USING A FEW AND FEW; A LITTLE AND LITTLE

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Date: Oct 12 2008
Topic: Grammar

Author: nad1a

Lesson

- used with count/ non-count words (showing a number or a quantity)

- used with a positive or a negative idea;

Generally, few and a few are used with count nouns, therefore describing how big or small the number of things is.

For example:

Few people came to the party. (talking about the number of people)

I have already talked to a few people. (talking about the number of people, again)

On the other hand, little and a little are used with non-count nouns, that is, such that we can't express in number but in quantity, as an amount.

For example:

I have little milk in the fridge. It's almost finished. (talking about the amount of something, as milk is measured in some quantity, not in number)

I ate just a little. I don't eat much in the evening. (talking about the quantity of food, food is not measured in numbers, neither)

Got it?

Well, this is one way to look at them. Another way is, the connotation they bear. In general, they all mean a small number (few, a few) or a small amount (little, a little).

But in the case of

a few

a little

we have a positive idea. That is, we mean the number or amount of something is satisfactory. Maybe not so many or not so much, but enough.

Consider these examples:

She has been here only two weeks, but she has already made a few friends.

(Positive idea: She has made some friends already.)

I'm very pleased. I've been able to save a little money this month. (Positive idea: I have saved some money instead of spending all of it.)

A few/ a little give a positive idea; they indicate that something exists, is present, as in the examples above.

In comparison,

few

little

are used to express a negative idea. We mean unsatisfactory number or amount of something, not enough

Consider the examples:

I feel sorry for her. She has (very) few friends.

(Negative idea: She does not have many friends; she has almost no friends.)

I have (very) little money. I don't even have enough money to buy food for dinner.

(Negative idea: I do not have much money; I have almost no money.)

Note: the use of very (+few/little) makes the negative stronger, the number/amount smaller.

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