Most things in life are not perfectly balanced or equal. So, whether we’re communicating at the grocery store or writing an essay for school, it’s important to know how to make comparisons about the amount of things. More than “More than”is used when we have: a greater amount of something or things; and we are comparing that amount to something else.   Examples “No one loves chocolate more than me!” “This job is more than I can handle.” “I love you more than you know.” “I hate chocolate more than words can express!”   Word Order   “More” and “than” can have a word or words in between them that indicate what the speaker has more of.   Example “You have more shoes than anyone else I’ve ever met.”   Less than “Less than” is used when we have: a smaller amount of something; and we are comparing that amount to something else. Note that “less” and “than” can also have a word or words in between them to indicate what the speaker has less of. Examples “My investment was less than my brother’s,so he will make more money than me in the end.” “I know less about this industry than my competitors, so I don’t think I’ll win this contract.” “I put less salt than I should have, so the dinner I made is not very tasty.” “The sweater cost less [money] than I thought it would, so I bought some pants, too!”   Caution! “Less than” is used for amounts that you cannot count, such as “water” or information”. If you want to compare items that you can count, such as “books” or “glasses of water”, you should say “ fewer than“.   Fewer than   Examples “I have fewer pieces of paper than the rest of the class.” “I have fewer than ten items.”   Note Have you ever seen the express line at a supermarket that says “10 items or less”? Now you know that is incorrect! Why? Since you can count “items,” the correct way to say this statement would be “ 10 items of fewer“. See, even native speakers make mistakes!   If this lesson was helpful to you, feel free to share it with your friends and family onFacebook or Twitter.