Page 52 - IELTS Preparation Grammar and Vocab

6 Determiners and quantifiers
(A/the) few, litde; less, fewer (than)
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A few of my friends are quite good at team sports
I seem to have fewer injuries now than when I was younger.
There is little evidence that running causes major problems.
You should eat less protein as you prepare for a race.
There's not much you can do about it (See 2.6 for more on much (and many))
Few (of) and little (of) are often rather formal. Less formally, we use phrases such as not many and not much.
We often use a few and a lithe to suggest that a small quantity or amount is enough, or more than we would expect:
He's won a few medals. I've been starting to get a little pain in my knees.
In formal contexts, we often use few and little to suggest that a quantity or amount is not enough, or is
surprisingly low:
Before I joined the club I had very few friends who lived nearby.
In comparisons, we use less with an uncountable noun, and fewer with a plural noun:
I should eat less chocolate. You should eat fewer biscuits.
The opposite of both less and fewer is more:
I should eat more chocolate. You should eat more biscuits.
In conversation, some people also use less (than) before a plural noun referring to a group of things or people:
There were less than 20 competitors.
This is grammatically incorrect and would be marked wrong in a formal written exam. Fewer (than) should be
used instead:
There were fewer than 20 competitors.
When we talk about a period of time, a distance or a sum of money, we use less than:
My aim is to complete the course and do it in less than six hours. (not ... fewer-than-six-hews)

2.6 Much, many, both, all, each, none, few, little + (of)
We usually need to put of after these words when they are followed by:
a pronoun: We know that not all of us will finish the course.
a determiner: Few of the runners were under 65.
a possessive form: Many of Alice's friends are runners.
Informally after both and all we can leave out of before the, these, those; this, that (with all); possessive pronouns
(e.g. my, mine) but not before them, you, us; it (with all):
I've been running regularly all of my life. or ... all my rte.
Both of us decided to do more exercise. (not Beth-as-deeided -.)

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