Nouns, articles & quantity · CEFR B1 · Independent
few / a few / little / a little in English
The "a" changes the mood completely. A few means some, and sounds fine. Few means hardly any, and sounds like a complaint.
The shape
a few = some · few = almost none
Say how little there is, and whether that is a problem.
In Hindi
"a" पूरा भाव बदल देता है। a few यानी कुछ, few यानी लगभग कोई नहीं।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
I have few friends here, so I am never lonely. | I have a few friends here, so I am never lonely. "Few" without "a" means almost none, which contradicts the second half. |
Learn these first
These come first. The rest of this makes more sense once they are automatic.
Questions people ask
- What is the few / a few / little / a little used for?
- The "a" changes the mood completely. A few means some, and sounds fine. Few means hardly any, and sounds like a complaint. In practice: say how little there is, and whether that is a problem.
- How do you form the few / a few / little / a little?
- a few = some · few = almost none.
- What is the most common mistake with the few / a few / little / a little?
- Saying “I have few friends here, so I am never lonely.” instead of “I have a few friends here, so I am never lonely.”. "Few" without "a" means almost none, which contradicts the second half.
Where few / a few / little / a little fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
few / a few / little / a little is a CEFR B1 structure — the independent band — and it belongs to nouns, articles & quantity. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
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