Page 145 - Advanced English Grammar in Use

F e w , a f e w ( o f ) , l i t t l e , a l i t t l e ( o f ) , e t c .

(A) few (of), (a) little (of)

positive negative
(a) few • I've got a few close friends that I • He has few close friends and often
(used with meet regularly. feels lonely.
plural • A few of her songs were popular • Few of her songs were very
countable and she was very well known. popular and eventually she gave
nouns) up her musical career.
(a) little • I have to go now, I have a little • There was little work to do, so I
(used with work to do. didn't earn much money.
uncountable • We had a little money left, so we • We decided to abandon our trip as
nouns) went out for a meal. we had little money left.

IiWe often use a few and a little in a 'positive' way; for example, to talk about a small amount or
quantity, to indicate that this is enough, or suggest that it is more than we would expect.
We often use few and little in a 'negative' way; for example, to suggest that the amount or
quantity is not enough, is surprisingly low. This use of few and little is often rather formal.

We can also use few and little with the, her, my, etc. in a similar 'negative' way:
• She put her few clothes into a bag, and walked out of the house for ever.
• We should use the little time we have available to discuss Jon's proposal.

:' R m speech or informal writing, it is more usual to use not many/much or only a few/little instead
of few and little, and we often use a bit of in informal speech instead of a little:
• I won't be long. I've only got a few things to get. (rather than ...got few things...)
• Sorry I haven't finished, I haven't had much time today, (rather than ...I had little time...)
• Do you want a bit of chocolate? (rather than ...a little chocolate?)
In more formal contexts, such as academic writing, we generally prefer few and little:
• The results take little account of personal preference, (rather than ...don't take much...)

Less (than), and fewer (than)
We use less (than) with uncountable nouns and fewer (than) with plural countable nouns:
• You should have mixed less water with the paint.
• There seemed to be fewer lorries on the motorway today.
However, nowadays many people use less rather than fewer with plural countable nouns:
• There were less (or fewer) than 20 students at the lecture.
But some people think that this use is incorrect, especially in formal written English.
I iWhen we talk about a distance or a sum of money we use less, not fewer:
Barbara said the beach was twenty miles away, but I thought it was less than that.
Notice that we use less than or fewer than with percentages:
• Less (or Fewer) than 40 per cent of the electorate voted in the general election.

We can use no fewer/less than when a quantity or amount is surprisingly large:
• The team has had no fewer than ten managers in just five years, (or ...no less than...)
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• Profits have increased by no less than 5% in the last year, (not ...no fewer than...)
Many people use no less than or no fewer than with plural countable nouns (see above).

Few (of) and little (of) =