Few and fewer refer to people or objects that can be counted. Little and less refer to a small quantity.
Examples:
"I'm a woman of few words," Mae West said. I have even less to say than Mae.
Corrections:
"In a column about the misuse of English (Amo, amas, I love a lass . . ., page 21, June 2), we meant to say that fewer than 12,000 pupils were learning Latin in 2000, instead of misusing the English language by saying less than 12,000 pupils."
(Corrections and Clarifications, The Guardian, June 4, 2004)
Usage Notes:
"Myth/rule: We're supposed to use less with nouns that can't be counted: less sugar, less paper, less money; and we are supposed to use fewer with nouns that can be counted: fewer students, fewer cars, fewer minutes.
"The real situation is much more complex. For one, many of our nouns are countable in some meanings, uncountable in others. Liberty, for example, is often a mass noun, as in Patrick Henry's 'Give me liberty, or give me death.' But we often hear such uses as, 'Since her fall, she takes (fewer or less?) liberties in the skating rink?' . . .
"If one has to pause in mid-sentence to decide whether less or fewer is the 'right' choice, it's a sign that the choice is not worth the trouble."
On the Other Hand
"In writing we can usually take the time to choose among alternatives, and one might find it more elegant to use fewer rather than less in some instances."
(Edgar H. Schuster, Breaking the Rules: Liberating Writers Through Innovative Grammar Instruction, Heinemann, 2003)
Practice:
(a) I have _____ money than I thought. A _____ bills are missing from my wallet.
(b) Now that I'm broke, I have _____ friends than before.
