Few and little they are quantifiers (quantifiers). the meaning of few is few; few and the meaning of little it's too little; few.
We use quantifiers when we want to refer to the quantity of something.
Before we use few and little, it is important to check if the noun we want to refer to is countable (countable) or uncountable (countless) because few is used with accountants and little, with countless. See a summary in the image below.
IMPORTANT: not all countable nouns in the Portuguese language are countable in the English language. It is necessary to be careful that the use of little and few be done correctly.
Check out the explanation below and learn how to use few and little.
when to use few and little
Know when to use little and few and understand the difference between the two quantifiers.
Use of few
The word few is used with countable nouns and means few, few.
Examples:
- I know few people that would help. (I know few people who would help.)
- she has few friends. (She has few friends.)
- There are few employees at the company now because of the strike. (There are few employees in the company now because of the strike.)
Note that the use of few indicates a somewhat negative connotation, that is, the word little ends up being associated with an insufficient amount of something.
IMPORTANT: the noun used after the word few it must always be inflected in the plural.
Use of a few
When we want to indicate that there is little amount of a given countable noun without this quantity necessarily represents the idea of insufficiency, that the quantity could be greater, we can use a few.
A few also means few; few. The difference between a few and few é:
- Few = few; insufficient; could be more
- A few = few; some; contrary to many. It works almost in the same sense as “some”.
Examples:
- Few students solved that Math problem. (Few students solved that math problem.) – It could have been more students to do it.
- A few students solved that Math problem. (Some students solved that math problem.) – not many students did it.
Use of little
The word little is used with countless nouns and means little or little.
Examples:
- She put little milk in the jar. (She put a little milk in the pitcher.)
- He drinks little water during the day. (She drinks little water during the day.)
- I have little money. (I have little money.)
IMPORTANT: the noun used after the word little it must always be singular.
Use of a little
When we want to indicate that there is little amount of a given uncountable noun without this quantity necessarily represents the idea of insufficiency, that the quantity could be greater, we can use a little.
A little also means little; few. The difference between a little and little é:
- little = little; insufficient; almost nothing; could be/have more.
- A little = a little; some; contrary to much.
Examples:
- I have little money. (I have little money) – I have an insufficient amount; could have more.
- I have a little money. (I have some/some money) – I don't have much money.
Video
Watch the video below and see some more examples of how to use few, little, a few and a little.
Exercises
Do the exercises below and test your knowledge of using quantifiers.
1. (EPCAR/2015) “There are a few ways to prevent cyberbullying” (line 31) is the same as
a) There are some ways to prevent cyberbullying.
b) There are many ways to prevent cyberbullying.
c) There are lots of ways to prevent cyberbullying.
d) There are no ways to prevent cyberbullying.
Correct alternative: a) There are some ways to prevent cyberbullying.
2. (Naval School/2010) Analyze the sentences below. Which alternative is correct?
a) A little people passed the exam because it was too difficult.
b) Few people passed the exam because it was too difficult.
c) Much people passed the exam because it was too difficult.
d) Many people passed the exam because it was too difficult.
e) A lot of people passed the exam because it was too difficult. bottom of form
Correct alternative: b) Few people passed the exam because it was too difficult.
3. (EsFCEx/2010) Choose the alternative that correctly completes the sentences below in the right order:
We don't have __________ money, just __________ reais. Let's take only __________ milk.
a) many - few - a few
b) much - a few - some
c) a lot of - many - few
d) few - some - many
e) many - few - some
Correct alternative: b) much - a few - some
4. (EFOMM/2011) Choose the option which completes the sentences below:
It is ________ use trying to change her mind.
Slowly, ___________children began coming to school.
Unfortunately, he had __________ friends.
Could you possibly give me ___________ help?
a) a little/a few/few/little
b) a little/a few/little/little
c) a little/few/few/a little
d) little/few/little/a little
e) little/a few/few/a little
Correct alternative: e) little/a few/few/a little
See too: Food in English (food)
