核心畫面
You can picture less as the downward arrow of amount: 'not as much' — a quantity or a degree pulled below some other point, whether that point is how it was before or how much something else has. Whether less is sitting in front of a verb (do it less), in front of a noun-amount (less time), or in a fixed phrase, it always points to 'a smaller amount than the thing we're comparing with'.
可以想成一個往下的箭頭，指著『沒那麼多』——某個量或某個程度，被拉到比另一個基準還低的位置，那個基準可能是『以前的樣…更多收起
可以想成一個往下的箭頭，指著『沒那麼多』——某個量或某個程度，被拉到比另一個基準還低的位置，那個基準可能是『以前的樣子』，也可能是『別的東西有多少』。不管 less 是擺在動詞前面（do it less，做得比較少）、擺在量詞前面（less time，比較少的時間），還是嵌在固定片語裡，它永遠指向『比我們拿來比的那個東西更少』。原始詞典資料13 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
lessadv詞源 1/lɛs/
- 1
Used for constructing syntactic diminutive comparatives of adjectives and adverbs.
- Randal is less welcome than Rachel but as her spouse we should invite them both.
- This gadget is less useful than I expected.
- 2
To a smaller extent or degree.
- The grammar book was less than (that is, not at all) helpful.
- That this is a positive one makes it no less a stereotype, and therefore unacceptable.
lessdet詞源 1/lɛs/
- 1
A smaller amount of; not as much.
- No less than eight pints of beer.
- I have less tea than coffee.
- 2
Fewer; a smaller number of.
- There are less people here now.
- Now there are three less green bottles hanging on the wall.
lessprep詞源 1/lɛs/
- 1
Minus; not including
- It should then tax all of that as personal income, less the proportion of the car's annual mileage demonstrably clocked up on company business.
lessverb詞源 1/lɛs/
- 1
archaicTo make less; to lessen.
- 1386-90, Gower, Confessio Amantis What he will make lesse, he lesseth.
- c. 1650, Patrick Gordon of Ruthven, A short Abridgement of Britane's Distemper, from the yeares of God 1639 to 1649, printed 1844 for the Spalding Club Som of the wiser sort, divining upon this vission, attrebute to the pen-knyves the lenth of tym before this should com to pass, and it hath been observed by sindrie that the earles of that hous befor wer the richest in the kingdom, having treasure and store besyde them, but ever since the addittion of this so great a revenue, they have lessed the stock by heavie burdens of debt and ingagment.
lessadj詞源 1/lɛs/
- 1
archaicLesser; smaller.
- Such too, to a greater or less extent, is the condition of the operatives of every denomination in England, which is the great workhouse of the world.
- This he said, thinking that Alan would be pleased; but the Highlandman’s vanity was ready to startle at a less matter than that.
lessnoun詞源 1/lɛs/
- 1
A smaller amount or quantity.
- Less is better.
- I have less to do today than yesterday.
lessconj詞源 2/lɛs/
- 1
dialectalunless
- To tell you true, 'tis too good for you, 'less you had grace to follow it
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。