least, less

Use less when comparing two people or things.

  • He is the less (not the least) effective of the two programmers.
  • Genny had less money than her friend to spend at the fair.

Use least when comparing three or more.

  • Singh was the least nervous of the three candidates.
  • Of the entire Grade Five class, Josée had the least trouble with math.

Copyright notice for Writing Tips Plus

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Public Services and Procurement
A tool created and made available online by the Translation Bureau, Public Services and Procurement Canada

Search by related themes

Want to learn more about a theme discussed on this page? Click on a link below to see all the pages on the Language Portal of Canada that relate to the theme you selected. The search results will be displayed in Language Navigator.

 

Date modified: