Practical English Usage, Writing
Grammar terms and Speaking
Practical English Usage
English Grammar and vocabulary exercises
Words causing confusion
Less and fewer
Less refers to a quantity that cannot be counted. Fewer refers to a number that can be counted.
Lie and lay
The verbs lie and lay are often confused.
To lie means to rest. Examples are:
To lie also means to not tell the truth. Examples are:
To lay means to put something down. Examples are:
More examples are given below.
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.
Note that the same rule applies to other words – sort, type and class.