A few and few,a little and little

Question

could anybody tell me how to differentiate them.i don't know how to separate them when i use them to express number.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

A few / a little - means some.

Count nouns + few: Use few.

I have an apple. (one apple is mine)

I have a few apples.

Count nouns + little means something very different!

I have a little apple. I have an apple that is small in size.
I have little apples. I have a bunch of small apples. I don't have any big apples.

Non-count nouns. Use little
I gave a little milk to the kitten. (I gave it some milk, but not a lot.)
I need a little money. (I need some, but not a lot.)

Few / little - this means a very small amount, and sometimes it implies not enough.
Few + count nouns

Few friends visited me when I moved away. (not many, not enough as I would have liked)
Tfe old man had few teeth left. (not many!)

Little + non-count nouns

I can survive on little money. (It means that I don't need much money to live.)
The wood gives off very little smoke when it burns. (a small amount, when compared to other types of wood.)
He starved to death because he had too little food to eat.

CalifJim · Answer

a few = a small number of
few = not very many
a little = a small amount of
little = not very much

CJ

A few and few,a little and little

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