Little / a little / few / a few

The expressions a little and a few mean some. The key to make sure you are using little and few properly consider that a noun is in singular, we use a little (i.e. a little money) and if the noun is in plural, we use a few (i.e. a few friends)

Countable / Uncountable Nouns

In connection with a little / a few people often speak of countable nouns and uncountable nouns.
Countable nouns have a singular and a plural form. In plural, these nouns can be used with a number (that's why they are called 'countable nouns'). Countable nouns take a few.

Example:

4 friends – a few friends

Uncountable nouns can only be used in singular. These nouns cannot be used with a number (that's why they are called 'uncountable nouns'). Uncountable nouns take a little.

Example:

3 money – a little money

Note: Of course you can count money – but then you would name the currency and say that you have got 3 euro (but not "3 money").

A Little / A few or Little / Few

It's a difference if you use a little / a few or little / few. Without the article, the words have a limiting or negative meaning.

• a little = some
  little = hardly any

  Example:

  I need a little money. - I need some money.

  I need little money. - I need hardly any money.

• a few = some
  few = hardly any

  Example:

  A few friends visited me. - Some friends visited me.

  Few friends visited me. - Hardly any friends visited me.

Without the article, little / few sound rather formal. That's why we don't use them very often in everyday English. A negative sentence with much / many is more common here.

Example:

I need little money. = I do not need much money.

Few friends visited me. = Not many friends visited me.

Exercises on a little / a few

a little / a few

• A Little / A Few - Exercise 1
• A Little / A Few - Exercise 2
• A Little / A Few - Exercise 3
• A Little / A Few - Exercise 4

little / few

• Little / Few - Exercise

Modified from http://www.ego4u.com