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
Do 'a few' and 'the few' mean the same ?
In my textbook it says - "the few" means " nor many " .So does it refer to some ?
Hello Faii,
Yes, 'a few', 'few' and 'the few' all refer to a small number of people or things, and so in that way have a similar meaning to 'some'.
'the few' has the same meaning as 'few', but the definite article 'the' shows that the speaker is referring to a group of people or things that they think the person they are speaking to is already familiar with. Perhaps they've already been talking about it or it could be obvious for some other reason in the situation.
It's a little difficult to explain without a specific example, so if you had any specific sentences in mind, please let us know.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
It's helpful, thanks.
Hello bojms45,
'Space' can be countable or uncountable, depending on the meaning you have in mind.
When it is countable it describes individual parts of a room which are physically identifiable. For example, a hospital ward where there are many beds has a certain number of spaces for patients. However, when we talk in general terms about whether or not a particular location is cramped or not for whatever is in it we use 'space' as an uncountable noun:
There's so many boxes in here that there's no space for anything else!
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Maahir,
It's true that we can't use a or an with plural nouns. But we can use it in some quantity phrases, e.g. a few friends, a large number of friends, a lot of friends. In these phrases, a refers to another noun (few / large number / lot), not to friends directly.
A few friends has a positive meaning (i.e. some friends) and few friends has a negative meaning (i.e. not enough). So, the first option is right for your question.
Does that make sense?
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello qurtubi,
'some' and 'a few' have very similar meanings. I'd say that 'some' is a little less specific than 'a few', which is often used to refer fewer items than 'some'. But both are very relative and so I'm afraid there is no specific number of items they refer to, because both can refer to groups that are relatively small (for example, the people in a class) or to millions (for example, the number of cars in a country).
In terms of grammar, 'some' can be used with both count and uncount nouns, whereas 'a few' can only be used with count nouns.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Zuu kyarr wan,
Yes, that's perfectly fine. You can also use 'few' without 'a', but the meaning is a little different:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Tim_Bui,
A coffee here refers to a cup of coffee.
You can find an explanation and more examples of this feature on this page:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/common-problems-with-count-and-uncount-nouns
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello hamzahh,
Sometimes grammars say that 'a few' has a positive or optimistic meaning and 'few' has a more negative or pessimistic meaning. For example, if I say I have a few friends, it suggests that I'm happy with the number of friends I have. But if I say I have few friends, it suggests that I wish I had more friends than I do.
Does that help you make more sense of it?
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Ethan hunt
There are many reasons, but one is that most of us often only partially understand what we learn at the time we learn it. As we encounter and practise using grammar, we often discover new aspects to it.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Lal,
It is possible to use handsome to describe a range of things, including houses and paintings, for example. It's also possible to describe women with the word, though it is less common than with men. It suggests a beautiful and mature woman rather than someone younger.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello krollos,
A little bit can be used in several ways. The most common are:
Generally, a little bit is quite informal in style.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Aimee19,
Space is a singular noun. It can be an uncountable noun when we are talking about the general concept of an area (I need more space than this) or it can be a countable noun when we are identifying particular locations (My cat loves to lie in the spaces between our chairs).
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team