friends. — He has few friends.	There is a lot of sugar there. — There are plenty of plants in the garden. — There are many plants in the garden.

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

The opposite of many is few: few apples, few friends, few ideas. Few often have a negative meaning: very little, not enough, so little that practically none.

A few has an intermediate meaning between many and few, translated as «a few»: a few apples (a few apples), a few friends (a few friends), a few ideas (a few ideas).

Much, little, a little with uncountable nouns

Much stands for a large amount of something uncountable: much sugar, much milk, much time.

The opposite of much is little: little sugar, little milk, little time. Little, like few, means that something is not enough, very little.

A little means a small amount of something that cannot be counted: a little sugar, a little milk, a little time.

A lot of, plenty of — universal words

The words a lot of (many) and plenty of (many) are the most «convenient»: we can use them with both countable nouns and uncountable ones.

We bought lots of souvenirs and plenty of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka. — We bought lot souvenirs and lots of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka.

Features and exceptions

Much, many, few, little, a lot of with uncountable nouns
There are a number of nouns that seem to be countable, but in fact are not. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine the «countability» of a noun.

If you are not sure which noun is in front of you, it is better to check it in the dictionary.

Please note that in English, uncountable includes advice, news, work, money, research, travel, furniture.

They have much work to do. — They have lot work.

Source: https://engblog.ru/much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-plenty-usage

Less / Fewer

«Less» and «fewer»Both words indicate quantitative indicators. «Less«- the comparative form of the word»little«, but «fewer«Is the comparative form»few».

Little [ˈLɪtəl] — a little, a little.
Few [fju] — a little, a little.

we have less milk than I’d hoped. — We have less milk than I had hoped.
There are fewer people than I expected. — Of people lessthan I expected.

Less

We use «less«With uncountable nouns such as: Pollution (pollution), traffic (traffic), News (news), freedom (freedom).

there is less traffic and less pollution. — There less traffic and less pollution.
We’ve been receiving a lot less news since we switched TV providers. — We get much less news since we changed TV providers.
In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than they do here. — In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than here.

fewer

We use «fewer«With quantifiable nouns such as: restaurants (restaurants), cafes (Cafe), people (people), bags (bags).

There are fewer restaurants and fewer cafes. — Here less restaurants and cafes.
Fewer people came to the opening than we had expected! — It came to the opening less people than we expected!
There are new pills with fewer side effects. — There are new drugs with smaller the number of side effects.

An exception

When we talk about measurements of time, distance, weight and money, we use “less«.

It is less than six hours until my essay is due. — Until the delivery of the essay is left less six hours.
i live less than fifty miles from London. “I live less than fifty miles from London.

More articles about English

Source: https://english5minutes.ru/less-fewer/

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Why is it so easy to get confused when using «less» and «fewer» — two pointers to many English languages?

Difference between less and fewer in English

fewer

This is the comparative form of the demonstrative pronoun «few«- few; little, little. Used before countable nouns when indicating the reduction of the number of objects (elements).

Countable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which can be counted. It is expressed in pieces, units (pieces, bottles, packs, boxes) and has the plural:

3 packets of yeast;
2 watermelons;
8 eggs;
6 tomatoes.

An amazing selection of products for a wonderful dinner.

Fewer people today carry cash. — Fewer people nowadays carry cash with them.

Less

This is the comparative form of the adverb «little«- a little, a little.

Used by:

when indicating a reduction in the number of items;
before uncountable nouns in the singular.

Uncountable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which cannot be counted. It is expressed in terms of mass, volume, but in some cases it does not have a clear definition at all:

liquids: water (water), milk (milk), oil (oil), beer (beer);
products: cheese, bread, meat;
gaseous substances: smoke (smoke), air (air), oxygen (oxygen), hydrogen (hydrogen), nitrogen (nitrogen);
substances consisting of many small particles: flour (flour), rice (rice), dust (dust), ash (dust, ash, ash);
natural phenomena: snow (snow), light (light), rain (rain), wind (wind), fog (fog), heat (heat);
abstractions: happiness, health, education, space, work, energy, truth.

there is less privacy today because of social media. — Due to the proliferation of social networks, there is less privacy in our lives today.

Less and fewer in life

In everyday life in the United States, the word «less» is regularly misused. It applies not only to uncountable, but also countable nouns.

And this way you get more debt. So more debt and less work. Mitt Romney

The candidate made a reservation and used «less jobs» instead of «fewer jobs «(Less work, jobs).

Similarities between less and fewer

Less and fewer with of

It is necessary to substitute the preposition “of«Before defining words:

articles (a / an, the);
pronouns (him, it);
demonstrative pronouns (this, that);
possessive pronouns (my, her, our).

I have to spend less of my time playing computer games. — I should spend less time playing computer games.

Less without a noun

The noun after «less» or «fewer» can be omitted if it is clear what is meant.

— You bought 10 bottles of juice. — You bought 10 bottles of juice.

— No way! I am sure I bought fewer… — Can not be! I’m sure I bought less.

Use cases for less and fewer

Less, fewer and weight

The whole can also be calculated using grams, kilograms, but the habit is second nature and it tells native English speakers to use “less«Instead of» fewer «.

My weight was less than 8 pounds at birth. — At birth, my weight was less than 8 pounds.

Less, fewer and money

I have less than 50 bucks left in my account. — I have less than $ 50 left in my account.

You can still say — fewer than 50 bucks, but it will sound strange and unexpected to those around you.

Less, fewer and percent

Determining the right word for percentages can be problematic. To do this, you need to evaluate the whole picture and ask yourself «Is it possible to calculate what we are describing?»

Fewer than 13 percent of the US citizens have black skin. — Less than 13% of the US population is black.

Counting all citizens with a dark skin color is difficult, but doable. This means 13% is a calculated value.

On the other hand, it is impossible to count the unfinished juice.

It has left less than 30 percent juice in the pack. — The package contains less than 30% of the juice.

Less, fewer and time

It will also be common to use «less«When mentioning the time. We can count the time in seconds, minutes, hours, etc., but sentences are still built with «less».

I think they could spend less time at work. — I think they could spend less time at work.

I think they could spend fewer hours at work. — I think they could spend less hours at work.

Less or Fewer? — Short video tutorial

English subtitles are available in the video.

Less & Fewer.

Source: https://englishboost.ru/less-fewer-raznitsa/

«Little» in English

How do you say «little» in English? Find out in this article!

Source: https://enjoyenglish-blog.com/razgovornyj-anglijskij/malo-na-anglijskom.html

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

It doesn’t matter what level you have. Even native speakers are sometimes confused in these words.

1. Lay and lie

I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is “to put”.

She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

Continuous, on the other hand, is about something that lasts continuously.

He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word also has a second meaning: “annoyance that someone has what you yourself would like”. In other words, envy. The second word, envy, is also translated as “envy”.

He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we talk about something abstract and uncountable, or we don’t mention the exact amount.

I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «to influence, cause, lead to something.»

Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake among the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

What is the difference between fewer and less? — everything is simple

Rules of Use

For nouns that have both singular and plural, as well as when a noun / pronoun is only thought of, its presence becomes apparent from the context, the pronouns few / a few are used.

In this case, it does not matter at all how the noun forms its plural — for all these cases, the rule will act the same.

For example:

She went to the USA for a few months… — She went to America for several months.

Few of her friends had been in the USA… — Few of her friends were in America.

Example:

She stood in the USA a little last year… — Last year she spent a little time in America.

When she first came to the USA, she little thought that she would stay there so long. — When she first arrived in America, she never thought that she would stay there for so long.

Pronoun meaning (word translation)

As we noted, the pronouns few, little, a few, and a little are used to indicate not enough of something. The difference between them appears only in the context of their use with nouns.

So, few / a few is used with countable nouns, and little / a little — with those that have only a singular, or only a plural.

However, there are still some differences in meanings, which depend on the form in which the pronoun is used, and create some difference in translation.

Moreover, in the first case, the sentence will most likely contain a somewhat negative connotation, in the second — neutral:

I can’t help you. I speak very little English… — I cannot help you, I know very little English.

I can help you, I speak a little English… — I can help you, I speak a little English.

It would seem that in both cases the first part of the sentence implies the same thing — I do not speak English very well, my knowledge is hardly enough.

His English is intermediate, he forgets about his lessons. He has very little interest in languages… — His English is not above average, he forgets about his lessons. He has no interest in languages at all.
His English is intermediate, he coaches in it every weekends. He has a little interest in language. — His English is intermediate and he trains him every weekend. He has little interest in languages.
I didn’t read this book in original, I can say very little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, I can say very little about it.
I didn’t read this book in original, I can say a little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, but I can tell you a little about it.
Very few of his friends can speak English… — Almost none of his friends speak English.
A few of his friends can speak in English not bad at all. “Some of his friends don’t speak English bad at all.

Comparative and superlative

Like adjectives, quantitative pronouns in English can create degrees of comparison.

The pronouns few / a few form comparative and superlatives according to all the rules of the English language.

In the case of the pronouns little / a little, the situation is different:

few ⇒ fewer ⇒ the fewis — few ⇒ less ⇒ least
little ⇒ less ⇒ the least — little ⇒ less ⇒ least
a few / a little ⇒ more ⇒ the most — a little ⇒ more ⇒ most

Source: https://vseprostdo.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less.html

What is the difference between fewer and less. use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

little / a little

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://film05.ru/bathroom/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

Countable and uncountable nouns — video tutorial

That’s a lot of butter! — How much oil is there

Finding hundreds of pencils in a desk drawer, you say no Wow! That’s a lot of pencil !, a

That’s a lot of pencils! — Wow, how many pencils!

Uncountable nouns

They can be counted only in 3 cases:

— in the limitation of stick meters

a stick of butter — a pack of butter

— to distinguish between subspecies

3 butters — lime butter, pepper butter, chilly butter — 3 types of butter — lime, pepper, chili

— to mark packages in catering

Waiter, we need some more butters here — Waiter, more packs of butter here

Countable nouns

Countable nouns in English are subject-matter — they can always be counted, put in the plural, and numbered.

5 pencils — 5 pencils

2 cars — 2 cars

7 people — 7 people

3 children — 3 children

Quantitative nouns

There are quantitative nouns and pronouns that are combined with only 1 of 2 classes. So, an amount of requires an uncountable noun, and number of requires a countable noun.

a number of cows — several cows

less applause — less applause

less than 10 dollars — less than 10 dollars

In some illiterate supermarkets, you can see the inscription Less than 10 items express checkout. That’s right

Fewer than 10 items — Up to 10 purchases

Fun Facts

Dandelion root can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute.

Source: https://www.lovelylanguage.ru/grammar/video-lessons/count-and-mass-nouns

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes

I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is «to put».

She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

But continuous is about something that lasts continuously.

He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word has a second meaning: «annoyance because someone has what you yourself would like.» In other words, envy. It is how “envy” translates the second word, envy.

He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we are talking about something abstract and uncountable, or when we don’t mention the exact amount.

I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to impartial.

A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «influence, cause, lead to something.»

Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake between the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

The project will take a huge amount of time and money — This project will take a huge amount of time and money.
A small number of children are educated at home — A small number of children study at home.

UPD. Updated on October 25, 2019.

Source: `https://lifehacker.ru/20-oshibok-v-anglijskom-yazyke-kotorye-delaet-kazhdyj-iz-nas/`

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

Incorrect use of apostrophes

Example: «The girl’s horse» — the horse belongs to the girl.

To indicate that an object belongs to several persons, the apostrophe must be placed after the end of «-s».

Example: «The girls’ horse» — the horse belongs to girls.

Your or you’re

“Your” is used when an object belongs to you.

Example: «Today is your lucky day» — Today is your lucky day.

“You’re” is used only as a shorthand for “you are”: pronoun “you” + verb “are”.

Example: “You’re beautiful” — You are beautiful.

There, their and they’re

“Their” indicates that the object belongs to others.

Example: «Can we use their boat?» — Can we use their boat?

“They’re” is a shorthand for “they are”: the pronoun “they” + the verb “are”.

Example: «They’re going to be here soon» — They will be here soon.

Fewer or less

“Fewer” is used with countable nouns, that is, words that can be counted: cake, piece, grains of sand.

Example: «Fewer grains of sand» — Fewer grains of sand.

“Less” is used with uncountable nouns, that is, those that cannot be counted: coffee, water, sand.

Example: «Less sand» — less sand.

Amount or number

The same rule applies here as in the previous example. “Number” is used with countable nouns: birds, tables, chairs.

Example: «A greater number of people» — More and more people.

“Amount” is used with uncountable nouns: water, sugar, sand.

Example: «A larger amount of water» — More water.

To, two and too

The words sound identical, which is confusing for English learners. By ear, you can distinguish them by understanding other words from the context and the general meaning of the statements.

“To” is the particle that is used to form the initial form of the verb: “to talk” — to speak. “To” is also used to mean “towards something”.

Example: «I’m going to town» — I’m going to town.

“Too” means “too”, “also”, “too”.

Example: «I’m too hot» — I’m too hot.

“Two” means “two”.

Example: «He bought two cakes» — He bought two cakes.

Then or than

“Then” and “than” are often confused not only because they sound similar, but also because they are written almost the same.

“Than” is used when we want to compare two objects.

Example: This dress is more beautiful than that one — This dress is more beautiful than that.

“Then” is used to indicate an event that will follow another, such as when making a plan or schedule.

Example: We’ll go to the cinema and then to the cafe — We will go to the cinema and then to the cafe.

Me, myself, I

To check which pronoun you need at the moment, “me” or “I”, remove the name of the person you are talking about and see which pronoun sounds more correct.

In the sentence “John and I are off to the circus” — “John and I are going to the circus” you are not only talking about yourself, so it is better to use the pronoun “I”.

«Me» can only be used when you talk about yourself as an object, that is, when an action is directed at you. Also, «me» is placed after the preposition, that is, you cannot say «with I», we say «with me».

Use the pronoun “myself” if you have already used the pronoun “I” or if you want to emphasize that you are doing an action on your own or in relation to only yourself.

Who or whom

Another tricky moment for people learning English.

“Who” refers to the one who performs the action.

Example: “Who did this? He did ”- Who did it? — He did it.

Whereas “whom” is used to refer to the object to which the action is directed.

Example: “Whom should I invite? Invite him ”. Who should I invite? — Invite him.

Who and that

Often, English learners use “that” instead of “who” or “whom,” which is incorrect. You cannot use “that” when you are talking about a person.

Example: “He was the only person who wanted to come” — He was the only one who wanted to come.

Affect or effect

The words are easy to get confused because they sound and spelled almost the same. But there is a simple rule to help you remember the difference between the two.

Example: “They were directly affected by the flooding” — The flood directly affected them.

Example: “He waited for the medicine to have an effect” — He expected the drug to be effective.

Ie or Eg

English learners often do not know the decoding of these abbreviations, so they use them incorrectly when writing.

Ie means “that is” or “in other words”, comes from the Latin expression “id est”.

Example: «He objects to the changes — ie he won’t be accepting them» — He objects to the changes, that is, he won’t accept them.

Eg means “for example,” comes from the Latin expression “exempli gratia”.

Example: “He d many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie” — He liked many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie.

Use these abbreviations only in informal correspondence. In official documents, it is better to write their values in expanded form: “for example” and “that is”.

Its or it’s

We wrote above that apostrophes are used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something, but there is an exception to the rule — the pronoun “it”.

“It’s” is used only as a shorthand for “it is” or “it has”. Example: “It’s snowing outside” — It is snowing outside.

“Its” denotes the belonging of an object to an inanimate object, animal or plant. As with “his” and “hers,” there is no apostrophe here.

Example: «The sofa looks great with its new cover» — The sofa looks great with its new cover.

We hope that this article has explained some of the difficulties of the English language and will serve you as an assistant in learning it!

Source: https://blog.teachmeplease.ru/posts/13-trudnostey-angliyskogo-yazyka

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

Use few

Pronunciation and translation:
Few / [fyu] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Few is used with (people, chairs, flowers, apples).

This word is used to emphasize a small amount of something or someone. That is, we say that we have not enough of something or someonefor a specific business.

Few has a negative meaning, we say that something is not enough and we regret it. For example, she had littleacquaintances in this city, that is, she lacked communication and was lonely.

This country has few natural resources.
This country has little natural resources.

Few politicians admit their mistakes.
Little politicians admit their mistakes.

Little

Pronunciation and translation:
Little [? L? Tl] / [little] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Little we use with items that we cannot count(time, money, water, sugar, salt).

This word has the same meaning as few, says that something or someone is not enough for some purpose. And a person is upset by such a small amount.

For example, he has little money, that is, he does not have enough money to buy groceries.

Addicting a few

Pronunciation and translation:
A few [? fju?] / [e fyu] — several

Meaning of the word:
A small amount of

A few, just like few is used with items that we can count.

For example, she had someacquaintances in this city, that is, she had someone to spend time with, this number of acquaintances was quite enough.

I have got a few suggestions.
I have some offers.

Source: https://draftee.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-primery-predlozhenii-c-a-little-upotreblenie-few-a-few/

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Scheme of using quantifiers:

1. Little — few quantifiers

We use «a little»With uncountable nouns, for example: I have some money. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We use «a few»With countable plural nouns, for example:

I know a few words of French. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We can use «little» and «few» without «a«, But in this case it means» almost no «or» almost nothing «, for example: We must hurry, we have little time.

His English is very good and he makes few mistakes.

We can also say “very little» or «very few«(Very little), for example:

She is very thin because she eats very little. I made very few mistakes in the test.

And here are some more examples using «a little» and «a few«:

I hope you think these sentences will ensure that you will make very few mistakes when speaking English.

2. Quantifiers much — many — a lot of

USING much, many, a lot of. We use much with uncountable nouns, for example: a lot of time, a lot of coffee, a lot of money, a lot of sugar.

We use many with countable nouns, for example: many books, many months, many years, many friends.

We use a lot of both uncountable and countable nouns, for example: a lot of friends, a lot of sugar, a lot of photos, a lot of time. However, it is important to note that:

1. We use a lot of mostly in positive sentences, for example: I drink a lot of tea. She carries many books.

3. We can use lots of instead a lot of before countable nouns, for example: She has many friends.

4. We can use a lot without the noun and in this case we use it without a particle offor example: I ate a lot yesterday.

5. Sometimes much и a lot mean often, for example: Do you often go to the movies? — Not, no so much. Yes, I love movies; I go to the movies often.

What about you: have you read a lot of English books?

3. Quantifiers some — any

And here are some more examples of use Any и some: There is some oil in the refrigerator, but no milk at all. Are there eggs? — No, there are no eggs left. There are some pictures on the wall.

They didn’t make a single mistake. And what about you? Have you made mistakes? I hope you haven’t made any mistakes.

Few / few

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

little / a little

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://chaos-heart.ru/upotreblenie-less-i-fewer-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

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This article will show you when and where to use much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty of in English.

The noun plays a key role in the choice of the defining word. The determiner depends on which noun is in front of us, countable (countable) or uncountable (uncountable). Once again, we recall that we can count countable nouns and they have a plural form (a boy — boys). And uncountable nouns do not have a plural form (water — some water), and we cannot count them.

We have divided all words into three groups depending on which noun they are used with. We will consider each group separately.

Much / Little Many / Few A lot of / Plenty of

Uncountable nouns	Countable nouns	Countable and uncountable nouns
How much money have you got? — How much money do you have? — There is little ink left in my pen.	I have many friends. — He has got few friends. — He has few friends.	There is a lot of sugar there. — There are plenty of plants in the garden. — There are many plants in the garden.

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

The opposite of many is few: few apples, few friends, few ideas. Few often have a negative meaning: very little, not enough, so little that practically none.

A few has an intermediate meaning between many and few, translated as «a few»: a few apples (a few apples), a few friends (a few friends), a few ideas (a few ideas).

Much, little, a little with uncountable nouns

Much stands for a large amount of something uncountable: much sugar, much milk, much time.

The opposite of much is little: little sugar, little milk, little time. Little, like few, means that something is not enough, very little.

A little means a small amount of something that cannot be counted: a little sugar, a little milk, a little time.

A lot of, plenty of — universal words

The words a lot of (many) and plenty of (many) are the most «convenient»: we can use them with both countable nouns and uncountable ones.

We bought lots of souvenirs and plenty of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka. — We bought lot souvenirs and lots of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka.

Features and exceptions

Much, many, few, little, a lot of with uncountable nouns
There are a number of nouns that seem to be countable, but in fact are not. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine the «countability» of a noun.

If you are not sure which noun is in front of you, it is better to check it in the dictionary.

Please note that in English, uncountable includes advice, news, work, money, research, travel, furniture.

They have much work to do. — They have lot work.

Source: https://engblog.ru/much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-plenty-usage

Less / Fewer

«Less» and «fewer»Both words indicate quantitative indicators. «Less«- the comparative form of the word»little«, but «fewer«Is the comparative form»few».

Little [ˈLɪtəl] — a little, a little.
Few [fju] — a little, a little.

we have less milk than I’d hoped. — We have less milk than I had hoped.
There are fewer people than I expected. — Of people lessthan I expected.

Less

We use «less«With uncountable nouns such as: Pollution (pollution), traffic (traffic), News (news), freedom (freedom).

there is less traffic and less pollution. — There less traffic and less pollution.
We’ve been receiving a lot less news since we switched TV providers. — We get much less news since we changed TV providers.
In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than they do here. — In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than here.

fewer

We use «fewer«With quantifiable nouns such as: restaurants (restaurants), cafes (Cafe), people (people), bags (bags).

There are fewer restaurants and fewer cafes. — Here less restaurants and cafes.
Fewer people came to the opening than we had expected! — It came to the opening less people than we expected!
There are new pills with fewer side effects. — There are new drugs with smaller the number of side effects.

An exception

When we talk about measurements of time, distance, weight and money, we use “less«.

It is less than six hours until my essay is due. — Until the delivery of the essay is left less six hours.
i live less than fifty miles from London. “I live less than fifty miles from London.

More articles about English

Source: https://english5minutes.ru/less-fewer/

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Why is it so easy to get confused when using «less» and «fewer» — two pointers to many English languages?

Difference between less and fewer in English

fewer

This is the comparative form of the demonstrative pronoun «few«- few; little, little. Used before countable nouns when indicating the reduction of the number of objects (elements).

Countable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which can be counted. It is expressed in pieces, units (pieces, bottles, packs, boxes) and has the plural:

3 packets of yeast;
2 watermelons;
8 eggs;
6 tomatoes.

An amazing selection of products for a wonderful dinner.

Fewer people today carry cash. — Fewer people nowadays carry cash with them.

Less

This is the comparative form of the adverb «little«- a little, a little.

Used by:

when indicating a reduction in the number of items;
before uncountable nouns in the singular.

Uncountable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which cannot be counted. It is expressed in terms of mass, volume, but in some cases it does not have a clear definition at all:

liquids: water (water), milk (milk), oil (oil), beer (beer);
products: cheese, bread, meat;
gaseous substances: smoke (smoke), air (air), oxygen (oxygen), hydrogen (hydrogen), nitrogen (nitrogen);
substances consisting of many small particles: flour (flour), rice (rice), dust (dust), ash (dust, ash, ash);
natural phenomena: snow (snow), light (light), rain (rain), wind (wind), fog (fog), heat (heat);
abstractions: happiness, health, education, space, work, energy, truth.

there is less privacy today because of social media. — Due to the proliferation of social networks, there is less privacy in our lives today.

Less and fewer in life

In everyday life in the United States, the word «less» is regularly misused. It applies not only to uncountable, but also countable nouns.

And this way you get more debt. So more debt and less work. Mitt Romney

The candidate made a reservation and used «less jobs» instead of «fewer jobs «(Less work, jobs).

Similarities between less and fewer

Less and fewer with of

It is necessary to substitute the preposition “of«Before defining words:

articles (a / an, the);
pronouns (him, it);
demonstrative pronouns (this, that);
possessive pronouns (my, her, our).

I have to spend less of my time playing computer games. — I should spend less time playing computer games.

Less without a noun

The noun after «less» or «fewer» can be omitted if it is clear what is meant.

— You bought 10 bottles of juice. — You bought 10 bottles of juice.

— No way! I am sure I bought fewer… — Can not be! I’m sure I bought less.

Use cases for less and fewer

Less, fewer and weight

The whole can also be calculated using grams, kilograms, but the habit is second nature and it tells native English speakers to use “less«Instead of» fewer «.

My weight was less than 8 pounds at birth. — At birth, my weight was less than 8 pounds.

Less, fewer and money

I have less than 50 bucks left in my account. — I have less than $ 50 left in my account.

You can still say — fewer than 50 bucks, but it will sound strange and unexpected to those around you.

Less, fewer and percent

Determining the right word for percentages can be problematic. To do this, you need to evaluate the whole picture and ask yourself «Is it possible to calculate what we are describing?»

Fewer than 13 percent of the US citizens have black skin. — Less than 13% of the US population is black.

Counting all citizens with a dark skin color is difficult, but doable. This means 13% is a calculated value.

On the other hand, it is impossible to count the unfinished juice.

It has left less than 30 percent juice in the pack. — The package contains less than 30% of the juice.

Less, fewer and time

It will also be common to use «less«When mentioning the time. We can count the time in seconds, minutes, hours, etc., but sentences are still built with «less».

I think they could spend less time at work. — I think they could spend less time at work.

I think they could spend fewer hours at work. — I think they could spend less hours at work.

Less or Fewer? — Short video tutorial

English subtitles are available in the video.

Less & Fewer.

Source: https://englishboost.ru/less-fewer-raznitsa/

«Little» in English

How do you say «little» in English? Find out in this article!

Source: https://enjoyenglish-blog.com/razgovornyj-anglijskij/malo-na-anglijskom.html

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

It doesn’t matter what level you have. Even native speakers are sometimes confused in these words.

1. Lay and lie

I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is “to put”.

She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

Continuous, on the other hand, is about something that lasts continuously.

He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word also has a second meaning: “annoyance that someone has what you yourself would like”. In other words, envy. The second word, envy, is also translated as “envy”.

He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we talk about something abstract and uncountable, or we don’t mention the exact amount.

I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «to influence, cause, lead to something.»

Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake among the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

What is the difference between fewer and less? — everything is simple

Rules of Use

For nouns that have both singular and plural, as well as when a noun / pronoun is only thought of, its presence becomes apparent from the context, the pronouns few / a few are used.

In this case, it does not matter at all how the noun forms its plural — for all these cases, the rule will act the same.

For example:

She went to the USA for a few months… — She went to America for several months.

Few of her friends had been in the USA… — Few of her friends were in America.

Example:

She stood in the USA a little last year… — Last year she spent a little time in America.

When she first came to the USA, she little thought that she would stay there so long. — When she first arrived in America, she never thought that she would stay there for so long.

Pronoun meaning (word translation)

As we noted, the pronouns few, little, a few, and a little are used to indicate not enough of something. The difference between them appears only in the context of their use with nouns.

So, few / a few is used with countable nouns, and little / a little — with those that have only a singular, or only a plural.

However, there are still some differences in meanings, which depend on the form in which the pronoun is used, and create some difference in translation.

Moreover, in the first case, the sentence will most likely contain a somewhat negative connotation, in the second — neutral:

I can’t help you. I speak very little English… — I cannot help you, I know very little English.

I can help you, I speak a little English… — I can help you, I speak a little English.

It would seem that in both cases the first part of the sentence implies the same thing — I do not speak English very well, my knowledge is hardly enough.

His English is intermediate, he forgets about his lessons. He has very little interest in languages… — His English is not above average, he forgets about his lessons. He has no interest in languages at all.
His English is intermediate, he coaches in it every weekends. He has a little interest in language. — His English is intermediate and he trains him every weekend. He has little interest in languages.
I didn’t read this book in original, I can say very little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, I can say very little about it.
I didn’t read this book in original, I can say a little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, but I can tell you a little about it.
Very few of his friends can speak English… — Almost none of his friends speak English.
A few of his friends can speak in English not bad at all. “Some of his friends don’t speak English bad at all.

Comparative and superlative

Like adjectives, quantitative pronouns in English can create degrees of comparison.

The pronouns few / a few form comparative and superlatives according to all the rules of the English language.

In the case of the pronouns little / a little, the situation is different:

few ⇒ fewer ⇒ the fewis — few ⇒ less ⇒ least
little ⇒ less ⇒ the least — little ⇒ less ⇒ least
a few / a little ⇒ more ⇒ the most — a little ⇒ more ⇒ most

Source: https://vseprostdo.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less.html

What is the difference between fewer and less. use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

little / a little

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://film05.ru/bathroom/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

Countable and uncountable nouns — video tutorial

That’s a lot of butter! — How much oil is there

Finding hundreds of pencils in a desk drawer, you say no Wow! That’s a lot of pencil !, a

That’s a lot of pencils! — Wow, how many pencils!

Uncountable nouns

They can be counted only in 3 cases:

— in the limitation of stick meters

a stick of butter — a pack of butter

— to distinguish between subspecies

3 butters — lime butter, pepper butter, chilly butter — 3 types of butter — lime, pepper, chili

— to mark packages in catering

Waiter, we need some more butters here — Waiter, more packs of butter here

Countable nouns

Countable nouns in English are subject-matter — they can always be counted, put in the plural, and numbered.

5 pencils — 5 pencils

2 cars — 2 cars

7 people — 7 people

3 children — 3 children

Quantitative nouns

There are quantitative nouns and pronouns that are combined with only 1 of 2 classes. So, an amount of requires an uncountable noun, and number of requires a countable noun.

a number of cows — several cows

less applause — less applause

less than 10 dollars — less than 10 dollars

In some illiterate supermarkets, you can see the inscription Less than 10 items express checkout. That’s right

Fewer than 10 items — Up to 10 purchases

Fun Facts

Dandelion root can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute.

Source: https://www.lovelylanguage.ru/grammar/video-lessons/count-and-mass-nouns

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes

I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is «to put».

She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

But continuous is about something that lasts continuously.

He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word has a second meaning: «annoyance because someone has what you yourself would like.» In other words, envy. It is how “envy” translates the second word, envy.

He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we are talking about something abstract and uncountable, or when we don’t mention the exact amount.

I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to impartial.

A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «influence, cause, lead to something.»

Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake between the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

The project will take a huge amount of time and money — This project will take a huge amount of time and money.
A small number of children are educated at home — A small number of children study at home.

UPD. Updated on October 25, 2019.

Source: `https://lifehacker.ru/20-oshibok-v-anglijskom-yazyke-kotorye-delaet-kazhdyj-iz-nas/`

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

Incorrect use of apostrophes

Example: «The girl’s horse» — the horse belongs to the girl.

To indicate that an object belongs to several persons, the apostrophe must be placed after the end of «-s».

Example: «The girls’ horse» — the horse belongs to girls.

Your or you’re

“Your” is used when an object belongs to you.

Example: «Today is your lucky day» — Today is your lucky day.

“You’re” is used only as a shorthand for “you are”: pronoun “you” + verb “are”.

Example: “You’re beautiful” — You are beautiful.

There, their and they’re

“Their” indicates that the object belongs to others.

Example: «Can we use their boat?» — Can we use their boat?

“They’re” is a shorthand for “they are”: the pronoun “they” + the verb “are”.

Example: «They’re going to be here soon» — They will be here soon.

Fewer or less

“Fewer” is used with countable nouns, that is, words that can be counted: cake, piece, grains of sand.

Example: «Fewer grains of sand» — Fewer grains of sand.

“Less” is used with uncountable nouns, that is, those that cannot be counted: coffee, water, sand.

Example: «Less sand» — less sand.

Amount or number

The same rule applies here as in the previous example. “Number” is used with countable nouns: birds, tables, chairs.

Example: «A greater number of people» — More and more people.

“Amount” is used with uncountable nouns: water, sugar, sand.

Example: «A larger amount of water» — More water.

To, two and too

The words sound identical, which is confusing for English learners. By ear, you can distinguish them by understanding other words from the context and the general meaning of the statements.

“To” is the particle that is used to form the initial form of the verb: “to talk” — to speak. “To” is also used to mean “towards something”.

Example: «I’m going to town» — I’m going to town.

“Too” means “too”, “also”, “too”.

Example: «I’m too hot» — I’m too hot.

“Two” means “two”.

Example: «He bought two cakes» — He bought two cakes.

Then or than

“Then” and “than” are often confused not only because they sound similar, but also because they are written almost the same.

“Than” is used when we want to compare two objects.

Example: This dress is more beautiful than that one — This dress is more beautiful than that.

“Then” is used to indicate an event that will follow another, such as when making a plan or schedule.

Example: We’ll go to the cinema and then to the cafe — We will go to the cinema and then to the cafe.

Me, myself, I

To check which pronoun you need at the moment, “me” or “I”, remove the name of the person you are talking about and see which pronoun sounds more correct.

In the sentence “John and I are off to the circus” — “John and I are going to the circus” you are not only talking about yourself, so it is better to use the pronoun “I”.

«Me» can only be used when you talk about yourself as an object, that is, when an action is directed at you. Also, «me» is placed after the preposition, that is, you cannot say «with I», we say «with me».

Use the pronoun “myself” if you have already used the pronoun “I” or if you want to emphasize that you are doing an action on your own or in relation to only yourself.

Who or whom

Another tricky moment for people learning English.

“Who” refers to the one who performs the action.

Example: “Who did this? He did ”- Who did it? — He did it.

Whereas “whom” is used to refer to the object to which the action is directed.

Example: “Whom should I invite? Invite him ”. Who should I invite? — Invite him.

Who and that

Often, English learners use “that” instead of “who” or “whom,” which is incorrect. You cannot use “that” when you are talking about a person.

Example: “He was the only person who wanted to come” — He was the only one who wanted to come.

Affect or effect

The words are easy to get confused because they sound and spelled almost the same. But there is a simple rule to help you remember the difference between the two.

Example: “They were directly affected by the flooding” — The flood directly affected them.

Example: “He waited for the medicine to have an effect” — He expected the drug to be effective.

Ie or Eg

English learners often do not know the decoding of these abbreviations, so they use them incorrectly when writing.

Ie means “that is” or “in other words”, comes from the Latin expression “id est”.

Example: «He objects to the changes — ie he won’t be accepting them» — He objects to the changes, that is, he won’t accept them.

Eg means “for example,” comes from the Latin expression “exempli gratia”.

Example: “He d many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie” — He liked many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie.

Use these abbreviations only in informal correspondence. In official documents, it is better to write their values in expanded form: “for example” and “that is”.

Its or it’s

We wrote above that apostrophes are used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something, but there is an exception to the rule — the pronoun “it”.

“It’s” is used only as a shorthand for “it is” or “it has”. Example: “It’s snowing outside” — It is snowing outside.

“Its” denotes the belonging of an object to an inanimate object, animal or plant. As with “his” and “hers,” there is no apostrophe here.

Example: «The sofa looks great with its new cover» — The sofa looks great with its new cover.

We hope that this article has explained some of the difficulties of the English language and will serve you as an assistant in learning it!

Source: https://blog.teachmeplease.ru/posts/13-trudnostey-angliyskogo-yazyka

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

Use few

Pronunciation and translation:
Few / [fyu] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Few is used with (people, chairs, flowers, apples).

This word is used to emphasize a small amount of something or someone. That is, we say that we have not enough of something or someonefor a specific business.

Few has a negative meaning, we say that something is not enough and we regret it. For example, she had littleacquaintances in this city, that is, she lacked communication and was lonely.

This country has few natural resources.
This country has little natural resources.

Few politicians admit their mistakes.
Little politicians admit their mistakes.

Little

Pronunciation and translation:
Little [? L? Tl] / [little] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Little we use with items that we cannot count(time, money, water, sugar, salt).

This word has the same meaning as few, says that something or someone is not enough for some purpose. And a person is upset by such a small amount.

For example, he has little money, that is, he does not have enough money to buy groceries.

Addicting a few

Pronunciation and translation:
A few [? fju?] / [e fyu] — several

Meaning of the word:
A small amount of

A few, just like few is used with items that we can count.

For example, she had someacquaintances in this city, that is, she had someone to spend time with, this number of acquaintances was quite enough.

I have got a few suggestions.
I have some offers.

Source: https://draftee.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-primery-predlozhenii-c-a-little-upotreblenie-few-a-few/

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Scheme of using quantifiers:

1. Little — few quantifiers

We use «a little»With uncountable nouns, for example: I have some money. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We use «a few»With countable plural nouns, for example:

I know a few words of French. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We can use «little» and «few» without «a«, But in this case it means» almost no «or» almost nothing «, for example: We must hurry, we have little time.

His English is very good and he makes few mistakes.

We can also say “very little» or «very few«(Very little), for example:

She is very thin because she eats very little. I made very few mistakes in the test.

And here are some more examples using «a little» and «a few«:

I hope you think these sentences will ensure that you will make very few mistakes when speaking English.

2. Quantifiers much — many — a lot of

USING much, many, a lot of. We use much with uncountable nouns, for example: a lot of time, a lot of coffee, a lot of money, a lot of sugar.

We use many with countable nouns, for example: many books, many months, many years, many friends.

We use a lot of both uncountable and countable nouns, for example: a lot of friends, a lot of sugar, a lot of photos, a lot of time. However, it is important to note that:

1. We use a lot of mostly in positive sentences, for example: I drink a lot of tea. She carries many books.

3. We can use lots of instead a lot of before countable nouns, for example: She has many friends.

4. We can use a lot without the noun and in this case we use it without a particle offor example: I ate a lot yesterday.

5. Sometimes much и a lot mean often, for example: Do you often go to the movies? — Not, no so much. Yes, I love movies; I go to the movies often.

What about you: have you read a lot of English books?

3. Quantifiers some — any

And here are some more examples of use Any и some: There is some oil in the refrigerator, but no milk at all. Are there eggs? — No, there are no eggs left. There are some pictures on the wall.

They didn’t make a single mistake. And what about you? Have you made mistakes? I hope you haven’t made any mistakes.

Few / few

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

little / a little

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://chaos-heart.ru/upotreblenie-less-i-fewer-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

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This article will show you when and where to use much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty of in English.

The noun plays a key role in the choice of the defining word. The determiner depends on which noun is in front of us, countable (countable) or uncountable (uncountable). Once again, we recall that we can count countable nouns and they have a plural form (a boy — boys). And uncountable nouns do not have a plural form (water — some water), and we cannot count them.

We have divided all words into three groups depending on which noun they are used with. We will consider each group separately.

Much / Little Many / Few A lot of / Plenty of

Uncountable nouns	Countable nouns	Countable and uncountable nouns
How much money have you got? — How much money do you have? — There is little ink left in my pen.	I have many friends. — He has got few friends. — He has few friends.	There is a lot of sugar there. — There are plenty of plants in the garden. — There are many plants in the garden.

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

The opposite of many is few: few apples, few friends, few ideas. Few often have a negative meaning: very little, not enough, so little that practically none.

A few has an intermediate meaning between many and few, translated as «a few»: a few apples (a few apples), a few friends (a few friends), a few ideas (a few ideas).

Much, little, a little with uncountable nouns

Much stands for a large amount of something uncountable: much sugar, much milk, much time.

The opposite of much is little: little sugar, little milk, little time. Little, like few, means that something is not enough, very little.

A little means a small amount of something that cannot be counted: a little sugar, a little milk, a little time.

A lot of, plenty of — universal words

The words a lot of (many) and plenty of (many) are the most «convenient»: we can use them with both countable nouns and uncountable ones.

We bought lots of souvenirs and plenty of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka. — We bought lot souvenirs and lots of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka.

Features and exceptions

Much, many, few, little, a lot of with uncountable nouns
There are a number of nouns that seem to be countable, but in fact are not. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine the «countability» of a noun.

If you are not sure which noun is in front of you, it is better to check it in the dictionary.

Please note that in English, uncountable includes advice, news, work, money, research, travel, furniture.

They have much work to do. — They have lot work.

Source: https://engblog.ru/much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-plenty-usage

Less / Fewer

«Less» and «fewer»Both words indicate quantitative indicators. «Less«- the comparative form of the word»little«, but «fewer«Is the comparative form»few».

Little [ˈLɪtəl] — a little, a little.
Few [fju] — a little, a little.

we have less milk than I’d hoped. — We have less milk than I had hoped.
There are fewer people than I expected. — Of people lessthan I expected.

Less

We use «less«With uncountable nouns such as: Pollution (pollution), traffic (traffic), News (news), freedom (freedom).

there is less traffic and less pollution. — There less traffic and less pollution.
We’ve been receiving a lot less news since we switched TV providers. — We get much less news since we changed TV providers.
In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than they do here. — In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than here.

fewer

We use «fewer«With quantifiable nouns such as: restaurants (restaurants), cafes (Cafe), people (people), bags (bags).

There are fewer restaurants and fewer cafes. — Here less restaurants and cafes.
Fewer people came to the opening than we had expected! — It came to the opening less people than we expected!
There are new pills with fewer side effects. — There are new drugs with smaller the number of side effects.

An exception

When we talk about measurements of time, distance, weight and money, we use “less«.

It is less than six hours until my essay is due. — Until the delivery of the essay is left less six hours.
i live less than fifty miles from London. “I live less than fifty miles from London.

More articles about English

Source: https://english5minutes.ru/less-fewer/

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Why is it so easy to get confused when using «less» and «fewer» — two pointers to many English languages?

Difference between less and fewer in English

fewer

This is the comparative form of the demonstrative pronoun «few«- few; little, little. Used before countable nouns when indicating the reduction of the number of objects (elements).

Countable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which can be counted. It is expressed in pieces, units (pieces, bottles, packs, boxes) and has the plural:

3 packets of yeast;
2 watermelons;
8 eggs;
6 tomatoes.

An amazing selection of products for a wonderful dinner.

Fewer people today carry cash. — Fewer people nowadays carry cash with them.

Less

This is the comparative form of the adverb «little«- a little, a little.

Used by:

when indicating a reduction in the number of items;
before uncountable nouns in the singular.

Uncountable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which cannot be counted. It is expressed in terms of mass, volume, but in some cases it does not have a clear definition at all:

liquids: water (water), milk (milk), oil (oil), beer (beer);
products: cheese, bread, meat;
gaseous substances: smoke (smoke), air (air), oxygen (oxygen), hydrogen (hydrogen), nitrogen (nitrogen);
substances consisting of many small particles: flour (flour), rice (rice), dust (dust), ash (dust, ash, ash);
natural phenomena: snow (snow), light (light), rain (rain), wind (wind), fog (fog), heat (heat);
abstractions: happiness, health, education, space, work, energy, truth.

there is less privacy today because of social media. — Due to the proliferation of social networks, there is less privacy in our lives today.

Less and fewer in life

In everyday life in the United States, the word «less» is regularly misused. It applies not only to uncountable, but also countable nouns.

And this way you get more debt. So more debt and less work. Mitt Romney

The candidate made a reservation and used «less jobs» instead of «fewer jobs «(Less work, jobs).

Similarities between less and fewer

Less and fewer with of

It is necessary to substitute the preposition “of«Before defining words:

articles (a / an, the);
pronouns (him, it);
demonstrative pronouns (this, that);
possessive pronouns (my, her, our).

I have to spend less of my time playing computer games. — I should spend less time playing computer games.

Less without a noun

The noun after «less» or «fewer» can be omitted if it is clear what is meant.

— You bought 10 bottles of juice. — You bought 10 bottles of juice.

— No way! I am sure I bought fewer… — Can not be! I’m sure I bought less.

Use cases for less and fewer

Less, fewer and weight

The whole can also be calculated using grams, kilograms, but the habit is second nature and it tells native English speakers to use “less«Instead of» fewer «.

My weight was less than 8 pounds at birth. — At birth, my weight was less than 8 pounds.

Less, fewer and money

I have less than 50 bucks left in my account. — I have less than $ 50 left in my account.

You can still say — fewer than 50 bucks, but it will sound strange and unexpected to those around you.

Less, fewer and percent

Determining the right word for percentages can be problematic. To do this, you need to evaluate the whole picture and ask yourself «Is it possible to calculate what we are describing?»

Fewer than 13 percent of the US citizens have black skin. — Less than 13% of the US population is black.

Counting all citizens with a dark skin color is difficult, but doable. This means 13% is a calculated value.

On the other hand, it is impossible to count the unfinished juice.

It has left less than 30 percent juice in the pack. — The package contains less than 30% of the juice.

Less, fewer and time

It will also be common to use «less«When mentioning the time. We can count the time in seconds, minutes, hours, etc., but sentences are still built with «less».

I think they could spend less time at work. — I think they could spend less time at work.

I think they could spend fewer hours at work. — I think they could spend less hours at work.

Less or Fewer? — Short video tutorial

English subtitles are available in the video.

Less & Fewer.

Source: https://englishboost.ru/less-fewer-raznitsa/

«Little» in English

How do you say «little» in English? Find out in this article!

Source: https://enjoyenglish-blog.com/razgovornyj-anglijskij/malo-na-anglijskom.html

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

It doesn’t matter what level you have. Even native speakers are sometimes confused in these words.

1. Lay and lie

I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is “to put”.

She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

Continuous, on the other hand, is about something that lasts continuously.

He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word also has a second meaning: “annoyance that someone has what you yourself would like”. In other words, envy. The second word, envy, is also translated as “envy”.

He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we talk about something abstract and uncountable, or we don’t mention the exact amount.

I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «to influence, cause, lead to something.»

Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake among the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

Here the story is similar to fewer and less. Both words refer to quantity, but amount is used when we are talking about something indefinite and uncountable, and number when we are talking about objects or people that can be counted.

The project will take a huge amount of time and money — This project will take a huge amount of time and money.
A small number of children are educated at home — A small number of children study at home.

Source: https://allkharkov.ua/news/science/13-oshibok-v-angliiskom-iazyke-kotorye-delaet-kajdyi-iz-nas.html

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Hi There,

What are the rules of forming negative comparative sentences?

With adjective of more than 2 syllables, it seems like substituting more with less works all the time.

A is more beautiful than B. vs. A is less beautiful than B.
A is more careful than B. vs. A is less careful than B.
A is more interesting than B. vs. A is less interesting than B.

but with adjectives of 1 or 2 syllables, the rule does not apply.
The other solution is to use not as..as, but for the sake of figuring this out, could you help clarifying the rules?

Sounds weird:

A is happier than B. vs. A is less happy than B.
A is cleverer than B. vs. A is less clever than B.
A is bolder than B. vs. A is less bold than A.
A is taller than B. vs. A is less tall than A.
A is younger than B. vs. A is less young than B.
A is stronger than B. vs. A is less strong than B.

After citing all these examples, maybe it is not conventional to use less + adjective with adjective of 1 or 2 syllables? With adjectives of 1 or 2 syllable, we need to use the as..as structure. Would you agree with this conclusion?

Thanks a lot,
Chris

What do you mean by «as…as»? All your examples use «less [adjective] than», which is correct. You have not used «as…as» anywhere.

I suppose A is more beautiful than B means B isn’t as beautiful as A. (Careful has only two syllables.) In any case, A is less beautiful than B isn’t a negative sentence.
A is less bold than B sounds all right, although perhaps you’d be more likely to say B is bolder than A or A isn’t as bold as B.
A is less young than B sounds odd. This is probably because you could say older. If I’m eighty, I’m older than than someone who’s seventeen. If I’m less young, I could still be young. But I wouldn’t consider myself young if I were eighty. I don’t think it’s got anything to do with the number of syllables in young.

What do you mean by «as…as»? All your examples use «less [adjective] than», which is correct. You have not used «as…as» anywhere.

The as…as structure i was referring to:

A is not as happy as B.
A is not as clever as B.
…

I suppose A is more beautiful than B means B isn’t as beautiful as A. (Careful has only two syllables.) In any case, A is less beautiful than B isn’t a negative sentence.
A is less bold than B sounds all right, although perhaps you’d be more likely to say B is bolder than A or A isn’t as bold as B.
A is less young than B sounds odd. This is probably because you could say older. If I’m eighty, I’m older than than someone who’s seventeen. If I’m less young, I could still be young. But I wouldn’t consider myself young if I were eighty. I don’t think it’s got anything to do with the number of syllables in young.

A is less beautiful than B isn’t a negative sentence.

what do you mean? Why isn’t it a negative sentence?

what do you mean? Why isn’t it a negative sentence?

A negative sentence is one where the verb is modified by «not».

«B isn’t as beautiful as A» is a negative sentence
«A is more beautiful than B» is not
«B is less beautiful than A» isn’t a negative sentence either

It does not matter that all three sentences mean the same thing.

A is less young than B sounds odd. This is probably because you could say older.

I agree entirely.

Most of the «weird» sounding ones in post #1 (which don’t sound particularly weird to me) have a corresponding «opposite comparative» form:

less happy — sadder
less tall — shorter
less young — older
less strong — weaker

While for each of them the «not as…as» form is fine, having such an obvious alternative to the «less…» form makes it far less likely to be used, although I would not say that any of them are wrong. «Less clever» and «less bold» seem fine to me.

Got it!

A negative sentence is one where the verb is modified by «not».
«B isn’t as beautiful as A» is a negative sentence
«A is more beautiful than B» is not
«B is less beautiful than A» isn’t a negative sentence eitherIt does not matter that all three sentences mean the same thing.

I agree entirely.

Most of the «weird» sounding ones in post #1 (which don’t sound particularly weird to me) have a corresponding «opposite comparative» form:
less happy — sadder
less tall — shorter
less young — older
less strong — weakerWhile for each of them the «not as…as» form is fine, having such an obvious alternative to the «less…» form makes it far less likely to be used, although I would not say that any of them are wrong. «Less clever» and «less bold» seem fine to me.

Thanks a lot. I see the pattern that you pointed out. It seems like all these short words have a corresponding opposite comparative form.

Источник

Learn Common Adjectives Ending in -FUL or -LESS in English Grammar.

Most adjectives which end in -ful make the negative with -less. But, not all.

The Words Use -FUL & -LESS to Make the Adjectives

1. care

– careful: trying very hard to avoid mistakes, accidents

– careless: not paying enough attention

2. harm

– harmful: causing harm

– harmless: not causing harm

3. help

– helpful: providing useful help

– helpless: unable to look after or help yourself

4. hope

– hopeful: believing that what you hope for is likely to happen

– hopeless: without hope

5. pain

– painful: if a part of your body is painful, it hurts

– painless: causing no pain

6. power

– powerful: having a lot of power or strength

– powerless: not having power

7. thought

– thoughtful: always thinking of the things you can do

– thoughtless: not thinking about the needs and feelings of other people

8. use

– useful: helping you to do or get what you want

– useless: not useful or effective in any way

9. taste

– tasteful: made, decorated, or chosen with good taste

– tasteless: food or drink that is tasteless is unpleasant

10. fear

– fearful: frightened that something bad might happen

– fearless: not afraid of anything

11. colour

– colourful: having bright colours or a lot of different colours

– colourless: having no colour

12. meaning

– meaningful: having a meaning that is easy to understand and makes sense

– meaningless: having no purpose or importance

The Adjectives Take -FUL & -LESS, but not Both

1. awful (/ awesome) – very bad or unpleasant

2. brainless (unintelligent) – completely stupid

3. countless (/ countable) – too many to be counted

4. dreadful – extremely unpleasant

5. endless – something that is endless seems to continue forever

6. homeless – without a home

7. peaceful – peaceful time, place, or situation is quiet and calm without any worry or excitement

8. playful – very active, happy, and wanting to have fun

9. priceless – extremely valuable

10. successful (/ unsuccessful) – achieving what you wanted, or having the effect or result you intended

11. timeless – remaining attractive and not becoming old-fashioned

12. wireless – relating to a system of communications that does not use electrical or telephone wires

13. worthless – having no value

14. grateful – feeling that you want to thank someone

15. skillful – good at doing something

Adjectives Ending in -FUL or -LESS | Image

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Excerpt from Cambridge Dictionary of American English:

If you want to use an adjective or adverb to say that a quality is of
a higher degree, you can usually add -er (one-syllable adjectives) to the end of it or qualify it with more (adjectives of two ore more syllables).

e.g. your hair is longer now than it was last year.

To say that a quality is of a lower degree, you can usually add
-er (one-syllable adjectives) to the end of a negative adjective or adverb, or qualify it with less (adjectives of two ore more syllables).

e.g. your hair is shorter now than it was last year.

My question is: How can we say that a negative & one-syllable adjective is of a higher degree? I mean, if «shorter» somehow means «more short«, how can I say that something is «less short«? And if «longer» somehow means «more long«, how can I say that something is «less long» than another thing?

A friend of mine suggested that the only way of saying the opposite of «negative adj + er» is to say «positive adj + er». (i.e. shorter -> longer). My take is that whether «adj + er» means «more adj» or «less adj», entirely depends on whether the used adj. is positive or negative respectively. Is my understanding correct? Is it possible to say the opposite of «shorter» to convey the meaning of «less short» without using a different adjective?

Rephrased question:

For non-one-syllable adjectives:

If A is more beautiful than B, then B is less beautiful than
A.

Why is there no such ability in English to bidirectionally compare one-syllable adjectives as well?

If A is rounder than B, then B is (???) than A.

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B2 First: word formation (adjectives with -ful/-less)

Most adjectives which end in -ful make the negative with -less, but not all. Note also that we can make adverbs from these adjectives with -fully or -lessly. For example, carefully and carelessly. This is a list of key words which might appear in the B2 First (FCE) exam.

Look at the information in the table for a few minutes and try to remember the words. Then click below to hide the information and try to answer the questions at the bottom.

The words in this table all use -ful and -less to make the adjectives.

Noun	Verb	Adjective
care	care	careful /careless
harm	harm	harmful / harmless
help	help	(un)helpful / helpless
hope	hope	hopeful / hopeless
pain	pain	painful/ painless
power	power	powerful / powerless
use	use	useful / useless
thought	think	thoughtful / thoughtless
taste	taste	tasteful / tasteless

The adjectives in this table take -ful or -less, but not both.

Noun	Verb	Adjective
count	count	countless / countable
end	end	endless
home	—	homeless
peace	—	peaceful
play	play	playful
price	price	priceless
success	succeed	(un)successful
truth	—	(un)truthful / (un)true
worth	worth	worthless

Note: other word forms do exist for these (for example, homely (adjective), meaning comfortable or unattractive, or to home (verb) meaning to provide someone with a home). However I have tried to give the most common or useful forms here, which might help in the exam.

Practice: word formation (use of English part 3)

Write the correct adjective or adverb for each of these questions. You will need to use -ful/-less or -fully/-lessly. Some answers will also need un-.

Practice 2: more word formation

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Negative prefixes and suffix in English

A = нет, без (перед согласными, но, как правило, не “h”)
atheist — атеист
acellular — бесклеточный
apathy — апатия
abiotic — абиотический
asexual — бесполое
aseptic — асептической
abyss — бездна
amoral — аморальный

ANTI = нет, отсутствие (перед гласными и обычно перед “h”)
anachronism — анахронизм
anemia — анемия
annihilate — аннигилировать
anarchism — анархизм
anesthesia — анестезия
anonymous — анонимный
anecdote — анекдот
anomaly — аномалия
antonym — антоним

ANTI = against — против
ANT = opposed — напротив
antagonism — антагонизм
antifreeze — антифриз
antimilitary — антивоенный
Antarctic — Антарктика
antitoxin — антитоксин
antiaircraft — зенитный
antacid — антацидный
antipathy — антипатия
antithesis — антитеза
antibody — антитело
antidote — антидот

MAL = плохой, злой, аномальное
malapropos — некстати
malcontent — недовольный
malformed — уродливый
malpractice — злоупотребление доверием
malignant — злокачественный
malfunction — неисправность
malnourished — недоедают
maltreat — помыкать
maladaptive — неадекватный

MIS = неправильно, плохо; ненавидеть; нет, напротив
misadventure — несчастный случай
miscast — неправильно распределять роли
misrepresent — искажать
misalliance — мезальянс
misstep — оплошность
misappropriate — растрачивать
misgivings — опасения
mistreat — дурно обращаться
misbehave — дурно вести себя
misnomer — неправильное название
mistrust — недоверие
miscarriage — выкидыш
misguided — неправильный
misuse — неправильное употребление
miscalculate – прогадать, просчитаться
misfortune — несчастье
misjudge — недооценивать
miscegenation — расовое кровосмешение
misshapen — деформированный
misconceive — неправильно понять
misunderstand — неправильно понять
mistrial — неправильное судебное разбирательство
misspell — делать орфографические ошибки

DE = от; обратная, противоположная; уменьшить
deplane — высаживать из самолета
deactivate — деактивировать
decentralize — децентрализовать
decay — распад
deception — обман
decease — кончина
deform — деформировать
decadence — декаданс
degrade — деградировать
depend — зависеть
defenseless — беззащитный
demilitarize — демилитаризация
defrost — размораживание
dethrone — развенчать
decadence — декаданс
depose — низложить
deride — высмеять
detour — объезд

DIS = нет, отнять; делать противоположное; отсутствие (несет в себе чувство неудачи, у вас что-то было, но вы потеряли это).
disarm — разоружить
discourage — препятствовать
disapprove – не одобрять
disagree – не согласиться
disease — заболевание
disaster — бедствие
dishonor — бесчестие
disabled — инвалид
disgrace — безобразие
discomfort — дискомфорт
disadvantage — недостаток
disloyal — нелояльный
dissuade — отговорить
disorganize — дезорганизовать
disquiet — беспокойство
disuse — неиспользование
disappoint — разочаровывать
disown — откреститься

IL= не (со словами, которые начинаются на «l»)
Illegal – незаконный, нелегальный
illiberal — нелиберальный
illegible — неразборчивый
illiteracy — неграмотность
illogical — нелогичный
illimitable — беспредельно
illegitimate — незаконно
illusive – призрачный, иллюзорный

IM = не (со словами, которые начинаются на “b”,“m”, “p”)
immature — незрелый
impossible — невозможный
improbable — маловероятно
immoral — аморальный
immortal — бессмертный
impractical — непрактичный
impassable — непроходимый
imperceptible — незаметный
immaterial — несущественный
impatient — нетерпеливый
imbalance — дисбаланс
immovable — неподвижный
imperfect — несовершенный
immigrant — иммигрант
impolite — невежливый
impermissible — недопустимый

IN = не (кроме слов, которые начинаются на “b” и “l”)
inability — неспособность
inadequate — неадекватный
inarticulate — невнятный
inhospitable — негостеприимный
intolerable — невыносимый
inevitable — неизбежный
insomnia — бессонница
invalid — недействительный
invisible — невидимый
involuntary — непроизвольный
insatiable — ненасытный
indissoluble — неразрывный
indistinct — нечеткий
inequality — неравенство
inexpressive — невыразительный
intoxication — интоксикация
inoffensive — безобидный
inhuman — бесчеловечный
injustice — несправедливость
insensitive — нечувствительный
informal — неформальный
infrequent — нечастый
infertile — бесплодный
ineffective — неэффективный
inept — неумелый
inefficient — неэффективный
infinite — бесконечный
infallible — непогрешимый
insecure — небезопасный
inaccurate — неточный

IR = не (перед словами, которые начинаются на “r”)
irregular — нерегулярный
irreligious — нерелигиозный
irreverent — непочтительный
irresponsible — безответственный
irrelevant – не релевантный
irresistible — непреодолимый
irrational — иррациональный
irresolute — нерешительный
irreparable — непоправимый

NON = нет, обратная сторона
nontaxable – необлагаемый налогом
nonstandard — нестандартный
nondescript — невзрачный
nontoxic — нетоксичный
nonconformist — нонконформист
nonpartisan — беспартийный
nonviolence — ненасилие
nonsense — нонсенс
nonstop — безостановочно
nonprofit — некоммерческий
nonproductive — непродуктивный
noncommittal — уклончивый
nonsmoker — некурящий
nonsurgical — нехирургический

OB, OF, ОС, OP = против (предполагается противоположность к действию)
object — объект
obscene — непристойный
oppress — угнетать
obligate — обязывать
obstruct — препятствовать
obese — страдающий ожирением
obnoxious — противный
oblivious — забывающий
obverse — лицевой
obtuse — тупой
obsess — преследовать
opportune — уместный
oppose — выступать против
occlude — закупоривать
offend – обижать

PSEUDO = ложь, не соответствует действительности
pseudonym — псевдоним
pseudoscience — лженаука

UN = не, наоборот; сделать наоборот, удалить
unaccustomed — непривычный
unaligned — не выровненный
uncommon — редкий
unabridged — несокращенный
unbelievable — невероятный
uncouple — расцепить
unable — не может
unblushingly — не краснея
unknown — неизвестный
unwelcome — нежелательный
unambitious — не амбициозный
unloved — нелюбимый
unmask — разоблачать
uneducated — необразованный
unread — непрочитанный
unspoken — невысказанное
unfinished — незавершенный
untouched — нетронутый
unbeatable — непобедим
unceasing — безостановочно
unconscious — без сознания
uncover — раскрыть
unchain – освободить от цепей
uncharted — неизведанный
uncivilized — нецивилизованный
unconcerned — равнодушный
unbiased — непредвзятый
uncalled-for — невостребованный

-LESS = без (образует прилагательные от существительных)
baseless — безосновательный
homeless — бездомный
tasteless — безвкусный
careless — небрежный
hopeless — безнадежный
pointless — бессмысленный
effortless — без усилий
friendless – без друзей
fearless — бесстрашный
powerless — бессильный
sleepless — бессонный
tireless — неутомимый

Примечание: иногда мы используем различные варианты
unable – incapable (не в состоянии — не способен)
disable — cripple, to take away strength (отключить — покалечить, забрать силу)
unused — not to use (неиспользованный)
misused — use incorrectly (использовать неправильно)
deformed — to spoil or become misshapen or disfigured (деформированный — испортить или стать деформированным или обезображенным)
malformed — defective formation or structure (уродливый — дефектное образование или структура)
disarm — to take weapons away (разоружить — убрать оружие подальше)
unarmed — without weapons (безоружен)
unbelief — withholding or absence of belief (неверие — умолчание или отсутствие веры)
disbelief — mental rejection of something as not true (неверие — умственный отказ от чего-то, что не соответствует действительности)

Источник

When we want to say that something is not true or is not the case, we can use negative words, phrases or clauses. Negation can happen in a number of ways, most commonly, when we use a negative word such as no, not, never, none, nobody, etc:

A:

Is there a bus at ten o’clock?

B:

No. The last one goes at nine forty-five. (No = There isn’t a bus at ten o’clock.)

Kieran doesn’t play the piano. (It is not true that Kieran plays the piano.)

The most common negative words are no and not. Other negative words include:

neither, never, no one, nobody, none, nor, nothing, nowhere:

She’s never been abroad.

There were no newspapers left in the shop by one o’clock.

Nobody came to the house for several days.

None of my cousins live near us.

Most children don’t walk to school any more.

Forming negative statements, questions and imperatives

Negative statements

We form negative statements with not or n’t after be, modal and auxiliary verbs. n’t is the contracted form of not. In informal language we can add n’t, without a space, to be, to modal verbs (except may) and to auxiliary verbs (do and have). The negative contracted form of will is won’t. The uncontracted form of can + not is cannot.

Jan isn’t coming. She’s not feeling very well.

She might not be joking. It could be true.

They don’t go to school on Wednesday afternoons.

Living in a small flat does not make it easy to have pets.

I hadn’t decided whether to take the train or go in the car.

They can’t be hungry again. They’ve only just eaten.

Negative questions

We use not or n’t to form negative questions. When there is no modal verb or be, we use auxiliary verb do + n’t (don’t, do not, doesn’t, does not, didn’t):

Why didn’t you ask Linda?

What don’t you understand?

Won’t we able to see the film?

Isn’t that Mike’s brother?

Negation: two negatives

Standard English does not have two negatives in the same clause (double negatives). Words such as never, nobody, no one, none, nothing, nowhere, etc. already have a negative meaning, so we don’t need another negative with the verb:

There was no one in the office so I left a message.

Not: There wasn’t no one …

Nobody likes to think they are worthless.

Not: Nobody doesn’t like to think …

If we use not with the verb, we use words such as ever, anybody, anyone, anything, anywhere, instead of never, nobody, no one, nothing, nowhere:

I haven’t seen Ken anywhere today. In fact I don’t think anyone’s seen him for the last couple of days.

Not: I haven’t seen Ken nowhere … or I don’t think no one’s seen him …

You may hear some speakers using two negatives in the same clause, but many people consider this to be incorrect.

Not … I don’t think

There are some cases where we can use reporting verbs such as imagine, suppose and think in end position, after the reported clause. In such cases, both clauses may have a negative verb:

He’s not a teacher, I don’t think. (or I don’t think he’s a teacher.)

Not: I don’t think he’s not a teacher.

I won’t be very late tonight, I shouldn’t imagine. (or I shouldn’t imagine I’ll be very late tonight.)

Not: I shouldn’t imagine I won’t be late.

Sometimes we use not in front position where a following reduced clause (a clause with something omitted but which is understood) also has a negative form:

B:

Not today, I haven’t. (I haven’t seen Leila/her.)

A:

Is Tony working at the university?

B:

Not now, he isn’t. He used to.

Negative clauses with any, anybody, anyone, anything, anywhere

We don’t use not with some, someone, somebody, something, somewhere in statements. We use any, anyone, anybody, anything, anywhere:

There aren’t any seats left. You’ll have to stand.

Not: There aren’t some seats left.

Tell them I don’t want to see anyone.

Not: Tell them I don’t want to see someone.

After verbs with a negative meaning like decline or refuse, we use anything rather than something:

They refused to tell us anything about it. (preferred to They refused to tell us something about it.)

Negation in non-finite clauses

Non-finite clauses are clauses without a subject, where the main verb is in the to-infinitive form, the —ing form or the -ed form. To make the negative of a non-finite clause, we can use not.

Compare (non-finite clauses are underlined)

affirmative non-finite clause	negative non-finite clause
To have given up such a good job would have been foolish.	Not to have invited James to our little party would have been impolite.
Thinking of my own situation, I decided it was time to talk to Dennis.	She left the house very quietly, not wishing to alarm anyone.
Cooked in a slow oven, this dish is delicious with baked potatoes.	Not funded by any government grants, the research team have to raise money from companies and individuals.

In non-finite clauses with a to-infinitive verb, we can use not after to. However, many speakers consider such ‘split infinitives’ (where something comes between to and the verb) to be bad style:

To not realise what was happening was stupid. She should have noticed something was wrong. (or Not to realise what was happening …)

I was thinking it would be nice to not have to go out and just stay in and watch TV. (or … it would be nice not to have to go out …)

Negative prefixes and suffixes

We use these prefixes most commonly in negation: de-, dis-, il-/im-/in-/ir-, mis-, non-, un-:

What he said was very impolite.

There was a misunderstanding about who should sign the contract.

The refugees also need non-food items such as tents and blankets. (items which are not food)

-less is the most common suffix for negation:

Too many people are homeless in this city.

We just have endless meetings at work – they’re so boring.

Negative adverbs: hardly, seldom, etc.

Some adverbs (e.g. hardly, little, never, only, scarcely and seldom) have a negative meaning. When we use these at the beginning of the clause, we invert the subject and verb:

Hardly had we left the hotel when it started to pour with rain.

Not: Hardly we had left the hotel …

Little did we know that we would never meet again.

Only in spring do we see these lovely little flowers.

We also invert the subject and verb after not + a prepositional phrase or not + a clause in front position:

Not for a moment did I think I would be offered the job, so I was amazed when I got it.

Not till I got home did I realise my wallet was missing.

Negation: emphasising

When we want to emphasise something negative, we often use at all. We normally use at all immediately after the word or phrase we are emphasising:

There’s nothing at all left in the fridge.

I’d rather not be here at all.

We had no rain at all this summer and now we have floods!

Not at all can come before an adjective:

She was not at all happy with the result.

We can also use whatsoever for emphasis after no + noun, nobody, no one, none and nothing. Its meaning is similar to at all, but it is stronger. We can use whatsoever to add emphasis to any negative noun phrase:

No food or drink whatsoever must be brought into the classroom.

A:

Did any of her family go to the wedding?

We can also use not a bit, a little bit, one bit, in the least, the least bit to emphasise negatives:

Setting off the alarm was supposed to be a joke but no one found it one bit funny.

We suggested going to the cinema but they didn’t seem the least bit interested, so we just took them shopping instead.

We often add emphasis to negation to make what we say more polite. When someone makes a request using the phrase Do you mind if or Would you mind if, instead of replying with No (I don’t mind) we often say not at all or not in the least when we reply:

A:

Do you mind if I sit here?

A:

Would you mind if I check my emails on your computer?

When someone says thanks or thank you, we often reply not at all:

A:

Thanks so much for lunch, Rachel.

B:

Not at all. It was my pleasure.

Negation of think, believe, suppose, hope

When we use verbs like think, believe, suppose (mental process verbs) to express uncertainty about something, we usually use not with the mental process verb rather than with the verb in the following clause:

I don’t think I’m going to pass my exams. (preferred to I think I’m not going to pass my exams.)

However, we don’t normally use a negative with hope and wish:

I hope I’m not going to fail.

Not: I don’t hope I’m going to fail.

I wish I hadn’t sent that email to Joan.

Not: I don’t wish I had sent …

Источник

Ricardo: “I can say ‘The price is uncorrect?’”
Me: “No, the right word is incorrect.”
Ricardo: “Why?”
Me: “Great question.”
Enter this post.

The English language provides us with several ways to negate words, one of which is the use of negative affixes (i.e. prefixes and suffixes). In other words, a letter or group of letters can be attached to the beginning (prefix) or end (suffix) of a word to change its meaning. Although prefixes and suffixes can be used in a variety of scenarios to modify the meaning of a root word, this post will address their use as a method for negating words. Take for example the above interaction. In order to obtain the opposite/negative/contrary meaning of the word correct, we had to add the prefix in-, resulting in the word incorrect.

But how do we know the word is incorrect, not uncorrect? Unstable, not instable? Irregular, not unregular?

Both in- and un- convey the meaning of “not something,” which can lead to confusion regarding which (if any) prefixes to use. This post will start by describing the different prefixes (10 in total!) and one suffix that can be used to negate a word. The next section will address some exceptions and other interesting comments. Finally, I will complete a brief comparative analysis of the use of negative affixes in other languages.

NEGATIVE PREFIXES AND SUFFIX

Prefixes can be classified either based on the role they play/effect they have (semantically) or by the type of grammar rules applicable to them (grammatically). I have chosen to divide the prefixes semantically, which gives us the following categories: negative prefixes (a(n), dis-, in-, non-, un-), reversative or privative prefixes (de-, dis-, un-), pejorative prefixes (mal-, mis-) and prefixes of opposition (anti-, counter-).

Source: prepared using data from Merriam Webster’s online dictionary.
*Exceptions discussed in further detail below.

The question is, with so many options, how do native speakers and learners of English know which prefix to use? Unfortunately, there are few rules in this regard and those that do exist are based on the origin of the root word (Germanic, Greek or Latin) which, I imagine, most people and, in particular, nonnative speakers, will not know.

Negative Prefixes

This first category comprises the “true” negative prefixes. I say true, because oftentimes the term negative prefixes is used to refer to all 10 of the above prefixes, but only more accurately applies to 5 of them. What is a negative prefix? Negative prefixes are those that have the meaning of “not ____” or “lacking of,” which includes the following prefixes: a-, dis, in-, non- and un-.

A(N)-

This prefix has its roots in the Greek prefix “a-,” which means “without” or “lack of.”

When is this prefix used? And, again, bear in mind that these are not strict rules, but rather just a few useful observations.

Often used with adjectives formed from nouns: (color – (a)chromatic ; symmetry – (a)symmetric)
Adjectives ending in –al (e.g. amoral, asexual, atypical, asymmetrical)
Words of Greek origin (dictionary.com is a good place t0 check word origin)
Technical or scientific words (e.g. atrophy, anarchism, anorexia, asymmetry)
Not usually used with verbs or adverbs

One final note. Although this prefix is generally used before words starting with a consonant, when it does precede a word starting with a vowel, the prefix becomes an–.

DIS-

This prefix has several meanings and can be used with verbs, adjectives, nouns and adverbs! As with all the other prefixes in this category, this prefix can mean “not ______” or “lacking of.” However, as we will see in the section on reversative/privative prefixes, it can also mean “opposite of.”

As the origin of the prefix comes from Latin, this word is often used with words of Latin origin. (e.g. disloyal, dishonest, discomfort).

IN-

The most common problem or confusion with this prefix can be summarized by the following question; “What is the difference between im, in, il, and ir?” Essentially nothing. In- is the basic prefix; however, it is subject to modification based on the first letter of the main word it is modifying, in order to ease pronunciation. For those of you that are familiar with Spanish, this is similar to use of the word “e” to mean “and,” instead of the normal “y,” when it is followed by a word starting with the “EEE” sound (e.g. las mujeres e hijas). In English, the prefix in- changes according to the following rules:

im– before words beginning with m or p (e.g. immaterial, impertinent, imperfect)
il– before words beginning with l (e.g. illegal, illegitimate, illegible)
ir– before words beginning with r (e.g. irrelevant, irrational, irrelevant)

The prefix in- can also be modified to ig–, although this is not very common. The only words I can think of are ignoble and ignominious, and none of these words are used very frequently.

As mentioned above, this prefix means “not _____.” However, it is important to note that this prefix may also sometimes be used to add emphasis to/intensify a word. This is the case with the words invaluable, illuminate, innovative, incredible, and inflammable.

A common complaint of English learners, and what triggered this post, is the difference between in- and un-. These two prefixes are the most commonly confused. On a very basic level, the distinction here is that in- comes from Latin and is therefore used primarily with words of Latin origin, whereas words of Germanic origin tend to take the prefix un- (Fowler). However, it’s not quite as simple as it sounds.

As with many aspects of English grammar, there is much inconsistency in the use of these prefixes. Over the course of history, this inconsistency has been primarily driven by the availability of a foreign (in-) and a native (un-) prefix, both with the same meaning. As the English language was developing, it faced a choice between directly adopting foreign words (in-) or translating those words into English by changing the prefix to un-.

This inconsistency was all but nonexistent in Old English; however, this problem of which prefix to use grew alongside the growing English language. This can most likely be attributed to the increased borrowing of Latin-origin words through French, thanks to the Norman invasion of the British Isles, which was then codified in dictionaries. The problem with this is that the lexicographers were making choices between codifying words with in– or un- primarily based on personal preference, not following any sort of semantic or grammatical rules (Seale 1).

NON-

This prefix is one of the two prefixes (together with ANTI-) that is most frequently used to create new words in the English language.

In general, this prefix is attached to adjectives and slightly less frequently to nouns, but almost never to adverbs or verbs. Examples of use with an adjective include: noncompliant, nonessential, nonpartisan and non-dairy[1]. Examples of use with nouns include: nonconformist and noncompliance.

UN-

This is the most commonly used prefix to negate words to obtain the meaning “not + word.” So, when in doubt, use un-. It is interesting to note that this was not always the case, but un- is currently the preferred prefix as between in- and un-.

This prefix also has an additional meaning, which will be addressed under the section on reversative and privative prefixes.

Reversative and Privative Prefixes

These prefixes, together with the remaining prefixes discussed below, are not technically negative prefixes in the strict sense, but still convey the idea that we are straying from the meaning of the main word and heading into antonym-ish world.

Let me first start by breaking down what the heck “reversative” and “privative” mean. Reversative prefixes refer to the reversal of something and privative prefixes are used to convey the idea of “lacking.”

DIS-

When used with a verb, or with an adjective or adverb derived from the verb, it generally means the “opposite of.” (e.g. disenchanted, disagree, disprove).

UN-

When this prefix is used to modify a verb, un- means “to undo or reverse the action.” For example, untie, unfasten, unbuckle, etc. You may have noticed in the table above that there is another prefix (de-) that can be used to mean reversal of an action.

DE-

This prefix can also, similar to un-, be used to reverse the action of the verb being modified, although de- is much more commonly used for this purpose. Examples: defriend, deregulate, defrost. It is important to note that this prefix is generally only used when implying the reversal of an action that has in fact been taken. For example, dis- is used with the verb “member” to form dismember, as in to cut a body into pieces (sorry, kind of a grotesque example, but it was the best I could come up with). In this case, we could not use the prefix de-, as the action of first “membering” the body was never taken….the person just came pre-membered.

-LESS

The only suffix of this type, making its application and use very easy. It is used to express the idea that something does not have the quality of the base word. For example, odorless, meaningless, speechless.

Pejorative Prefixes

Pejorative prefixes are prefixes that provide a negative evaluation of the word being modified.

MAL- (badly) and MIS- (wrongly)

Mal- and Mis- are probably two of the easiest prefixes to apply. The former means badly and the latter wrongly. Although “bad” and “wrong” may at first glance appear tobe one and the same, there are slight differences. For example, you may heat a whole gallon of ice cream in one sitting. Is this bad, as in unhealthy, not good for you? Yes. Is it wrong? Probably only if someone forbade you to eat it and you did so anyway.

Examples with “mal-“: malnourished, malodorous, maladjusted
Examples with “mis-“: misadvise, misconduct, misdiagnose

Opposition Prefixes

Opposition prefixes are those that can be added to a word to convey the idea of opposite, opposed or against.

ANTI-

This one is relatively simple to use and also very helpful. It is used in three separate contexts:

“opposed to” Examples: anti-Semitism

“opposite” Examples: antithesis, antisocial

“acting to prevent sth.” Examples: antibodies, antiaging, antifreeze, anti-inflammatory

COUNTER-

This prefix means the opposite of something. Consider counterclockwise, the opposite of clockwise. Examples: counterintuitive, counterfire, counterclaim, counterterrorism, and counterstrike (yes, as in the videogame).

SPECIAL CASES, EXCEPTIONS AND FINAL COMMENTS

Prefix Look-Alikes

I would also like to point out that not all words that appear to have a negative prefix actually do. There are many words that start with the same letters as these prefixes, that is, with these combinations of letters, but which are not always intended to negate something. This is the case in particular with verbs beginning with “in-.” Examples: incline, inform, and involve. The key here is to focus on the word following the introductory letters. If the main word (the one after the prefix or letters matching the prefix) is not a word on its own, then no prefix is at play (e.g. in the word in·cline, cline is not a word). Other examples of words that appear at first glance to be employing a prefix, but are not, are: alike, antiquated, decrease, destroy, include, illuminate, important, impact, irrigate, and universe.

Hyphens

As you probably noticed if you haven’t been bored to death reading this and actually made it to this point, words formed with these prefixes are sometimes joined using a hyphen (e.g. anti-American). So, when do we need to use a hyphen?

Depending on the personal preference of the writer, when there is a double vowel or double consonant (e.g. non-native, anti-inflammatory). Exception: hyphens are never used with the prefix in- (illegal)
Base word is a proper name/capitalized word (anti-American, sub-Saharan, un-English)
Before numbers (post-9/11)
With nouns formed using more than one prefix (non-self-governing)
Separating repeated double prefixes (sub-subsection)
If the prefix can stand alone as its own word (over-, under-, macro-, micro-, ex-, self-) Note: this does not apply to any of the prefixes addressed herein

Inconsistent Prefixes

Anyone thinking; “Cool, all I have to do is remember that stable goes with un-, and I can apply this to all of the forms of the word…adjectives, adverbs, nouns, verbs…everything!” Sorry, but no. The prefix used for one word type (e.g. adjective) is not always consistently used with the other variations of that same word. For example, the adjective able is negated using un- (unable), but its corresponding noun and verb forms are, respectively, inability and to disable. Some other examples include:

Luckily, this is the exception, and most words seem to maintain the same prefix across the different word forms. I was unable to find a specific rule (if there is one), on when words take the same prefixes and when not. Any knowledge/input on this topic would be awesome!

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Multiple Prefixes per Word

Another note. A lot of words will accept numerous prefixes, but it is important to understand that this does not mean they are interchangeable. The choice of prefix will, in some cases, change the meaning of the word.

This first group of words that can take more than one suffix poses minimal problems for language learners, as the different prefixes the word accepts have different meanings.

Misdiagnosed: diagnosed improperly
Undiagnosed: not diagnosed at all, no diagnosis was provided

Misinformed: to be inaccurately apprised of something
Uninformed: to not be apprised of

Inappropriate: not suitable
Misappropriate: to take something dishonestly for your own use

This next grouping includes words that take more than one prefix where the meaning is more similar. In these cases, the words are primarily seen as synonyms, usually with use being a matter of preference. It is also interesting to note that many of these word combinations are not actually words. I have marked those words that do not technically appear in the dictionary, but which are oftentimes used by native speakers. As far as the difference between each variation, I have opted not to include a definition for those pairs of words that I felt were synonyms. I would love to hear your input though on any subtle differences you may see between each pair of words.

Unaffected: not influenced
Disaffected: disconnected

Unmoral: not affected or guided by morals
Amoral: having or showing no regard for morality, often relating to behavior

Unbelief: lack of belief
Disbelief: feeling of not being able to believe something

Disinterested: having no personal feelings or interest in something
Uninterested: not interested

Inability: lack of ability
Disability: condition that limits person’s physical or mental abilities

Irreligious: not believing in or practicing any religion
Unreligious: having no connection to religion
Antireligious: against or opposed to religion
Nonreligious: having nothing to do with religion

Unapproved: approval was rejected, not approved
Disapproved: not agreeing with or approving something

Dislike: to not like
Unlike: not similar

Unprofessional: conduct deviating from normal professional standards
Nonprofessional: describing someone that is not a professional in a particular field

Disorganized and Unorganized

Insecure and Unsecure*[2]

Infertile and Unfertile [3]

Inept: lacking skill or ability
Inapt: not appropriate/suitable
Unapt: not likely

Incapable and Uncapable

No Prefix

Last but not least, words can be negated through the use of the word “not” as opposed to by prefixation. Unfortunately, there is, as far as I was able to discern, no clear line of when to use a prefix and when to use a separate word (i.e. not) for the purposes of negation. This is another here where I had trouble discerning any rules so, again, if anyone has any thoughts/knowledge I’d love to hear from you!

Unintelligent – not intelligent
To defund (take away funding) – not funded (didn’t receive funding)
Impossible – not possible
Disagree – not agree
Completely unfazed – not fazed at all
Unreliable – not reliable

Non-words

Last but not least, to emphasize the utter confusion in this area, I want to address words that native English speakers often have trouble with and ultimately opt for the wrong prefix. Common words that people use but which are not actually listed in most dictionaries include incertain and irregardless.

Let’s look a little more at irregardless, an interesting case of language evolution. The base word here, regardless, meaning lacking attention. At some point, people started using irregardless as its synonym (potentially as a combination of irrespective and regardless). So many people started using this word, that it is now in fact a word, although its use is still frowned upon.

COMPARATIVE STUDY

The following is a very brief look at how other languages handle this same issue. Many words in the other romance languages take the same/similar prefixes. For example, insufficient in English uses the same prefix in Spanish (insuficiente), Portuguese (insuficiente) and French (insuffisant). Although the prefix selected in German for this same word is un- (ungenügend), insuffizient can be used in more specialized language.

Comparative with Spanish

Spanish has a similar system of negating words using affixes, many of which are the same as in English. Spanish prefixes include A-, ANTI-, CONTRA-, DES-, IN-, MAL-. The prefix in- even changes based on the following letter, just as in English (e.g. irreparable, irrespectivo). Another interesting similarity is the tendency of natives to misuse irregardless (irrespectivo). And, yet another similarity here is that in- can also be used for emphasis, as in invaluable (incalculable).

Despite these similarities, it is important to remember that “un-” is a uniquely Germanic prefix and therefore, when translating such words from English into Spanish, the prefix will have to be adjusted. It would be great if there were a rule along the lines of “translate the un- prefix in English to in- in Spanish.” Unfortunately, this does not work 100% of the time, although by looking at the table below you can see that this rule can, in general, be applied.

Comparative with French

The available prefixes in French include A-, CONTRE-, DÉ(S)-, IN-, NON-, MAL-, and MÉ(S)-. You will notice the same thing as with Spanish, which is the lack of the un- prefix.

And here is a table comparing certain prefixed words in French and English:

I am not even going to try to come up with some sort of rule for when what word takes what prefix in which language.

Comparative with German

I wanted to add a section on German to see how these work with another Germanic language besides English. The available affixes here include the prefixes A-, DES, IN-, MISS-, VER- and UN- and the suffix –LOS, –FREI, and -LEER.

germ-c

Some interesting things are happening here. First, let’s take a look at the prefix VER-. We do not have this prefix in English, but it is an extremely useful prefix in German that is essentially used to form the opposite of the root verb. For example, kaufen (to buy) becomes verkaufen (to sell).

As with English, there are certain words that may appear to be employing a prefix, but which are not. For example, the word Unmenge (a gazillion) is clearly not trying to negate the meaning of the root word “Menge,” which means amount or quantity.

As with the French, there appears on the surface to be no rhyme or reason to when to use which prefix.

germ-t

CONCLUSION

That’s all folks. Sorry it was so long! Every time I tried to find an answer to a question I had, I discovered a bazillion new things I wanted to discuss. For those of you who are reading this as an English learner, I’m afraid to say that the best way to learn these really is by rote memorization. My suggestion would be to keep a piece of paper or page in a notebook with ten columns (one for each affix), and jot down words as you come across them!

Footnotes:

[1] You may be wondering why there is a hyphen here. I will address the use of hyphens with prefixes at the end of this post.

[2] Follow this https://books.google.com/ngrams/interactive_chart?content=insecure%2Cunsecure&year_start=1900&year_end=2016&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cinsecure%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cunsecure%3B%2Cc0“>link for a view of the Google Ngram for these two words.

[3] Follow this https://books.google.com/ngrams/interactive_chart?content=infertile%2C+unfertile&year_start=1900&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cinfertile%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2Cunfertile%3B%2Cc0“>link for a view of the Google Ngram for these two words.

Works Cited:

H.W. Fowler, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage: The Classic First Edition

Lea L. Seale, The Rise and Decline of Negative Doublets in English, American Speech, Vol. 35, No. 3 (Oct., 1960).

Источник

The people who are problems in our lives will re-program also, become less negative.

Люди которые являются проблемами в наших жизнях после перепрограммирования также становятся менее негативными.

Renewable energy sources have less negative environmental impact.

Возобновляемые источники энергии оказывают на окружающую среду меньшее вредное воздействие.

You know, she hears us doing it,

Знаешь, она слышит, как мы делаем то же самое,

Respondents from Bonaire were less negative in their opinions than respondents from Curaçao.

В этом случае мнения респондентов с Бонайре также были менее негативными по сравнению с мнениями респондентов с Кюрасао.

At times,

you just have to be positive about things and be less negative or pessimistic.

Время от времени вы просто должны быть положительным о вещах и быть менее отрицательным или пессимистично.

Despite conditions in the eurozone being less negative than previously thought,

the region is in general still suffering from high debt, high unemployment and low growth.

ситуацию в Еврозоне, в целом регион испытывает

негативные

последствия значительной задолженности, высокой безработицы и низких темпов роста.

Calm is a still unmoved condition

which no disturbance can affect- it is a less negative condition than quiet.

Покой- это все еще недвижимое состояние,

которое не может быть затронуто ни одним возмущением; это менее негативное состояние, чем тишина.

We have noticed that the portfolio showed less negative results during the crisis and a more rapid recovery.

Мы уже заметили, что портфель показал менее негативный результат во время кризиса и более быстрое восстановление после.

It’s a puzzle to us as well, but, um, I think that it’s… that the, um,

that society as a whole is becoming less negative in their attitudes toward Bronies.

Головоломка для всех нас, но, хм, я думаю что… эм…

что… ну… общество в целом начинает менее негативно относится к Брони.

When enough sodium channels are opened, so that the rapid influx of sodium ions is greater than the tonic efflux of potassium ions,

then the resting potential becomes progressively less negative, more and more sodium channels are opened,

and an action potential is generated.

Когда достаточное количество таких каналов открывается- то есть быстрый ток ионов натрия превосходит пассивный отток ионов калия из клетки-,

потенциал покоя становится менее отрицательным, что ведет к открытию еще большего количества быстрых натриевых каналов,

и, в конечном итоге, генерируется потенциал действия.

With the decline in the cost of fuel, coupled with less negative rhetoric toward the business aviation community coming out of Washington,

we are very optimistic for a strong 2015,» continued Mr. Book.

Падение стоимости топлива в сочетании с менее негативной риторикой в отношении деловой авиации, поступающей из Вашингтона, позволяем нам

очень оптимистично смотреть в 2015 год»,- заключил Нейл Бук.

Once it is abandoned, the human mind pressing towards something less negative, more helpfully positive will pass

to it over the dead bodies of their theories and the broken debris of their annulling explanations and ingenious psychological labels.

Но раз она оставлена, то человеческий разум, влекомый к чему-то менее негативному, более полезно позитивному,

пройдет по мертвым телам их теорий и разрушит осколки их аннулированных объяснений и примитивных психологических ярлыков.

A somewhat less negative age trajectory from 11 to 15 is

reflected in a stable level of perceived support from classmates in half of the countries and regions, although a reduction is reported for the other half.

Несколько менее негативная тенденция в период с 11- до 15- летнего

возраста отражена в стабильном уровне восприятия поддержки со стороны одноклассников в половине стран и областей, хотя во второй их половине отмечено снижение уровня восприятия поддержки.

Some Parties have suggested developing simplified modalities and procedures for»small scale» afforestation and reforestation projects, because these might provide positive socio-economic impacts to local communities and

have less negative environmental impacts than larger projects.

Некоторые Стороны предложили разработать упрощенные условия и процедуры для» маломасштабных» проектов в области облесения и лесовозобновления, поскольку такие проекты могут оказывать позитивное социально-экономическое воздействие на жизнь местных общин и

иметь менее негативные экологические последствия, чем более крупные проекты.

One positive development is that the population’s expectations have become slightly less negative: in Q4 2016, 23% of respondents expected their material status to

worsen over the next year, while now the relative share of such responses is 20.

Некоторый позитив состоит в том, что в ожиданиях населения стало чуть меньше негатива: в последнем квартале минувшего года 23% ждали,

что их материальное положение в будущем году ухудшится, теперь их доля- 20.

The CRAFT program has been demonstrated in Meyers’ research to be more effective than the Vernon Johnson type intervention

or Al-Anon, with less negative side-effects and better outcomes, whether or not the substance abuser enters treatment.

Кроме того, в исследовании Майерса программа CRAFT показывает большую эффективность, чем интервенция Вернона Джонсона или Ал- Анон,

а также имеет меньше отрицательных побочных эффектов, причем независимо от того, проходит ли зависимый лечение.

According to the degree of negativity native AFP is clearly leading the juices of vegetables, including potato juice stands out(- 287 mV), blue cabbage(- 243 mV), parsley(- 265 mV) and celery(- 200 mV),

significantly less negative turned native AFP fruit juices-

from -12 mV(apple and orange) to- 85 mV melon.

По степени отрицательности нативного ОВП явно лидируют соки овощей, среди которых особенно выделяется сок картофеля(- 287 мВ), синей капусты(- 243 мВ), петрушки(- 265 мВ) и сельдерея(- 200 мВ),

от- 12 мВ( яблоко и апельсин) до- 85 мВ дыня.

But another less negative line of supernormal experience also offers itself;

for there takes place a large dynamic descent of light, knowledge, power, bliss or other supernormal energies into our self of silence, and we can ascend too into higher regions of the Spirit where its immobile status is the foundation of those great and luminous energies.

Но другая, менее негативная линия сверхнормального опыта также предлагает себя,

ибо существует обширное динамичное нисхождение света, знания, силы, блаженства или других супернормальных сущностей в нашу самость безмолвия, и мы тоже можем подняться в верхние регионы Духа, где его неподвижный статус является фундаментом этих великих и светлых энергий.

In the future years, as more and more people do this, that there is

less

competition,

less

peer pressure, less negative comments about where you live and what clothes you wear,

but that you are an individual who is respected for the way you live.

В последующие годы, по мере того, как все больше и больше людей будут это делать, станет

меньше

конкуренции,

меньше

давления со стороны сверстников, меньше негативных комментариев о том, где вы живете, и какую одежду

вы носите, но больше того, что вы являетесь личностью, которую уважают за то, как вы живете.

In introducing Informal Document No. 63, the representative of the Netherlands pointed out that, as research had shown, on medium and long distance trips,

combined transport would have a much less negative impact on the environment than road transport alone,

whereas over short distances it does not pay to shift from road to rail or inland waterways.

Внося на рассмотрение неофициальный документ№ 63, представитель Нидерландов отметил, что, согласно исследованиям, в случае транспортировки на средние и

большие расстояния комбинированные перевозки оказывают значительно меньшее негативное воздействие на окружающую среду, чем просто автомобильный транспорт, тогда как

при перевозках на небольшие расстояния нецелесообразно использовать вместо автомобильного транспорта железнодорожный или внутренний водный транспорт.

Of course, plenty of objections can be

made to this; but for almost every

negative

memory from the Soviet past, there is another, no less negative, from recent times:»Yeltsin was no

less

embarrassing than Chernenko;

and today’s regional leaders aren’t very different from first secretaries of regional party committees»; not to mention the fact that today’s»free elections» often mean the freedom to choose between crooks and outright bandits.

Разумеется, на это есть, что возразить,

однако едва ли не каждому негативному воспоминанию из советского прошлого соответствует не меньший негатив из времен нынешних:» И за Ельцина было стыдно не меньше,

чем за Черненко, и местный губернатор сегодня мало чем отличается от первого секретаря обкома», не говоря уж о том, что» свободые выборы» сегодня нередко означает выбор между мошенниками и откровенными бандитами.

Recently there has been a trend of less negative attitude towards this sector from both the expert community and the citizens of numerous countries.

Однако в последнее время наметилось некоторое послабление негативной реакции по отношению к этой отрасли как среди экспертного сообщества, так и среди населения ряда стран.

Mr. ABASCAL(Mexico) said that the words»should not be sent by telefax» in the fifth line of

paragraph 36 should be replaced with some less negative wording.

Г-н АБАСКАЛЬ( Мексика) говорит, что слова» не подлежат пересылке телефаксом», содержащиеся в строках 4 и

5 пункта 36, следует заменить несколько менее жесткой формулировкой.

In so far as the Grand Duchy has not experienced major unemployment, the marginalization of whole strata of immigrants in a context of urban crisis, the riots this crisis has caused or the outbreaks of racism and xenophobia which have occurred in other European countries,

the motivations of the Luxembourg authorities are less“negative”.

Поскольку Великое Герцогство не знало ни острой безработицы, ни маргинализации целых слоев иммиграционного населения в контексте городского кризиса, ни вызванных ею беспорядков, ни всплесков расизма и ксенофобии, характеризовавших другие европейские страны,

Finally, cultural sanctions, while having less of a negative impact than other forms of sanctions, can still have undesired results.

Наконец, санкции в сфере культуры, хотя и имеют менее негативное воздействие, чем другие виды санкций, могут все же приносить нежелательные результаты.

Political opposition intensively criticized the elections, and roughly less than half were negative assessments by local observers.

Интенсивно критиковала выборы политическая оппозиция, и чуть меньше половины оказалась доля негатива в оценках местных наблюдателей.

Made by local observers, roughly less than the half were negative assessments.

Слегка меньше половины оказалась доля негатива в оценках местных наблюдателей.

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