A little/A few

A little/A few. English grammar with exercises. Free eBook and Free printable PDF. Esl printable Worksheets

A little/A few

---

---

A little/A few

We use ‘a/an’ with several quantifiers:

a little

a few

We also use ‘no article’ with several:

little

few

In many situations, we can choose to use ‘a little’ or ‘little’ (when using an uncountable noun) or ‘a few’ or ‘few’ (when using a plural countable noun). They have slightly different meanings.

When we say ‘a little’ or ‘a few’, we mean a small amount, but it’s enough:

Richard: Let’s eat out tonight.

Meghan: Ok. I have a little money..

On the other hand, ‘little’ or ‘few’ usually give us a different impression. These also mean a small amount, but this time the amount is almost nothing. If the noun is something that we want (like money or friends) then using ‘little’ or ‘few’ means that we don’t have enough:

Richard: Let’s go out tonight.

Meghna: Sorry, I have little money.

Of course, if we use ‘few’ or ‘little’ with a noun that we don’t want, then it can have a positive meaning. It’s good to have nearly no problems, for example:

There have been few problems with the new system, thankfully!

Luckily, there is little crime in my town.

I’m so pleased that I have few arguments with my family.

It’s great that there’s been very little bad weather this month.

https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com

Exercises

A little/A few

EXERCISE 1

Complete the sentences using (a) little or (a) few.

Example:

I’ve always had a little soft spot for him.

1. Jane is leaving; she is taking ____________luggage with her.
2. How many potatoes do you want? Just _____________ please.
3. Has everybody left? No there are _____________ people still here.
4. I need _________________ time to think about your proposal.
5. Paul always has __________ money with him.
6. Driving has become very dangerous. There’s too much traffic on the roads and too __________ police.
7. Our government has made so ___________progress in the past ___________years.
8. I can’t buy it, I only have _________ pounds with me.
9. Would you like ____________ milk in your coffee?
10. There are still ____________ people waiting for their flight to depart.

---

EXERCISE 2.

Re-write the following sentences to show the opposite meaning.

Example:

I have so many exercises to do.

I have a few exercises to do.

1. Many tourists visit Italy during the summer.
2. We usually have a lot of rain in the winter.
3. Would you like some more wine? A lot more please.
4. In Brazil there is plenty of vegetation.
5. Quite a lot has been done to help him.

All downloads are in PDF format

BROWSE THE EBOOK ONLINE OR DOWNLOAD THE PDF FOR FREE