student asking question

What's the difference between "fewer" and "decrease"? and how can I use it?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"Fewer" means that as a result of something that has decreased, there are less items. "Fewer" is similar to the word "less", and is often used as a word to compare two things. Ex: There are fewer clouds in the sky than there were yesterday. Ex: There's fewer food in the store than there were a few hours ago because people have bought so much. To "decrease" something means that it becomes less, but usually this is continuous and happens gradually. Ex: There has been a decrease in the number of tigers in the wild. Ex: Our money has begun to decrease.

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