Practice
Less or lesser: choosing the right word
The bus is less crowded after 6:00. That sentence compares how crowded the bus is. A lesser route would mean a route with a lower rank or smaller importance, which is a different idea.
Choose less for a smaller amount, degree, or frequency, and use lesser before a noun when you mean lower in importance, rank, or degree.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
less and lesser /lɛs/ and /ˈlɛsər/
The short answer
Use less when something has a smaller amount or degree. Use lesser before a noun when you mean smaller in importance, status, or degree. In ordinary conversation, less is much more common.
We need less time to finish this task than we expected.
Why it works: Less tells us that the amount of time is smaller. Lesser does not fit naturally here.
5 more examples
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This route has less traffic in the morning.
Less compares the amount of traffic.
Not this:This route has
more trafficin the morning. What changes: More gives the opposite comparison in amount. -
The second apartment is less expensive than the first one.
Less changes the degree of the adjective expensive.
Not this:The second apartment is
more expensivethan the first one. What changes: More changes the comparison in the other direction. -
I check my phone less often during meetings.
Less compares how frequently the action happens.
Not this:I check my phone
more oftenduring meetings. What changes: More often means the action happens with greater frequency. -
The manager gave Sam a lesser role on the project.
Lesser describes a role with lower importance or responsibility.
Not this:The manager gave Sam
a larger roleon the project. What changes: Larger describes size, while lesser focuses on rank or importance. -
They chose the lesser of two risks.
This fixed pattern means the option that is less serious or harmful.
Not this:They chose the risk with
the lower cost. What changes: This sentence identifies one specific comparison instead of using the fixed expression.
Read the full guide
First, ask what you are comparing. If you mean an amount, degree, price, frequency, or action, choose less. If you are describing one noun as lower in rank or importance than another, lesser may fit before that noun.
Use less for amount and degree
Use less when something has a smaller amount or degree. It can come before a noun or an adjective. This is the form you need for time, money, noise, cost, and many other everyday comparisons.
The new plan uses less paper.
The new plan uses a smaller amount of paper.
Which word fits an amount of paper: less or lesser?
Use less because the sentence compares an amount.
Use less with adjectives and adverbs
Less can also make an adjective or adverb weaker. Say less noisy, less certain, or less often. In these phrases, lesser cannot replace less because you are comparing degree or frequency.
The library is less noisy in the afternoon.
The afternoon has a lower level of noise.
Complete the comparison: I travel ___ often in winter.
Use less: I travel less often in winter.
Use lesser for lower importance
Use lesser before a noun when that noun has lower importance, rank, or degree than another one. This use is more limited than less and often has a formal tone.
The report discusses the main cause and several lesser causes.
The lesser causes are less important than the main cause.
Does lesser describe the amount of a noun or the noun's importance here?
It describes importance. The causes exist, but they matter less than the main cause.
Notice common patterns with lesser
Some expressions make lesser easier to recognize. A lesser-known person is not as famous as another person. The lesser of two evils is the option that causes less harm. In both patterns, lesser describes rank or seriousness, not a simple amount.
We selected the lesser of two problems.
We selected the problem that was less serious.
What does the lesser of two problems mean?
It means the problem that is less serious or harmful.
Choose the ordinary form when you mean less
Do not choose lesser just because it is longer. Say less time, less money, and less likely. These are normal English comparisons. Use lesser only when its meaning of lower rank or importance is present before the noun.
We have less time than we had yesterday.
We have a smaller amount of time than we had yesterday.
Why is lesser time not the usual phrase here?
The sentence compares an amount of time, so less is the natural word.
Before you go
Remember this
Use less for a smaller amount, degree, price, or frequency. Use lesser before a noun when you mean lower in rank or importance. If you are unsure, less is usually the natural everyday choice.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Less or lesser: choosing the right word"
What is the main difference between less and lesser?
Less usually compares an amount, degree, price, frequency, or action. Lesser usually comes before a noun and means lower in importance, rank, or degree. In everyday English, less is the form you will use most often.
This route has less traffic in the morning.
Can I say lesser time instead of less time?
Usually no. Use less time when you mean a smaller amount of time. Lesser time is not the normal phrase for that meaning. Save lesser for a noun that has lower importance, rank, or seriousness, such as a lesser role.
This route has more traffic in the morning.
Can lesser come before every noun?
No. Lesser is possible before a noun when lower rank, importance, or degree is the intended meaning. It does not work as a general replacement for less before nouns about ordinary amounts, such as water, money, or time.
The second apartment is less expensive than the first one.
What does the lesser of two evils mean?
The lesser of two evils is the less harmful or less serious of two bad choices. It is a fixed expression that compares the seriousness of the two options. The phrase does not mean that either choice is good.
The second apartment is more expensive than the first one.
Is lesser more formal than less?
Often, yes. Lesser appears in formal writing and in set phrases such as lesser-known and the lesser of two evils. Less is the usual choice for ordinary comparisons about quantity, degree, price, time, and frequency.
I check my phone less often during meetings.