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Only half of South Koreans willing to marry; even less want kids (www.thestar.com.my)

submitted 8 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago (1 children)

It's a comparison, what's wrong with less

[–] [email protected] 18 points 8 months ago (1 children)

"Less" is usually for non-countable objects, while "fewer" is for countable.

"Less slime" vs. "Fewer bees"

[–] [email protected] 12 points 8 months ago (2 children)

The comparison in this case is operating on the word half, not on the subject of the sentence:

Only half want to get married, even less [than half] want kids.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 8 months ago

It could actually go either way, based on the title:

Only half of South Koreans willing to marry; even less [than half] want kids

Only half of South Koreans willing to marry; even fewer [South Koreans] want kids

I'm inclined to lean toward the second. "Even less than half" sounds a lot clunkier than "even fewer South Koreans," so it's not surprising other readers assumed the latter.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 8 months ago

You're definitely right!