Quantifiers (4): Little/a little, Few/a few

We use “few” with plural countable nouns, and “little” with uncountable nouns.



[1]  LITTLE / A LITTLE:
 
We use “little” with uncountable nouns, which means “hardly any” or “not much”.

For examples,

• He had little money. [= I have not much money.]
• I have little interest in chemistry. [= I have not much interest.]

We use “a little” with uncountable nouns, which means “a small amount” or “some”. It expresses the quantity in a more positive way compared to “little”.

For examples,

• I've got a little money. [= some money] 
• I have a little homework. [= some homework]

[2]  FEW / A FEW:

We use “few” with countable nouns, which means “hardly any” or “not many”.

For examples,

• Few students failed in the last exam. [= not many students]
• He has few friends because he's so selfish. [= not many friend]

We use “a few” with countable nouns, which means “a small number” or “some”. It expresses the quantity in in a more positive way compared to “few”.

For examples,

• I saw a few friends at the party. [=some friends]
• Iphone 5 is expensive, but a few people can afford to buy. [= some people]