Which sentence uses the correct form of 'fewer' vs 'less' for countable nouns?

• A. There were less people in the room.
• B. There were fewer peoples in the room.
• C. There were few people in the room.
• D. There were fewer people in the room.

Answer: (D)

For countable nouns in a comparison, use fewer. “People” is a countable plural noun, so the proper form to show a smaller quantity is fewer. Using less with a countable noun is considered incorrect in standard grammar. Using peoples would be incorrect here because you’re not referring to separate groups of people. Using few, while grammatical, does not express a comparison to another quantity in the same way; it states there are not many people, but it doesn’t directly compare to another amount. Therefore, the sentence with fewer people in the room is the correct choice.