有一读者问：我们的老师说在 He earns less than two pounds an hour 一句中， less 不可代之以 fewer，这是为什么？ less 与 fewer 有何区别？
less 是 little 的比较级，本只能用于不可数名词，不可用于可数名词，可数名词之前应用 few 的比较级 fewer。但在当代英语中，人们不但在不可数名词之前，而且在可数名词之前，也都常用 less,尽管有人主张用 fewer。如：
(1)You've made less mistakes than last time.
(2)I've made less friends this year than ever before.
可数名词之前用 no less than 的情况则更为普通，如：
(3)No less than fifty people were killed in that accident.
(4)He was followed by no less than three persons.
数字如不强调其一一可数，而只表示度量，则须用 less than，因为度量可以是一不可数的抽象概念。你所举的句子中的 less than two pounds 就属于这种情况，再如 less than two tons of coal, less than a million dollars 等。表一段时间与距离也常用 less than, 如 in less than three weeks, less than five miles to go。
可数名词前数字的可数性如较明显，无抽象的度量概念，用 fewer 或 less 均可，如：
(5)Less （或 Fewer ）than 20，000 votes were recorded yesterday.
