less impacts

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "less impacts" is not correct in standard written English.
The correct form would typically be "fewer impacts" when referring to countable effects. Example: "The new policy aims to create fewer impacts on the environment compared to the previous regulations."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

4 human-written examples

Interestingly, the analysis show that lightweight vehicles with internal combustion engines have less impacts on the environment as a direct result of upstream emissions associated with electricity generation in United States.

Journal of Cleaner Production

The parameters which have major impacts on water quality (viz., TDS, Cl−, ({text{SO}}_{4}^{text{NO}ext{NO}}_{3}^) are assigned to the highest weight of 5 and a minimum of 1 is assigned to parameters which are considered of less impacts (viz., ({text{HCO}}_{3}^) and ({text{PO}}_{4}^{3 - })) on the water quality.

Environmental Systems Research

Noteworthy, in a recent study among child-caregiver dyads in the US, caregivers' OHL modified the association between children's oral health status and child OHRQoL impacts, with low-literacy caregivers reporting less impacts [ 27].

Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

Seniors living within the community may not feel as though oral health has a huge impact on their lives and may be more satisfied with the quality of their oral health compared to their general health, causing them to report less impacts 'fairly often' or 'very often'.

Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

54 human-written examples

Other offerings had less impact.

The New York Times - Arts

"Veneziana," set to Stravinsky's "Pulcinella Suite," has less impact.

The New York Times - Arts

Moreover, the #leanintogether approach might have less impact than legislation.

The New Yorker

Her suffering, and the foreshadowing of tragedy, made less impact.

The Guardian - Books

Less Impact More Impact All dollar figures are in millions.

The New Yorker

Medicare cuts should therefore have less impact here than elsewhere.

The Economist

Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady all had less impact in their rookie seasons than did Stoudemire.

The New York Times - Sports

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When discussing impacts that can be counted, such as environmental effects or consequences, use "fewer impacts" instead of "less impacts" to ensure grammatical accuracy. For example, "The project aims to create fewer negative impacts on the local ecosystem."

Common error

Avoid using "less" when referring to countable items like impacts. "Less" is for uncountable nouns (e.g., "less water", "less time"). Always use "fewer" for countable nouns.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "less impacts" functions as a noun phrase intended to quantify the degree of influence or effect. However, Ludwig AI identifies it as grammatically incorrect, as "less" should be used with uncountable nouns. The correct form for countable nouns like impacts is "fewer impacts."

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Science

50%

News & Media

50%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, while the phrase "less impacts" appears in various sources, it is grammatically incorrect according to Ludwig AI. The correct form when referring to countable effects or consequences is "fewer impacts". It's crucial to use "fewer" instead of "less" when dealing with countable nouns. The sources where the phrase appears are split between science and news, but this doesn't override the fact that "fewer impacts" is the grammatically sound choice. When writing, consider using alternatives such as "reduced impacts", "decreased impacts", or "diminished impacts" to maintain grammatical accuracy and clarity.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

fewer impacts

Changes "less" to "fewer" to correct the grammatical error related to countable nouns, maintaining the original meaning.

reduced impacts

Replaces "less" with "reduced" to provide a grammatically correct alternative using a past participle adjective.

decreased impacts

Substitutes "less" with "decreased," offering another grammatically sound option with similar implications.

diminished impacts

Employs "diminished" in place of "less", indicating a reduction in the effect or significance of impacts.

lower impacts

Uses "lower" as an adjective to describe the impacts, indicating a reduction in their intensity or degree.

alleviated impacts

Replaces the entire phrase, suggesting that the impacts have been made less severe or troublesome.

lessened impacts

Uses the verb form "lessened" to describe the impacts, indicating they have been reduced.

mitigated impacts

Suggests actions have been taken to reduce the severity of the impacts.

ameliorated impacts

Similar to mitigated, implying that impacts have been improved or made more tolerable.

eased impacts

Implies that impacts have become less burdensome or problematic.

FAQs

Is it grammatically correct to say "less impacts"?

No, it is not grammatically correct. Because "impacts" are countable, you should use "fewer impacts" instead of "less impacts".

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

"Less" is used with uncountable nouns (e.g., "less water"), while "fewer" is used with countable nouns (e.g., "fewer cars"). Therefore, the correct phrase is "fewer impacts" because impacts are countable.

What can I say instead of "less impacts"?

You can use alternatives like "reduced impacts", "decreased impacts", or "diminished impacts" depending on the context. The best option is "fewer impacts".

When should I use "fewer impacts"?

Use "fewer impacts" when you want to describe that something has resulted in a smaller number of negative effects or consequences that can be counted. For example, "The new regulations led to fewer impacts on the environment".