grammar · neutral
less + adjective + than
Used to say that something has a lower degree of a quality than something else.
Examples
“City parks are less crowded than they used to be.”
“This software is less reliable than the previous version.”
“People living in rural areas are often less stressed than urban residents.”
Band 8 sentence
“Urban transport policies must be improved because public transit in many cities is demonstrably less efficient than it was a decade ago.”
Collocations
- less important than
- less likely to
- less effective than
Common mistakes
less people than→fewer people than
less taller than→less tall than / shorter than
he is less than me tall→he is less tall than me
Say it for a higher band
5more + adjective + than→6not as + adjective + as→7+less + adjective + than
Synonyms
not as + adjective + as
Easily confused
fewer + noun + than
“Fewer students attended the lecture than last year.”
Related words
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In Comparatives
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