Few and Little
A2 · ElementaryDeterminers & QuantifiersFew and little both describe a small amount — but which one you need depends on the noun, and whether you add 'a' completely changes the feeling of the sentence.
What you'll learn
- Few/a few with countable plural nouns
- Little/a little with uncountable nouns
- Without 'a': almost none, a negative feeling
- With 'a': a small amount that's there, a positive or neutral feeling
The core idea
Few and little both mean 'not much' or 'not many' — the same countable/uncountable split as much and many decides which one you need. But there's a second layer here: whether you add the word a in front changes the whole tone of the sentence, from negative to positive.
Few for countable, little for uncountable
Use few (or a few) with plural countable nouns. Use little (or a little) with uncountable nouns — the same test as much/many: can you count it one by one?
"I have a few friends here." — friends is countable.
"There's a little water left." — water is uncountable.
With 'a' or without — a completely different feeling
This is the part learners miss most often: adding a doesn't just soften the meaning slightly — it flips it. Few and little (without a) mean 'almost none' and sound negative or disappointing. A few and a little mean 'a small amount, and that's fine' — positive or neutral.
"Few people came to the meeting." — sounds like a disappointing turnout.
"A few people came to the meeting." — sounds like a normal, small group showed up.
Real English
Watch out
Friends is countable, so it takes few, not little.
Water is uncountable, so it takes little, not few.
Patience is uncountable, so few is wrong here regardless of tone — it needs little.
Without 'a,' few claims you have almost no friends, which contradicts 'never lonely' — adding 'a' gives the small-but-sufficient meaning the sentence actually needs.
Real life — Packing for a trip
"Do we have enough time to pack everything?"
"We have a little time — maybe twenty minutes if we hurry."
"Okay. I only need a few more things anyway."
"Good, because there's very little space left in this suitcase."
Practice
Exercise 1 · Sort by countable or uncountable
0 / 6 sorted
Exercise 2 · Choose the correct word
I have ___ friends here, so I'm not lonely.
Exercise 3 · Choose the correct word
There's ___ hope left, and that's better than nothing.
Exercise 4 · Choose the correct word
___ people showed up — the event was almost empty.
Exercise 5 · Choose the correct word
We have ___ time before the train leaves — enough to make it if we hurry.
Exercise 6 · Choose the correct word
She has ___ patience for excuses — basically none.
Exercise 7 · Fix the mistake
Fix the mistake:
Exercise 8 · Complete the sentence
Complete: ___ people can do what she does. (meaning 'hardly any', one word)
Exercise 9 · Complete the sentence
Complete: There is ___ hope of finding survivors. (meaning 'hardly any', one word)
Exercise 10 · Build the sentence
Exercise 11 · Choose the more natural sentence
Which sounds more positive and reassuring?
Quick challenge
Five quick questions to check what stuck.
Question 1 / 5
Score: 0/0
I have ___ questions, if you don't mind.
You learned
- Few/a few go with countable plural nouns: a few friends.
- Little/a little go with uncountable nouns: a little water.
- Without 'a,' few/little sound negative — almost none: few people came.
- With 'a,' a few/a little sound positive or neutral — a small amount that's there: a few people came.
- Choosing correctly needs two checks: is the noun countable, and do you mean 'almost none' or 'some, and that's enough'?
Related grammar lessons
All, Every & Each
Learn the difference between all, every and each — all treats a group as one whole, every generalizes about each member, and each emphasizes individuals one by one.
Both, Either & Neither
Learn both, either and neither for talking about two things — both for the two together, either for one of the two, and neither for not one nor the other.
Enough
Learn how to use enough with nouns, adjectives, and adverbs — and the one word-order rule that trips up almost every learner.
This, That, These & Those
Learn how to point to things in English with this, that, these and those — chosen by distance (near vs far) and number (singular vs plural).