Little vs A little, Few vs A few

Grammar chart explaining the difference between 'little' vs 'a little' and 'few' vs 'a few,' with examples and their positive and negative meanings.

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Little and a little, and few and a few may sound similar, but they have distinct meanings and are used in different contexts. In this grammar lesson, you will learn how to use each correctly with simple explanations and examples.

Little vs A little

Little and a little are both quantifiers that we use with uncountable nouns, meaning they are always followed by a singular noun. Though the two are almost identical, they have very different meanings.

Little

Little means ‘not much’. It tends to have a negative meaning as we use it to indicate that there is an insufficient amount of something.

There’s little milk left in the fridge. We should buy some today.
I don’t go to the movies anymore because my new job leaves me with little free time.

A little

A little, on the other hand, has a more positive meaning. We use it to emphasise that there is a small but sufficient quantity of something.

There is a little milk left in the fridge, so we don’t need to buy any more today.
I had a little free time this afternoon, so I went to the movies.

Few vs A few

Few and a few have the same meaning as little and a little, but we use them with plural countable nouns.

Few

Few literally means ‘not many’, and we use it to indicate that there is a disappointing or insufficient quantity of something.

Few students turned up for the event, so we were rather disappointed.
There were few customers, so we decided to close the shop early.

A Few

Unlike few, a few has a positive meaning. We use it to indicate a small but sufficient quantity of something.

We still have a few tickets left for the concert, so you can join us!
There were a few customers on the first day, so we made some money.

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Explanation

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