Few, Little, Fewer, Less

Quantifiers for small amounts with countable and uncountable nouns

intermediate

When to Use

•Few + countable plural: Few people came to the party.
•Little + uncountable: There's little water left.
•Fewer + countable (comparative): Fewer students enrolled this year.
•Less + uncountable (comparative): I have less time than before.
•A few/A little = some (positive); Few/Little = not many/much (negative)

How to Form

Affirmative (+)

Few/A few + countable plural | Little/A little + uncountable

Negative (-)

Very few people know. / Very little is known.

Question (?)

Are there fewer options now?

💡 'A few' and 'a little' are positive (some). 'Few' and 'little' without 'a' are negative (not enough).

Examples

✓There are fewer cars on the road today.

✗There are less cars on the road today.

Fewer + countable plural (cars).

✓I have less money than I thought.

✗I have fewer money than I thought.

Less + uncountable (money).

✓A few friends came to help. (positive: some friends)

✗Few friends came to help. (negative: not many)

'A few' = some (good); 'few' = not many (disappointing).

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

• Countable: few/fewer (people, cars, books)
• Uncountable: little/less (water, time, money)
• A few/A little = positive (some)
• Few/Little (no 'a') = negative (not enough)
• Exception: 'less than' with numbers is common: less than 10 minutes

countable-uncountable much-many-lot some-any-no 📝 quantifiers-intermediate 📝 few-little-fewer-less-quiz

Few, Little, Fewer, Less

Quantifiers for small amounts with countable and uncountable nouns

intermediate

When to Use

•Few + countable plural: Few people came to the party.
•Little + uncountable: There's little water left.
•Fewer + countable (comparative): Fewer students enrolled this year.
•Less + uncountable (comparative): I have less time than before.
•A few/A little = some (positive); Few/Little = not many/much (negative)

How to Form

Affirmative (+)

Few/A few + countable plural | Little/A little + uncountable

Negative (-)

Very few people know. / Very little is known.

Question (?)

Are there fewer options now?

💡 'A few' and 'a little' are positive (some). 'Few' and 'little' without 'a' are negative (not enough).

Examples

✓There are fewer cars on the road today.

✗There are less cars on the road today.

Fewer + countable plural (cars).

✓I have less money than I thought.

✗I have fewer money than I thought.

Less + uncountable (money).

✓A few friends came to help. (positive: some friends)

✗Few friends came to help. (negative: not many)

'A few' = some (good); 'few' = not many (disappointing).

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

• Countable: few/fewer (people, cars, books)
• Uncountable: little/less (water, time, money)
• A few/A little = positive (some)
• Few/Little (no 'a') = negative (not enough)
• Exception: 'less than' with numbers is common: less than 10 minutes

countable-uncountable much-many-lot some-any-no 📝 quantifiers-intermediate 📝 few-little-fewer-less-quiz

Few, Little, Fewer, Less

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

Related

Few, Little, Fewer, Less

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

💡 Practice Tips

Related

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

✗Less people attended this year.

✗I have few time to finish.

✗There's fewer information available.

💡 Practice Tips

Related

When to Use

How to Form

Examples

Common Mistakes

✗Less people attended this year.

✗I have few time to finish.

✗There's fewer information available.

💡 Practice Tips

Related