Few It is little are quantifiers used in English language to speak of small quantities. They pass the idea of little or almost nothing, something in a small amount. While the use of few occurs with countable nouns in the plural, the use of little It happens with uncountable nouns.
Read too: Much It is many — other English language quantifiers
Topics of this article
- 1 - Summary about few and little
- 2 - When to use few?
-
3 - When to use little?
- → Idiom with little
- 4 - Differences between few and little
- 5 - Differences between a few and a little
- 6 - Solved exercises about few and little
Summary about few It is little
Few It is littleare quantifiers that are related to scarcity and small quantity.
Few has its use with countable nouns in the plural.
The use of little applies to uncountable nouns.
A few It is a little are pronouns. The former is used to replace plural countable nouns; the second, for uncountable nouns.
when to use few?
Few is a quantifier used with plural countable nouns. See usage examples below:
we have few words for this moment.
We have fewwords for this moment.
Few months are as hot as September here.
Fewmonths are as warm as September here.
There are still few people in the party.
There is still fewpeople at the party.
Do not stop now... There's more after the publicity ;)
when to use little?
Little is a quantifier used when we have uncountable nouns. See usage examples below:
I have little money with me right now.
I have littlemoney with me now.
She drank little juice that morning.
She drank littlejuice that morning.
There's littlestuff to do.
There is few thing to do.
→ Idiom with little
To have little to do with something.
Having little to do with anything.
See the example:
Theresa has little to do with her mother.
Theresa has little to do with her mother.
Differences between few It is little
Few: It is used with plural countable nouns. See the example:
she has few ideas about the subject.
She has few ideas on the subject.
In him, idea is countable and is in the plural.
Little: is used with uncountable nouns. See the example:
I have little patience with that.
I have few patience with that.
In him, patience it is countless.
Differences between a few It is a little
the expressions a few It is a little can also be used as pronouns, replacing other terms. Again, we have the countable or uncountable ratio as the determinant.
For a few, there is a countable term in the plural. See the example:
Are there apples? I want a few.
Do we have apples? I want a little.
For a little, it is understood that we are dealing with an uncountable term. See the example:
She started to talk a little more.
she started talking a little more.
What is implied here is talk, uncountable noun.
See too: Measures — some of the units of measurement in English
Solved exercises on few It is little
question 1
The sentence “She started to talk a few more” is incorrect for what reason?
a) does not exist a few.
B) Not used more after a few.
W) A few should be used when we have countable nouns in the plural.
D) The sentence is actually correct.
Resolution:
Alternative C
The pronominal use of a few only occurs with countable nouns in the plural. Therefore, option C is correct. The other alternatives are completely wrong. As for option A: a few exist. As for alternative B: we can use more after a few.
question 2
When can we use little before a noun?
A) If it is countable and in the singular.
B) If it is countable and is in the plural.
C) Only if it is uncountable.
D) In any situation.
Resolution:
Alternative C
We can eliminate alternative A and alternative B, as we do not use little before countable nouns. Alternative D is also incorrect: we cannot use it in any situation. The correct answer is alternative C: only if it is uncountable.
By Beta Maria Xavier Reis
English teacher
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
REIS, Beta Maria Xavier. "Few It is little"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/ingles/few-e-little.htm. Accessed on April 14, 2023.
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