What is the opposite of ‘more?’ Most people would answer ‘less.’ In fact, many people think of that as the only answer. Truth be told, they’re wrong. More times than they have any idea.

‘More’ means a greater number or amount. You use the word ‘more’ whether you’re talking about coins in a fountain or water in the fountain. The difference is whether the thing there’s more of is made up of individual components (coins) or is one big mass (water). That makes no difference if you’re talking about increasing the amount, but if you’re decreasing, there IS a difference.

‘Less’ is used for the mass description. More water, less water.

‘Fewer’ is used for the item description. More coins, fewer coins.

You can’t have ‘less coins.’ It just doesn’t work. You also can’t have ‘12 items or less’ in your shopping cart at the grocery store. The proper grammar is ‘12 items or fewer.’ A friend of mine back in Grand Rapids always had an issue when he saw that kind of error on signs in a grocery story. And when the day came that Meijer changed their signs to ‘# items or fewer,’ I tell you there was great joy in the Burghart household!!

So there you have it. Less water. Fewer coins. Now you know. (And if you already did, God bless you and spread the word.) :-D