Thread: un problema menos

Diego solo como segunda alternativa te dejo esta opción: "one less problem to solve"

Strictly, less applies to singular/non-count nouns and units of measure, and fewer applies to plural/count nouns. But this distinction has begun to fade, and you will find many examples of less used with count nouns. Still, strictly speaking, I think that "one fewer problem" would be considered to be more correct.

This gets more interesting when you think about the difference between, for example, less serious problems and fewer serious problems. The former means problems that are not as serious in nature and the latter means a smaller number of serious problems.

I keep thinking about One Less Bell to Answer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2z0KmhK95Q (Take a little break and enjoy this!)
This is a Fifth Dimension song from 1970, offered as an example of how this distinction is fading in popular usage.

Originally Posted by mariaklec

This is a Fifth Dimension song from 1970, offered as an example of how this distinction is fading in popular usage.

That is so right mariaklec, that the use of "fewer" in this case even sounded a bit strange at first to me. However I recommend Diego's using the option that is correct from the grammar perspective. Otherwise, Merce's option would be a clever way to avoid any grammar issue.

Kind regards and nice weekend to you all

I'm going with Hebe on this one. One less problem or one problem less.

"One less problem to solve" or "One less thing to worry about" or "One less worry", "One less headache", etc. are common phrases in everyday English in the US (regardless of their grammatical correctness)

There are some who put the less after the noun, e.g., one problem less, one worry less, but either way is common and readily understood. .