【问】 Because of his high regard for my father，Charlie took lesser money than the actualcharge.(TOEFL，72.10)
 我不明白上句中的lesser为什么是错误的。难道它不是little的比较级吗?
 【答】 little的比较级是less，而不是lesser。less用途较广，可用作形容词、副词和名词。
 1. They now do less work than they did before. (MED)(形容词)
 他们现在做的工作比以前少。
 2. He's eating less than usual. (LDCE)(名词)
 他现在比平时吃得少。
 3. Mexicao's Yucatan Peninsular also sustained less damage than was expected，though atleast 25 people were feared dead and many more are missing. (Washington Post)
 墨西哥的尤卡坦半岛遭受的损失也比原先估计的要小，虽然人们担心至少有25人死亡和更多的人员失踪。
 4. Rubber is much less rigid than stecl. (BES)(副词，修饰形容词)
 橡胶比钢的刚性差得多。
 5. He should speak less and listen more. (LDCE)(副词，修饰动词)
 他应当少说多听。
 lesser主要用作形容词，除表示“较少的”、“较小的”之外，还表示“较次要的”(less impor-tant)：
 1. to a lesser degree/extent
 在较小的程度上(范围内)
 2. The opera was pleasant，but it's one of the composer's lesser works. (FWF)
 歌剧是颇令人愉快的，但它是这位作曲家较次要的作品之一。
 偶而也用作副词，与形容词连用，中间常常需用连字符连接：
 One of the lesser-known poets(LDCE)
 不大有名的诗人之一
 有时也可用作名词：
 Which is the lesser of these two amounts? (ELD)
 这两个数目之中哪一个较小?