较少的，更少的　a smaller amount

　～ butter　较少的黄油
　～ coffee　较少的咖啡
　～ food　更少的食物
　～ meat　更少的肉
　～ money　更少的钱
　～ noise　少一点噪音
　～ time　较少的时间
　～ work　更少的活儿

　The firm has less money and fewer staff than last year.　公司的资金和人员都比去年少了。
　He has less money than ever.　他从来没有过这样少的钱。
　I received less money than the others did.　我比别人收到的钱少。
　The doctor advises me to eat less meat.　医生劝我少吃肉。
　Statistics show that people now drink less beer than they used to, and smoke fewer cigarettes.　统计数字表明，人们现在比过去喝啤酒少了，而且烟抽也少了。
　I love the country, but I have less opportunity of seeing it.　我热爱乡村，但我几乎没有机会见到它。
　He was reading hard and had less spare time.　他正在苦读，几乎没有空余时间。
　Less people go to church than before.　上教堂的人比以前少些。
　Less noise, please!　请不要大声吵闹！
　It cost less money than I expected.　它比我预料的要便宜。
　The movie had less success than expected.　影片没有获得预期的成功。
　We got there in less than four hours.　我们用了不到4个小时就到了那里。
　Less people study Latin today than formerly.　现在学习拉丁语的人比以前少。
　Nothing in this shop is less than ￡10.　这家商店的东西没有低于10英镑的。

 ♣ no less than
　不少于，多达　as much as
　There were no less than fifty wounded.　受伤者多达50人。
　There were no less than ten thousand visitors at the exhibition that day.　那天去看展览的观众不少于10,000人。
　She's no less active than she used to be.　她和以往一样活跃。
　He shouted no less loudly than others.　他与别人喊得一样响亮。

 ♣ less, lesser
　这两个词都是little的比较级。其区别是：
1. less通常表示体积大小或者分量轻重；而lesser是正式用语，与价值或者重要性有关。例如：
　As far as I know, he was a lesser writer.　据我所知，他是个次要作家。
2. lesser不可与than连用，且lesser在句中一般只能用作定语。
3. less可用作副词，而lesser则很少这样用。
 ♣ not less than, not less...than
　这两个短语在写法上很相似，但表达的意思却不同。not less than是“不少于”，多半用来作数量的比较。例如：
　There were not less than 50 members present at the meeting.　出席会议的至少有50人。
　not less...than　表示“不比…差”，多半用作程度的比较。例如：
　This tool-machine is not less useful than that one.　这台机床使用起来不比那台差。
 ♣ 下面两句意思不同：
　

1. 她花在读课文上的时间比我少。
　［误］ She spent fewer time reading the text than I did.
　［正］ She spent less time reading the text than I did.
　［析］ fewer和less都表示“更少”的意思，但fewer只可以修饰可数名词，如修饰不可数名词则要用less.
2. 他不到30岁，但已断送了自己。
　［误］ He was less than thirty, but he was ruined.
　［正］ He was under thirty, but he was ruined.
　［析］ 表示“不到多少岁”，英语习惯用under，而不用less than.

　较少，更少，少　smaller extent;not so much

　know ～　不知道
　rain ～　降雨量少
　read ～　读书少
　shout ～　少喊
　speak ～　少讲话
　work ～　工作得少
　～ cold　不冷
　～ crowded　不挤
　～ important　不重要
　～ surprised　不惊奇

　Let's speak less and listen more.　咱们少讲多听吧。
　I read much less now than I did at school.　我现在看书远比我上学时少。
　With their children growing up, these mothers have become less involved with their families.　随着孩子长大成人，这些母亲受家庭拖累就少些。
　He was less known than his brother.　他不如他哥哥出名。
　I hope the next train will be less crowded than this one.　我希望下趟火车不会像这趟这么挤。
　I was less surprised as I had had this sort of experience.　因为我有过这样的经验，所以并不感到怎么惊奇。
　Try and speak less indistinctly.　想法子说得清楚些。
　Tomatoes are everywhere in summer but less so in winter.　夏天到处都有西红柿，冬天却不是这样。

 ♣ less and less
　越来越小〔少〕地　at a continually decreasing rate
　She found the job less and less attractive.　她发现那项工作越来越缺乏吸引力了。
　He played the piano less and less as he grew older.　随着年龄的增长，他弹钢琴的次数越来越少了。
 ♣ much〔still〕 less
　更不用说　certainly not
　We don't suspect him of telling lies much even less of telling lies like that.　我们本来就不怀疑他说谎，而像那样的谎言就更不怀疑是他说的了。
　He's too shy to ask a stranger the time, still less speak to a roomful of people.　他连向陌生人打听时间都不好意思，更不用说向一屋子人讲话了。

 ♣ 下面两句话的意思是相同的：
　

1. 在这两件衣服中，我拿了更便宜的那一件。
　［误］ Of the two suits, I took the least expensive one.
　［正］ Of the two suits, I took the less expensive one.
　［析］ 在两个人或事物之间只能使用比较级，而不能使用最高级。
2. 今天比昨天冷。
　［误］ It is less colder than it was yesterday.
　［正］ It is less cold than it was yesterday.
　［析］ less不可用在形容词的比较级前。

　［词源］　中古英语les<古英语læs（更少的）