1

Unit
8 4 (a) little (a) few
(a) little + u n co u n t a b le n o u n :
(a) little w ater
(a) little tim e
(a) little m oney
(a) little soup
(a) few + p lu ra l n o u n :
(a) few books
(a) few questions
(a) few people
(a) few days
a little w ater
a few books
a little =- som e but not m uch
a few = som e but not m any
O She didn't eat anything, but she d rank
a little water.
o 1speak a little Spanish.
Excuse me, 1have to m ake a few
° phone calls.
o We're going away for a few days.
(= som e Spanish but not m uch) o 1speak a few w ords o f Spanish.
o a : Can you speak Spanish?
o a : Are there any shops near here?
b: A little. b: Yes, a few.
X little (w it ho ut a) = nearly no or nearly
nothing
O There was little food in the fridge.
It was nearly em pty.
You can say very little:
O Dan is very thin because he eats very
little. (= nearly no thing )
Xf ew (w it h o u t a) = nearly no
O There were few people in the theatre.
It was nearly em pty.
You can say very few:
O Yo ur English is very good. You m ake
very few m istakes.
Co m p are little and a little:
They have a little m oney, so they're
not poor. (= they have som e m o ney)
They have little m oney. They are very
poor. (= nearly no m o ney)
Co m p are few and a few:
I have a few friends, so I'm not lonely.
(= I have som e friends)
I'm sad and I'm lonely. I have few
friends. (= nearly no friends)
[ 1have little | f 1have a few |
1 money. J 1 friends. J
m m m m m m
178 ^ co u n t ab le/ un co u n t ab le ^ Units 67-68
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