A few and a little are friendly. Few and little, without the article, are not. "I have a few friends here" sounds fine; "I have few friends here" sounds lonely. "There is a little milk" is enough for tea; "there is little milk" means the fridge is nearly empty.
The grammar stays countable against uncountable: few goes with countable plurals, little goes with uncountable nouns. What changes is the message. Without a, the phrase says "not as much as we need".
This page contrasts the four forms, shows the patterns with only, very and quite, and finishes with a 20-question drill where every answer explains the choice.
The rule
The four forms and their feeling
- A few plus countable plural: a small number, and enough. "I have a few minutes."
- Few plus countable plural: not many, and not enough. "Few people came, so the room felt empty."
- A little plus uncountable noun: a small amount, and enough. "There is a little rice."
- Little plus uncountable noun: not much, and not enough. "There is little rice, so we need to shop."
Countable and uncountable one more time
- Countable nouns can be numbered and take a plural: a mistake, two mistakes, few mistakes.
- Uncountable nouns cannot be numbered: information, money, time, hope, interest. They take little.
- A countable plural stands directly after few: few seats, few shops, few chances.
- An uncountable noun stands directly after little: little time, little hope, little money.
Where the negative feeling comes from
- Few and little compare the amount with what is needed, and the answer is "not enough".
- "Few tickets were left" explains why we could not all go.
- "Little information is available" explains why the report is short.
- The words also appear in formal writing, where they mean "not many people or things do this": "Few students read the whole book before the class."
Only, very, quite and the
- Only few is unusual; use only a few when you mean a small number: "Only a few tickets are left."
- Very few and very little make the shortage stronger: "Very few people came", "very little time".
- Quite a few means a large number, and quite a little sounds clumsy. Use quite a lot of instead: "quite a lot of work".
- The few and the little point to a specific small group or amount: "The few friends I have are loyal."
Verbs and sentence patterns
- Both phrases take a plural verb when they act as the subject with a plural noun: "Few students were ready."
- With an uncountable noun, the verb is singular: "Little time is left."
- "There is" or "there are" follows the noun: "There are few jobs", "There is little bread."
- In questions, the negative form is rare. Use any or much/many instead: "Are there any tickets?"
Examples
- There are few seats left; the hall is almost full.A countable plural with few, meaning not enough seats.
- We have little time, so hurry up.An uncountable noun with little, meaning not enough time.
- Few students answered correctly, so the test was hard.The small number is a problem, which gives few its negative feeling.
- There is little hope of finding the missing boat before dark.Hope is uncountable, and little says the hope is not enough.
- She has few friends here, so she often feels lonely.Few friends is a shortage, unlike a few friends which is enough.
- He earns little money, so he cannot afford a car.Money is uncountable.
- We had little difficulty with the project, so we finished early.Not much difficulty, and the sentence sees that as good news.
- There is a little milk left, so we can still have tea.With the article, the small amount is enough.
- We have a few minutes, so let us have a quick coffee.The positive twin: a small number that is enough.
- Quite a few people came to the opening.Quite a few is an understated way to say a large number.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: There are little seats left. Right: There are few seats left.
- Seats is a countable plural, so it takes few. Little belongs with uncountable nouns.
- Wrong: We have few time before the train. Right: We have little time before the train.
- Time is uncountable, so the shortage takes little.
- Wrong: Few of people came to the meeting. Right: Few people came to the meeting.
- Few goes directly before a plural noun. Few of only appears before the, my or these: "few of my friends".
- Wrong: She has a few interest in sport. Right: She has little interest in sport.
- Interest is uncountable, and the sentence reports a shortage, so little is correct.
- Wrong: Only few tickets remain. Right: Only a few tickets remain.
- With only, English uses a few. Only few is not standard.
Practice drill
Answer all 20 questions. Each answer is marked at once, and the rule is explained under the question.
There are ___ seats left; the hall is almost full.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. few Seats is a countable plural, and the shortage takes few.
We have ___ time; hurry up!
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. little Time is uncountable, so the shortage takes little.
___ students answered correctly, so the test was hard.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Few Students is a countable plural, and the negative meaning takes Few.
There is ___ hope of finding the missing boat before dark.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. little Hope is uncountable, and the sentence reports a shortage: little hope.
She has ___ friends here, so she often feels lonely.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. few The loneliness shows the number is not enough, so the negative few is correct.
He earns ___ money, so he cannot afford a car.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. little Money is uncountable, and the shortage takes little.
___ people came, so the event was cancelled.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Few People is a countable plural, and the cancelled event shows the number was not enough: Few.
We had ___ difficulty with the project, so we finished early.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. little Difficulty is uncountable, and not much difficulty is the positive meaning of little.
There were ___ tickets, so we could not all go.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. few Tickets is a countable plural, so the shortage takes few.
I speak ___ German, not enough for a conversation.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. little German as a language amount is uncountable, so the shortage takes little.
There is ___ milk left, so we can still have tea.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. a little The milk is enough for tea, so the positive a little is correct.
___ children were playing outside because of the cold.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. Few Children is a countable plural, and the cold explains the small number: Few.
I have ___ energy today, so I will rest.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. little Energy is uncountable, and the shortage takes little.
He has ___ interest in sport.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. little Interest is uncountable, so the lack of it takes little.
There are ___ shops open at this hour, so buy food now.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. few Shops is a countable plural, so the shortage takes few.
We have ___ minutes, so let us have a quick coffee.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. a few Minutes is a countable plural, and the time is enough for coffee, so a few is correct.
Quite a ___ people came to the opening.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. few Quite a few means a surprisingly large number, which fits a busy opening.
There is very ___ chance of rain today.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. little Chance is uncountable here, and very little makes the shortage stronger.
___ of my friends like camping, so I usually go alone.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Few Few of appears before my, and the negative meaning explains the solo trips.
Would you like ___ more cake?
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. a little An offer of a small amount takes the positive a little: a little more cake.
Questions learners ask
How do I remember which pairs go together?
Countable nouns take a few and few. Uncountable nouns take a little and little. Then the article decides the mood: with a, the amount is enough; without a, the amount is not enough. Two decisions, one short answer.
Is "few" always negative?
The word itself points to a small number, and without the article it usually suggests a shortage. In formal writing it can simply mean "not many": "Few people know the answer." Whether the speaker sounds worried depends on the sentence, but the shortage reading is the safe default.
Can I say "a little" with a countable noun in a specific phrase?
Not normally. "A little friends" is wrong. There are a few fixed phrases where a singular countable noun behaves like a measure, such as "a little while", but as a general rule the countable side belongs to a few. Check whether the noun has a plural: if it does, use a few.
More grammar topics
A vs an: choose by sound
Choose a before a consonant sound and an before a vowel sound. Spelling is not the test; your ears are.
The or no article: general and specific
The points to one specific thing. No article speaks about things in general. The difference changes the meaning of a sentence.
Prepositions of time: at, on and in
At marks a point on the clock, on marks a day, in marks a bigger period. The size of the time decides the preposition.
Take the free A1 to C2 level test to find your starting point.