Quantifiers: 'few', 'a few', 'little' and 'a bit of'
Look at these examples to see how these quantifiers are used with countable and uncountable nouns.
I have a few friends, so I'm not lonely.
She has few friends, so she's quite lonely.
We've got a bit of time before our train. Shall we get a coffee?
We've got very little time before our train. Hurry up!
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
A few and a bit of or a little mean some. Often we feel this amount is enough or more than we expected. We use a few with plural nouns and a bit of or a little with uncountable nouns.
I have a few ideas.
I've brought a few friends.
There's a bit of milk left.
It needs a little more work.
We use few and very little to show that we are talking about a small amount. Often we feel this amount is not enough or less than we expected. Few is for countable nouns and very little is for uncountable nouns.
Few people came to the meeting.
There are few places where you can still see these birds.
We have very little time.
I have very little money.
Note that you can use little without very, but it is less common and sounds quite formal.
She had little water.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
Hello again Long Khanh,
I don't think there is any fixed rule about this. The choice of quantifiers like this is really a question of how the speaker sees the situation rather than a particular number of items. For example, both 'some' and 'a few' could be used in this kind of situation:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
I agree with Peter that there is no specific number range within which these quantifiers may be used, though generally "some" is used for a bigger quantity than "a few". Hope this helps.
Hi
Why in this sentence a few is correct?no few
The doctors told me to rest for a few days
Thsnks
Hi marjikjikjik,
"A few" and "few" have different meanings. "A few" has a generally positive meaning, and "few" has a generally negative meaning. For example:
In the example you mentioned, it should be "a few days" because the meaning is "some days" or "enough days".
I hope that helps to understand it.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Sir , what few means . Exactly 1,2,3,4. And a few means 5,6,7 number
Hi amlan1234,
"Few" means a small number. It's often understood to mean 2 or 3. But it depends on the situation. For example, if I say There were a few people in the square, it may mean that the square was a little bit full of people (e.g. 10 or 20 people), or if I say I have a few coins in my pocket, it could mean four or five coins. The point is that "few" means a small number, relative to the situation. It does not refer to an exact number.
As explained above, "few" has a negative meaning and "a few" has a positive meaning. It's a bit like describing a glass of water as half empty (negative meaning) or half full (positive meaning) - the quantity of water is the same, but the point of view is different. For example:
I hope that helps to clarify the meaning.
Jonathan
LearnEnglish team
Hi Jonathan,
Here you provided two examples: -"I have a few friends" - and "I have few friends" I think the first one is correct than the second. Because as the structure says we use a few with plural nouns and few, with uncountable nouns. Would like to give me some clarification about it?
Hello David mweze kasavubu,
The second paragraph of the Grammar explanation addresses this:
As you can see, we do use 'few' with plural nouns.
If I say 'I have a few friends' it means I have some friends and in my opinion this number is sufficient or good.
If I say 'I have few friends' it means I have some friends and in my opinion this number is insufficient or not good.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team
Hello sir ,
What is the rule to difference between a few and few ?
It’s the example eight in first exercise .
Hello g-ssan,
The idea is that the speaker is asking permission to bring some friends. In a situation like this, generally there's not feeling that the number of friends isn't enough and so 'a few' is the correct choice to express this meaning.
Strictly speaking, I suppose it is possible for 'few' to work in this sentence as well, but it would be very unusual.
Does that make sense?
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team