Choose the sentence that correctly uses 'fewer' versus 'less'.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. The new laboratory model consumes less electrical power and produces fewer toxic emissions
- Step 1: 'Fewer' is used with countable plural nouns (e.g., emissions, errors, students), while 'less' is used with uncountable mass nouns (e.g., electrical power, time, water).
- Step 2: Power is uncountable ('less power') and emissions are countable ('fewer emissions').
Answer
The new laboratory model consumes less electrical power and produces fewer toxic emissions.
Why not the others: 'The new laboratory model consumes fewer electrical power and produces less toxic emissions' inverts both rules; 'The new laboratory model consumes less electrical power and produces less toxic emissions' uses 'less' with the countable plural noun 'emissions'; 'The new laboratory model consumes fewer electrical power and produces fewer toxic emissions' uses 'fewer' with the uncountable noun 'power'.
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