Less refers to quantity, fewer to number. “His troubles are less than mine” means “His troubles are not so great as mine.” “His troubles are fewer than mine” means “His troubles are not so numerous as mine.” It is, however, correct to say, “The signers of the petition were less than a hundred,” where the round number a hundred is something like a collective noun, and less is thought of as meaning a less quantity or amount. Like. Not to be misused for as. Like governs nouns and pronouns; before phrases and clauses the equivalent word is as. a) We spent the evening like in the old days. b) We
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