Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Few A Few Little and A Little

    Uploaded by

    Iva Waya Vasiljev
    51 views2 pages
    1. The document discusses the correct usage of few, a few, little, and a little. 2. A few and a little are used to indicate a small quantity or number, while few and little imply a negative sense of not enough. 3. Few and little are more formal without the article "a", and spoken English prefers only a few/little or not much/many.

    Original Description:

    engl

    Original Title

    Few a Few Little and a Little

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document
    1. The document discusses the correct usage of few, a few, little, and a little. 2. A few and a little are used to indicate a small quantity or number, while few and little imply a negative sense of not enough. 3. Few and little are more formal without the article "a", and spoken English prefers only a few/little or not much/many.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    51 views2 pages

    Few A Few Little and A Little

    Uploaded by

    Iva Waya Vasiljev
    1. The document discusses the correct usage of few, a few, little, and a little. 2. A few and a little are used to indicate a small quantity or number, while few and little imply a negative sense of not enough. 3. Few and little are more formal without the article "a", and spoken English prefers only a few/little or not much/many.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    How to use few, a few, little and a little correctly

    Form
    (a) few + plural countable noun
    (a) little + uncountable noun

    Meaning
    1.

    We use a few and a little to mean a small quantity or a small number.

    I have a few friends (a small number)

    I have a little money (a small amount)

    2.

    We use few and little to mean "not enough", or to give the small quantity/number a negative meaning.

    I have few friends. (a small number, and I wish I had more)

    I have little money. (a small amount, and I wish I had more)

    3.

    Few and little without "a" are quite formal. In spoken English it is more common to say only a few / little
    or not much / many.

    Few people came to the meeting - more formal

    Only a few people came to the meeting - less formal

    Not many people came to the meeting - less formal

    4.

    If we use a few or a little before a pronoun or determiner, we use of.

    A few of them went to the cinema.

    He only kept a little of his money with him.

    Few / a few
    A few is more than few.
    few + plural countable noun
    few = almost none

    few people, few books, few letters

    A few is a positive idea.

    Fortunately, our financial situation is good: we


    still have a few good customers.

    Few is a negative idea.


    We can also use very few.

    I'm very sad: I have few good friends.


    I'm very sad: I have very few good friends.
    (Both these sentences mean I don't have many
    good friends - I would like to have more.)

    Few has irregular comparative and superlative


    forms.

    few - fewer - the fewest


    a few - more - the most

    Little / a little
    A little is more than little.
    little + uncountable noun
    little = nearly none, nearly nothing

    little time, little food, little money

    a little + uncountable noun


    a little = some but not much

    a little time, a little food, a little money

    Little is a negative idea.


    We can also use very little.

    I can't help you. I speak little English.


    I can't help you. I speak very little English.
    (Both these sentences mean My English is bad
    - I would like to know English better.)

    Little has irregular comparative and superlative little - less - the least
    forms.
    a little - more - the most

    A little is a positive idea.

    Compare:
    I can help you: I speak a little English.
    I'm sorry I can't help you: I speak very little
    English.

    a lot of/lots of
    These phrases are mainly used in informal English. Lots of sounds a bit more informal than a lot of.
    Both forms are used in singular and in plural sentences.
    It is not the phrase a lot of or lots of which determines singular or plural, but the subject of the sentence
    (here water and computers).
    singular
    A lot of water is wasted.
    Lots of water is wasted.
    A lot of computers are needed at schools.
    plural
    Lots of computers are needed at schools.

    You might also like