Unit 83: (a) little / (a) few

Master small quantities with uncountable and countable nouns

A. a little / a few

a little water

a few books

a little + uncountable noun
• a little water
• a little money
• a little time
• a little soup

a few + plural noun
• a few books
• a few people
• a few questions
• a few days

B. a little = some but not much | a few = some but not many

• She didn't eat anything but she drank a little water.
• I speak a little Spanish. (= some Spanish but not much)
• A: Can you speak Spanish?
• B: A little.

• Last night I wrote a few letters.
• We're going away for a few days.
• I speak a few words of Spanish.
• A: Are there any shops in the village?
• B: Yes, a few.

C. little (without a) = nearly no ... | few (without a) = nearly no ...

• There was little food in the fridge. It was nearly empty.
• You can say very little:
• Dan is very thin because he eats very little. (= nearly nothing)

• There were few people in the park. It was nearly empty.
• You can say very few:
• Your English is very correct. You make very few mistakes.

D. little and a little | few and a few

a little is a positive idea:
They have a little money, so they're not poor. (= they have some money)

little is a negative idea:
They have little money. They are very poor. (= nearly no money)

a few is a positive idea:
I've got a few friends, so I'm not lonely. (= I've got some friends)

few is a negative idea:
I'm sad and I'm lonely. I've got few friends. (= nearly no friends)

a little vs little (uncountable)

I have a little money. → I have little money.
She speaks a little English. → She speaks little English.

a few vs few (countable)

There are a few shops. → There are few shops.
I wrote a few letters. → I wrote few letters.

very little / very few

He eats very little. → He makes very few mistakes.
There was very little food. → There were very few people.

83.1 Answer the questions with a little or a few.

Have you got any money? Yes, a little.
Have you got any envelopes? .
Do you want sugar in your coffee? , please.
Did you take any photographs when you were on holiday? .
Does your friend speak English? .
Are there any factories in this town? .

83.2 Put in a little or a few + one of these words:

air chairs days friends letters milk Russian times

Last night I wrote a few letters to my family and friends.
Can I have in my coffee, please?
'When did Julia go away?' ' ago.'
'Do you speak any foreign languages?' 'I can speak .
'Are you going out alone?' 'No, I'm going with .
'Have you ever been to Rome?' 'Yes, .
There wasn't much furniture in the room — just a table and .
I'm going out for a walk. I need .

83.3 Complete the sentences. Use very little or very few + one of these words:

coffee hotels mistakes people rain time work

Your English is very good. You make very few mistakes.
I drink . I don't like it.
The weather here is very dry in summer. There is .
It's difficult to find a place to stay in this town. There are .
We must hurry. We've got .
The town is very quiet at night. go out.
Some people in the office are very lazy. They do .

83.4 Put in little / a little / few / a few.

There was little food in the fridge. It was nearly empty.
'When did Sarah go out?' ' minutes ago.'
I can't decide now. I need time to think about it.
There was traffic, so we arrived earlier than we expected.
The bus service isn't very good at night — there are buses after 9 o'clock.
'Would you like some soup?' 'Yes, , please.'
I'd like to practise my English more but I have opportunity.

83.5 Right or wrong? Correct the sentences where necessary. Write OK if the sentence is correct.

We're going away for few days next week.
Everybody needs little luck.
I can't talk to you now — I've got few things to do.
I eat very little meat — I don't like it very much.
Excuse me, can I ask you few questions?
There were little people on the bus — it was nearly empty.