English for Meeting & Interview (Teks Percakapan Rapat dalam Bahasa Inggris) written by Irfan Suryana

The Differences and the Use of between Little / A Little and Few / A Few

Compiled by Irfan Suryana

(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’.

Here is for the comparison :

• 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)

• 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)

Here is for more explanation :

1. a little , a few [with a noun]

• We use (a little ) with singular uncountable nouns. 

• We use (a few ) with plural countable nouns,

For examples :

1) Mary said nothing, but she drank some tea and ate a little bread.
2) We stayed a few days in Florence and visited the museums.

2. Little, few [with a noun]

• We use (little) with uncountable nouns.

• We use (few) with plural countable nouns. 

They are used in formal contexts, for examples :

1) I’m not very happy about it but I suppose I have little choice.
2) Few cities anywhere in Europe can match the cultural richness of Berlin.

 

That's all about today's lesson.

See you next time!