less competencies

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "less competencies" is not correct in standard written English.
The correct term would be "fewer competencies," as "competencies" is a countable noun. Example: "The new training program aims to address the issue of employees having fewer competencies in critical areas."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

Camblong refers to what the platform does as a "democratization" of DNA sequencing expertise, asserting: "So that the next hospital that starts using your technology will enter at a level where it will require less competencies, less experience to be able to diagnose patients through the use of genomic information".

TechCrunch

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

59 human-written examples

These cards are presented to a child in pairs, with one picture demonstrating task competency and the other demonstrating less competence.

BMC Public Health

Several studies have shown that youths with social anxiety disorder have less social competencies than healthy controls.

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health

Those with medical degrees were observed to consistently assess themselves as possessing significantly less bioterrorism competencies than nurses.

Emerging Health Threats Journal

Special education students are not required to pass the Regents exam to graduate; they may take a less stringent competency exam.

The New York Times

However, looking at discussion with either patient or family, we did see an independent effect of education, hinting toward more communication, better competencies, less "distance of power" and less paternalism in the higher educated [ 24- 28, 38].

BMC Public Health

As more time is allocated to the development of competencies, less time will be devoted to other curricular activities.

BMC Medical Education

This behavior might be due to the deep fragmentation of the German heath care system, which causes a lack of interprofessional collaborations due to strictly differentiated activity profiles and less standardized shared competencies among healthcare professions.

BMC Health Services Research

Pharmacists may have provided lower ratings to those less frequently performed competencies which require a system-level focus as their effect is less immediately obvious compared to recalling direct patient care which can often be quantified in numbers seen, and impact assessed by immediate adverse events avoided or questions answered.

BMC Family Practice

But most students, including just about all the minorities, took "local" courses that led to the far less demanding Regents Competency Tests.

The New York Times

While over 70% of respondent residency programs offer elective opportunities in global health, a third or less have formal competency evaluation for residents prior to participating (20%) and a formalized pre-departure training process (36.7%).

International Journal of Emergency Medicine

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When referring to a reduced number of skills or abilities, use "fewer competencies" instead of "less competencies" to ensure grammatical accuracy. For example: "The training program aims to address the issue of employees having "fewer competencies" in critical areas".

Common error

Avoid using "less" with countable nouns like "competencies". The correct quantifier for countable nouns is "fewer". Using "less" in this context is a common grammatical error that can detract from the clarity and professionalism of your writing. Remember, "less" is for uncountable nouns, while "fewer" is for countable ones.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "less competencies" functions as a determiner phrase modifying a noun. However, it exhibits a grammatical error. Ludwig AI indicates that using "less" with countable nouns like "competencies" is incorrect; "fewer" should be used instead.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

45%

News & Media

30%

Formal & Business

25%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, while the phrase "less competencies" is used to describe a reduced level of skills or abilities, it is grammatically incorrect. Ludwig AI highlights that "competencies" is a countable noun and should be paired with "fewer" instead of "less". The correct phrase is ""fewer competencies"". Although the phrase appears in varied sources, including scientific and news media, adherence to proper grammar enhances clarity and professionalism. When aiming to express a decrease in skills, opt for ""fewer competencies"" or alternatives like "reduced capabilities" and "lower proficiency" to ensure your writing is both accurate and effective.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

fewer competencies

Replaces "less" with "fewer" to correctly quantify the countable noun "competencies".

reduced skill set

Substitutes "competencies" with "skill set" and "less" with "reduced", altering the phrase while maintaining the core meaning.

diminished capabilities

Uses "diminished" instead of "less" and "capabilities" instead of "competencies", providing a more formal tone.

lower proficiency

Replaces "competencies" with "proficiency" and "less" with "lower", offering an alternative way to express a lack of skill.

decreased expertise

Employs "decreased" in place of "less" and "expertise" instead of "competencies", indicating a reduction in specialized knowledge.

limited skill base

Rephrases the concept using "limited" and "skill base" to convey a restriction in the range of competencies.

inadequate capabilities

Suggests the competencies are not at the required level, using "inadequate" to imply a deficiency.

lacking proficiency

Focuses on the absence of proficiency, highlighting what is missing rather than a reduction.

weaker skill set

Uses "weaker" to indicate a reduction in the strength or quality of the skill set.

deficient competencies

Emphasizes the inadequacy of the competencies with the word "deficient".

FAQs

What is the correct way to say "less competencies"?

The correct way to express a reduced number of competencies is to say ""fewer competencies"" since "competencies" is a countable noun.

Is it grammatically correct to use "less" before a plural noun like "competencies"?

No, it is not grammatically correct. "Less" should be used with uncountable nouns (e.g., "less water"), while "fewer" should be used with countable nouns (e.g., ""fewer competencies"").

What are some alternatives to saying "less competencies" that are grammatically sound?

You can use phrases such as "reduced capabilities", "lower proficiency", or "diminished expertise" to convey a similar meaning while maintaining grammatical correctness.

How does using "less" instead of "fewer" affect the perception of my writing?

Using "less" instead of "fewer" can make your writing appear less polished and less professional, as it is a common grammatical error. Opting for ""fewer competencies"" demonstrates attention to detail and adherence to standard English grammar.