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Hi Dolly,
When an uncountable noun decreases we use "less" and when the noun is countable we use "fewer". Specifically when the number is also given its definitely a countable. And well-trained soldiers can be any number in the population hence it can be taken as uncountable.
However as per the OA "less" is used for the decrease in the number. I am not sure of how this works.
Regards,
Dom.
You are right that "When an uncountable noun decreases we use "less" and when the noun is countable we use "fewer". "
Here are some examples:
Countable:
fewer cars/ dollars/ bottles
Uncountable:
less traffic/ amount of money/ water
Note: In all these cases fewer/ less are adjectives (placed next to the noun without "than").
Let's take an example:
I bought
less pens than my friend did . - incorrect
I bought
fewer pens than my friend did. correct
Just as "pens", "soldiers" is a countable noun (1 soldier, 2 soldiers...) and thus, "fewer" is used correctly for "soldiers".
As for the first part, "With a total population of less than five thousand "...
while using numbers/ units such as thousand, feet, kilometers, and miles for continuous quantity, we use uncountable construction with "than".
For example:
The distance was less than 10 kilometers
Population of less than five thousand
Hope it helps!
Happy Prepping!
Dolly Sharma