less task

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "less task" is not correct and usable in written English.
It seems to be an attempt to convey a reduced amount of work or responsibility, but it is not a standard expression. Example: "I prefer to have less task on my plate to maintain a better work-life balance."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

5 human-written examples

"Great!" he said, sounding happy to have one less task.

The New York Times

By following our general method, it is possible to obtain simple implementations of possibly complex robot control laws that (i) can be directly interfaced to the low-level servo loops of a robot, (ii) require less task information and on-line computations, (iii) are still provably good with respect to some target performance.

Robotics and Autonomous Systems

The so-called "work stealing" occurs when a thread has already finished executing all tasks in its own task queue, and it attempts to steal tasks from other runners, so that all threads are kept in working state as far as possible with less task queue contention.

Journal of Modern Power Systems and Clean Energy

The second experiment used a simpler factorial design with less task switching and no incongruence between rule and response options.

Cerebral Cortex

While slower RTs might reflect less task effort, the lack of systematic direction of RTs and accuracy effects makes it hard to make any clear judgment on whether RT differences reflect a scaling of task difficulty.

Human Brain Mapping

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

55 human-written examples

Jamie, who is less task-oriented, runs for pleasure.

The New York Times - Sports

The students in the academic-tracked schools reported a more positive emotional state and less task-irrelevant cognitions than the students in the lower-track schools.

Large-scale Assessments in Education

Neuroimaging research has shown that different cognitive tasks induce relatively specific activation patterns, as well as less task-specific deactivation patterns.

Neuropsychologia

With respect to the task-irrelevant cognitions, our findings correspond with the results of Baumert and Demmrich ([2001]), who found that academic-track students had a more positive emotional state and less task-irrelevant cognitions than students attending lower-track schools.

Large-scale Assessments in Education

Instead, a token is used to login to Box (and other services), which means less tasks to login AND a more secure session.

Huffington Post

While our hearts and minds are hurting from all this pain, it seems easier and less tasking to not focus on them as much.

Huffington Post

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Prefer using "fewer tasks" instead of "less task" for grammatical accuracy when referring to multiple countable tasks. If you mean a general amount of work, consider using "less work".

Common error

The word "less" is for uncountable nouns (e.g., "less water"), while "fewer" is for countable nouns (e.g., "fewer apples"). Avoid using "less" with countable items like tasks; use "fewer tasks" instead to maintain grammatical correctness.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "less task" functions primarily as a noun phrase intended to describe a reduction in the amount of work or responsibility. However, as Ludwig AI points out, the term is grammatically questionable. Therefore, it is more appropriate to consider it an attempt at conveying a concept rather than a well-formed grammatical unit.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

News & Media

40%

Science

40%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, while the phrase "less task" might seem intuitive, it's grammatically incorrect. As Ludwig AI explains, "less" is for uncountable nouns, and "tasks" are countable. Instead, opt for phrases like "fewer tasks", "reduced workload", or "lighter workload" to express the intended meaning clearly and correctly. While examples exist in news and scientific media, aiming for grammatical precision enhances professional communication.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

fewer tasks

Replaces "less" (used for uncountable nouns) with "fewer" (for countable nouns like "tasks") for grammatical correctness.

reduced workload

Substitutes the phrase with a more formal and widely accepted term for the amount of work.

lighter workload

Emphasizes the reduced burden of work using the adjective "lighter".

smaller assignment

Focuses on a single, smaller work unit instead of the overall workload.

less responsibility

Shifts the focus from the work itself to the accountability associated with it.

easier job

Simplifies the expression by focusing on the ease of the work.

less work

Uses the uncountable noun "work" instead of the countable "task", but might not always fit the original context.

reduced duties

Replaces "task" with "duties" for a slightly more formal tone.

simplified task

Implies the task itself has been made simpler, rather than having less work.

lower task load

Uses the technical term "task load" to denote the amount of tasks that someone has to deal with, and it is considered to be low.

FAQs

Is it grammatically correct to say "less task"?

No, it's generally considered incorrect. "Less" is used for uncountable nouns, while "fewer" should be used for countable nouns like "tasks". The correct phrase would be "fewer tasks".

What's the difference between "less task" and "fewer tasks"?

"Less" refers to quantity of something that can't be counted individually (e.g., "less water"), whereas "fewer" refers to a smaller number of things that can be counted (e.g., "fewer apples"). Therefore, the correct option is "fewer tasks".

What can I say instead of "less task" to indicate a reduced workload?

You can use "fewer tasks", "reduced workload", or "lighter workload" to express a smaller amount of work or responsibility.

How to properly use "task" in a sentence?

"Task" is a countable noun, so it needs to agree in number. For a single task, you would say "a task". For multiple tasks, you use "tasks". It is better to use phrases like "completing the task" or "managing multiple tasks".