UNCOUNTABLE-NOUNS

•

Little

and

a Little

are used with

non-count nouns

, that is, such that we can't express in number but in quantity, as an amount.



Form

(a) little + uncountable noun For example:  I have

little

milk in the fridge. It's almost finished. (talking about the amount of something, as milk is measured in some quantity, but not in number)  I ate just

a little

. I don't eat much in the evening. (talking about the

quantity

of food, food is not measured in numbers, neither)

COUNTABLE-NOUNS

Generally,

Few

and

A Few

are used

with count nouns

, therefore describing how big or small is the number of things.

 Form - (a) few + plural countable noun For example: 

Few people came to the party.

(talking about the

number

of people) 

I have already talked to a few people.



Few – Little

Are used to express

a negative idea.

We mean

unsatisfactory

number or amount of something,

not enough Consider the examples:

-

I feel sorry for her. She has (very) few friends.

(Negative idea: She does not have many friends; she has

almost no

friends.) - There was few biscuits.

-

I have (very) little money. I don't even have enough money to buy food for dinner.

(Negative idea: I do not have much money; I have

almost no

money.) - There was little coffee.

Note: the use of

very (+few/little)

makes the negative stronger, the number/amount smaller.



A Few - A Little

We have

a positive idea.

That is, we mean the number or amount of something is

satisfactory

. Maybe not so many or not so much, but

enough

.

Consider these examples: - She has been here only two weeks, but she has already made

a few

friends. (Positive idea: She has made

some

friends already.) - There was a few biscuits.

- I'm very pleased. I've been able to save

a little

money this month. (Positive idea: I have saved

some

money instead of spending all of it.) - There was a little coffee.

A few/ a little

give a positive idea; they indicate that something

exists, is present,

as in the examples above.

Note: If we use

a few

or

a little

before a pronoun or determiner, we use

of

.

Examples: -

A few of

them went to the cinema.

- He only kept

a little of

his money with him.

Making comparisons

The comparative form of "few" is

fewer

, and the comparative form of "little" is

less

.

Remember: use "fewer" for plural countable nouns, and "less" for uncountable nouns.

For example,

"There are fewer people here than last year" or "He drinks less coffee than I do".

It is grammatically incorrect to say "There are less people here than last year", as "people" is a plural countable noun.



A LOT OF , LOTS OF

These two expressions both mean

a great deal of

or

several

. They are used before a count or non-count noun. These two expressions tend to be used in informal English. -

Form:

A lot of - Lots of + singular or plural name

Examples:

- He's got

lots of

books. - I've got

a lot of

experience at work. - We have seen

a lot of

changes in this company - There are

lots of

job opportunities in this country.

LOT OF

• Use

a lot

at the end of a sentence as an adverb.

A lot

is NOT followed by a noun. The meaning is the same as

a great deal

.

Examples:

•

I enjoy swimming a lot.

•

Mary seems to travel a lot.

ENOUGH

Form:  adjective or adverb + enough  enough + noun  enough + of + pronoun/determiner Usage: 1. We use

enough

to mean

sufficient

. Examples: • • • Your clothes are

big enough

to fit me.

You've done

enough work

. You can stop now.

Have you got

enough money

to buy me a drink?

2 .

We use

enough

in negative sentences to mean

less than sufficient

or

less than necessary

.

You're

not

working

fast enough

, you won't finish on time.

Sorry, I have

n't

got

enough food

for everyone.

Not

enough of my

friends are coming to the party.

3. We can use

enough

without a noun if the meaning is clear.

There's a lot of food but not

enough

for everyone.

END