Can I use "less" in sentences like this:
1 Why do we have so less number of students for this class?
2 My song collection is very less.
"Small" sounds better in both examples, but I would like to know if using "less" in these sentences is correct?
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2No. Incorrect syntax in both. 1) such a small number. 2) small– mplungjanCommented Dec 29, 2012 at 21:55
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1Not in these constructions, anyway. Both of these sentences are incorrect. *So less is an ungrammatical compound; it should be so little; likewise, *very less should be very small.– John LawlerCommented Dec 29, 2012 at 21:56
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1You possess a dictionary; why ask us whether its definition of less is correct?– Tim LymingtonCommented Dec 29, 2012 at 23:14
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With non-count nouns, so much less may be used (there was so much less snow this March), but not so less on its own.– Edwin AshworthCommented Dec 30, 2012 at 0:15
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1@EdwinAshworth: Good example, but I think that's still a comparison. (It's not explicit, but the meaning there is, "There was so much less snow this March [than there was last March]."– J.R.Commented Dec 30, 2012 at 11:29
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2 Answers
No, it isn't. Less is the comparative of little, and least is the superlative. You can no more say My song collection is very less than you can say My song collection is very smaller.
answered Dec 29, 2012 at 21:55
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It isn't always the comparative of little. You can say "the peaches this year are littler than usual", but you can't say "the peaches this year are less than usual". Commented Jan 16, 2014 at 15:24
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Yes. Though note that there can be an implied comparison. Like, in Romeo and Juliet, Juliet's mother tells her that she should marry the wealthy Paris, because, "So shall you share all that he doth possess, By having him, making yourself no less." No less than what? That what she has now. Etc.– JayCommented Apr 22, 2016 at 14:00
Less, more, fewer are comparative adjectives/adberbs.
Am I allowed to say
I like eating durians because they are less pungent.
Why is there so much less (for non-discretely countables) snow today?
Why are there far fewer (for discretely countables) students today?
Yes, provided you have either an implied or prior situation for comparison.
Therefore,
Miriam: I love eating petai peas.
Aminah: I like eating durians because they are less pungent.
For the following two sentences, there are respective implied pre-existing situations available for comparison.
Why is there so much less snow today? (implied comparison with yesterday or the last snow storm)
Why are there far fewer students today? (implied comparison with yesterday or the last time the class was held)
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This would be more convincing if you used the OP's sentences as examples. Commented Dec 30, 2012 at 10:51
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1@MrLister: But, as others have pointed out, the OP's examples are incorrect. (However, I could say "My music collection is much less eclectic than Barrie's," if that helps.)– J.R.Commented Dec 30, 2012 at 11:32