less than…
fixed phr..fixed phr.. This phrase means an amount or number is smaller than another one. You can also use it to say something is not as good as something else.
fixed phr.. A comparative structure indicating a quantity, amount, or quality is of a smaller degree than the one it is compared to; the inverse of 'more than'.
The ticket costs less than ten dollars.
I finished the test in less than an hour, so I had time to check my answers.
The project's outcome was far less than what the optimistic initial projections had suggested, leading to a significant budget review.
Traditionally, 'less' is for uncountable amounts (less water) and 'fewer' is for countable items (fewer people).
Highlight the common 'less vs. fewer' distinction, noting that in informal speech, many native speakers use 'less' for countable nouns.
There are less than ten people here.There are fewer than ten people here.Use 'fewer' for countable nouns like 'people', and 'less' for uncountable nouns like 'time'.