English Vocabulary

Words causing confusion

Less and fewer

Less refers to a quantity that cannot be counted. Fewer refers to a number that can be counted.

• I am eating less butter.
• We caught fewer fish.
• There were fewer children in the class than expected.
• We did less work today than yesterday.
• The use of seat belts in cars has led to fewer fatalities.

Lie and lay

The verbs lie and lay are often confused.

To lie means to rest. Examples are:

• I lie on the bed. (simple present)
• I am lying on the bed. (present progressive)
• I was lying on the bed. (past progressive)
• I lay on the bed. (simple past)
• I have lain on the bed. (present perfect)

To lie also means to not tell the truth. Examples are:

• I lie. (simple present)
• I am lying. (present progressive)
• I was lying. (past progressive)
• I lied. (simple past)
• I have lied. (present perfect)

To lay means to put something down. Examples are:

• I lay the book on the table. (simple present)
• I am laying the book on the table. (present progressive)
• I laid the book on the table. (past progressive)
• I was laying the book on the table. (simple past)
• I have laid the book on the table. (present perfect)

More examples are given below.

• Alice says she has already laid the table.
• The book was laid on the chest of drawers.
• While lying in bed, I had an idea.
• I would like to lie in the sun this morning.

Kind and kinds

The word kind is singular. It should be used with this or that to modify a singular noun. The word kinds is plural. It should be used with these or those to modify plural nouns.

• I like these kinds of apples. (NOT … these kind of apples.)
• That kind of coffee is not sold here. (NOT … that kind of coffees)
• Those are the kinds of days I like. (NOT Those are the kind of days …)
• This class of animal is rare.

Note that the same rule applies to other words – sort, type and class.

• Do you prefer this sort of meat pie? (NOT … this sort of meat pies?)
• These types of cars are very fast. (NOT These type of cars …)

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