A Student's Introduction to English Grammar

§4 Comparison of equality 199

much, which occur with plural and non-count singular nouns respectively. The
opposites of many and much are fe w and little, and these have distinct comparative
forms fe wer and less. Compare:

[12] PLURAL
a. He 's had more jobs than me.
n a. He 's had fe wer jobs than me.

NON-COUNT SINGULAR

b. He 's had more experience than me.

b. He 's had less exoerience than me.

Matters are complicated, however, by the fact that less (unlike little) is often used
with plurals:

[13 ] i It costs less than twenty dollars.

ii Less/Fewer than twenty people attended the meeting.

iii He 's had fe wer/%lessjobs than me.

In [i] twenty dollars is construed as a sum of money, rather than a set of individ­

ual dollars;jewer than twenty dollars would be unusual.

In [ii], where we again have a numeral after than, both forms are possible, with

fe wer less common and somewhat formal.

In [iii], the determinative is followed immediately by a plural noun. This use of

less is informal; it is avoided by many speakers, and generally condemned by

usage manuals.

(b) The adverb less

As an adverb, less also contrasts with more - the adverb more that marks compara­
tive grade. More marks superiority (a higher degree on the relevant scale), while less
marks inferiority (a lower degree). Superiority, however, can also be marked inflec­
tionally, whereas there is no inflection corresponding to less. So we have this pattern:

[ 14] COMPARISON OF SUPERIORITY

a. Kim is taller than Pat.

ii a. Kim is more energetic than Pat.

(^4) Comparison of equality
COMPARISON OF INFERIORITY
b. Kim is less tall than Pat.
b. Kim is less energetic than Pat.
Superiority and inferiority represent two kinds of inequality, but there
are also comparisons of equality. This, like inferiority, is always marked by a mod­
ifying adverb, rather than by inflection:
[15]^1 Kim is as tall as Pat.
ii Kim is as energetic as Pat.
We use the standard term 'equality' to contrast this construction with those in [14],
but it is important to emphasise that it is not a matter of EXACT equality.
Example [1Si] says that Kim's height is AT LEAST equal to Pat's, not that it is
identical. We can say, without contradiction: Kim is as tall as Pat, infact slightly