@LearnbyEnglishlearners little / a little few / a few | English learners

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little / a little
few / a few


(a) little and (a) few are
quantifiers meaning: ‘some’.

little and few
have negative meanings.
We use them to mean
‘not as much as may be expected or wished for’.

Compare:

All she wanted was a few moments on her own.
( some , a small number )

She had few moments on her own.
( not many / almost none )

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She saves a little money every month.
( some , a small amount )

They had little money to spend.
( not much / almost nothing)


Have you got any money?
Yes, a little.
( some , a small amount )
Have you got any money?
No, very little.
(not much / almost nothing)

a little , a few [with a noun]

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We use ( a little )
with singular uncountable nouns.

We use ( a few )
with plural countable nouns:

Mary said nothing, but she drank some tea and ate a little bread.

We stayed a few days in Florence and visited the museums.

Nouns: countable and uncountable

little, few [ with a noun ]

We use ( little ) with uncountable nouns.

We use ( few ) with plural countable nouns.
They are used in formal contexts:

I’m not very happy about it but I suppose I have little choice.

Few cities anywhere in Europe can match the cultural richness of Berlin.


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