less difficulties

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "less difficulties" is not correct in standard written English.
The correct expression should be "fewer difficulties" since "difficulties" is a countable noun. Example: "We encountered fewer difficulties during the project than we initially anticipated."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

20 human-written examples

"We definitely have noticed less demand, and that has clearly resulted in less difficulties occurring," said Rob Smith, director of the National Association of Passport and Visa Services, a trade group for these expediting companies.

The New York Times - Travel

If ex-offenders have more or less difficulties in finding a job through other channels than the Swedish public Employment Office website, then we probably will under- or overestimate, respectively, the magnitude of discrimination.

IZA Journal of Labor Policy

Groups 2 and 6 experience less difficulties but at the expense of the satisfaction of groups 1 and 5. Globally, MaxSNR, PF, and MAOPF provide comparable performance results, each of them penalizing selectively some of the groups of mobiles.

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking

We argue that it is important to carry out field experiments in cities of various sizes in order to examine whether ex-offenders face more or less difficulties in the labor markets of smaller cities relative to larger cities.

IZA Journal of Labor Policy

However, people with knee arthroplasty reported less difficulties for washing and bending forward than those with hip arthroplasty.

Plosone

After adjustment for age, sex, education, chronic conditions and probability of nonresponse, subjects with recent knee arthroplasty reported significantly less difficulties than those with recent hip arthroplasty for washing (OR = 0.3; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.6), dressing (OR = 0.3; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.5), bending forward (OR = 0.4; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.9) and cutting toenails (OR = 0.2; 95% CI: 0.1, 0.5) (table 4).

Plosone

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

40 human-written examples

I had less difficulty with exercises requiring increased energy.

The New York Times - Tech

What enabled Detroit to navigate the bankruptcy process with less difficulty than had been anticipated?

Harvard University

They found one, and with less difficulty than atheists would have guessed.

The New York Times - Magazine

Mr. Gormley, whose fulminations in Trenton are legendary, has less difficulty standing firm.

The New York Times

Gifts of real property have caused less difficulty in Anglo-American jurisdictions.

Britannica

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "fewer difficulties" instead of "less difficulties". "Difficulties" is a countable noun, and "fewer" is used to quantify countable nouns, while "less" is used for uncountable nouns.

Common error

Avoid using "less" with countable nouns like "difficulties". Always use "fewer" when referring to a number of things. For example, it's correct to say "fewer errors" or "fewer obstacles".

Linguistic Context

The phrase "less difficulties" functions as a quantifier followed by a noun. However, it is grammatically incorrect because "less" should be used with uncountable nouns, while "difficulties" is a countable noun. As Ludwig AI explains, the correct form is to use "fewer" instead.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

Science

47%

News & Media

41%

Formal & Business

12%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, while the phrase "less difficulties" appears in a variety of sources, it is grammatically incorrect. As Ludwig AI points out, "difficulties" is a countable noun, requiring the use of "fewer" instead of "less". Therefore, the correct phrase is "fewer difficulties". Although "less difficulties" is relatively common, especially in scientific and news contexts, adhering to proper grammar enhances clarity and credibility. Remember to use "fewer" for countable nouns and consider alternative phrasings like "less trouble" or "reduced difficulties" when appropriate.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

fewer difficulties

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

reduced difficulties

Substitutes "reduced" for "less" to emphasize the act of diminishing the difficulties.

decreased difficulties

Uses "decreased" instead of "less" to highlight a measurable decline in difficulties.

minimized difficulties

Emphasizes the attempt to make the difficulties as small as possible.

less trouble

Replaces "difficulties" with the more general term "trouble" while keeping "less".

fewer problems

Substitutes both "less" and "difficulties" with "fewer" and "problems" respectively.

alleviated difficulties

Changes the phrasing to focus on the action of relieving or easing difficulties.

eased difficulties

Similar to "alleviated difficulties", focusing on the easing of hardships.

less challenging

Shifts the focus to the level of challenge rather than the difficulties themselves.

simplified process

Focuses on the result of the difficulties being reduced - a more straightforward process.

FAQs

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

The grammatically correct way to express "less difficulties" is to use the phrase "fewer difficulties". "Fewer" should be used with countable nouns like "difficulties".

Is it ever correct to use "less" before a plural noun?

In most cases, "less" should be used with uncountable nouns (e.g., "less water", "less time"). However, there are some exceptions, particularly with time, money, or distance when considered as a single quantity (e.g., "less than 50 dollars"). With a word like "difficulties", it's better to use "fewer difficulties".

What are some alternatives to saying "less difficulties"?

Instead of "less difficulties", you can use phrases like "fewer problems", "less trouble", or "reduced difficulties" depending on the specific context.

What's the difference between "less difficulties" and "fewer difficulties"?

"Less" is used with uncountable nouns, while "fewer" is used with countable nouns. Since "difficulties" is a countable noun, the correct phrase is "fewer difficulties". "Less difficulties" is grammatically incorrect.