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Home > Articles > English lessons > “a little” and “a few ” to describe quantity

“a little” and “a few ” to describe quantity

30th May 2019 by Andrew 1 Comment

“a little” and “a few” are determiners. We write them before a noun.
More specifically, they are quantifiers. They both describe a small quantity or amount of something.

“a few” describes a small quantity of a countable noun.
“a little” describes a small quantity of an uncountable noun.

Let’s look at each one in more detail.

“a few”

Form:
“a few” + countable noun in the plural form


Use:
to describe a small quantity of a countable noun.

Examples:
There are a few peas.

peas on spoon
by adamr | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

There are a few raspberries.
raspberries

There are a few peaches.

peaches
by FreeImages.com/photographer/vierdrie-46406

“a little”

Form:
“a little” + uncountable noun

(Uncountable nouns are always in the singular form.)

Use:
to describe a small quantity of an uncountable noun.

There is a little pasta.
pasta

There is a little soup.
soup

There is a little sugar.
sugar

What are countable and uncountable nouns?

See my lesson on countable and uncountable nouns for more information.

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Comments

  1. Ely Machuca says

    27th February 2020 at 4:03 pm

    Nice site to find a lot of explanation.

    Reply

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