Because of his high regard for my father, Charlie took lesser money than the actual charge. (A) (TOEFL)
我不明白上句中的 lesser 为什么是错误的。难道它不是 little 的比较级吗？
little 的比较级是 less, 而不是 lesser。less 用途较广, 可用作形容词、副词和名词。
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They now do less work than they did before. (MED) (形容词) 他们现在做的工作比以前少。
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He's eating less than usual. (LDCE) (名词) 他现在比平时吃得少。
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Mexicao's Yucatan Peninsula also sustained less damage than was expected, though at least 25 people were feared dead and many more are missing. (Washington Post) 墨西哥的尤卡坦半岛遭受的损失也比原先估计的要小，虽然人们担心至少有25人死亡和更多的人员失踪。
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Rubber is much less rigid than steel. (BES) (副词,修饰形容词) 橡胶比钢的刚性差得多。
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He should speak less and listen more. (LDCE) (副词,修饰动词) 他应当少说多听。
lesser 主要用作形容词,除表示“较少的”“较小的”之外,还表示“较次要的”(less important):
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to a lesser degree/extent 在较小的程度上(范围内)
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The opera was pleasant, but it's one of the composer's lesser works. (FWF) 歌剧是颇令人愉快的，但它是这位作曲家较次要的作品之一。
偶尔也用作副词，与形容词连用，中间常常需用连字符连接：
one of the lesser-known poets(LDCE) 不大有名的诗人之一
有时也可用作名词：
Which is the lesser of these two amounts? (ELD) 这两个数目之中哪一个较小?