the different between a little and little ........

[king of hearts]

dear sir ,

how are you feeling ? ...... i want to know the difference between a little and little and few and a few .....

why we use (a) with it ?


thank you so much for your helping


best regards

[Tdol]

I have a little money = no much, but enough
I have little money = not enough
When we don't use the article with little/few, it has a negative suggestion- that the quantity/number is not sufficient.

[king of hearts]

thank you so much tdol

regards

[Tdol]

You're welcome, K of H.

[englishstudent]

Originally Posted by tdol

I have a little money = no much, but enough
I have little money = not enough
When we don't use the article with little/few, it has a negative suggestion- that the quantity/number is not sufficient.

Hi tdol,
can the absence of "a" also indicate "none"?
I am assuming that the following sentence
is grammatically correct.

In the following sentence:
"Few people came to the meeting although
it was announced in advance."
does it mean that no one came?
Or is this a grammatically incorrect sentence?

In the following sentence:
"Although we were expecting a big crowd,
only a few people came to the show."
means not enough (compared to our expectation)
came to the show?

Thanks

[Tdol]

"Few people came to the meeting although it was announced in advance."

This correct- it doesn't mean that no one came, but that the number wasn't high enough.

In your second example, 'only' carries the same idea.

[englishstudent]

Originally Posted by tdol

"Few people came to the meeting although it was announced in advance."

This correct- it doesn't mean that no one came, but that the number wasn't high enough.

In your second example, 'only' carries the same idea.

Sorry, I am a bit confused. Can I use "only" with "few"?
It does not 'sound' right to my ears though.

"Only few people came to the meeting although it was announced in
advance."

I am sure I am missing something (but dont know what) because
after reading your response, I have the impression that they
both mean the same thing (few, and a few - at least the way I have
used them in my examples).

Thanks

[Casiopea]

Englishstudent, I believe your original 2nd example houses "a".


Try these,

EX: Charlie owns (only) a few books on Latin American literature.
=> he has some books — not a lot of books, but probably enough for our purposes.

EX: Charlie owns few books on Latin American literature.
=> he doesn't have enough for our purposes and we'd better go to the library.

Source

[englishstudent]

Originally Posted by Casiopea

Englishstudent, I believe your original 2nd example houses "a".
Try these,
EX: Charlie owns (only) a few books on Latin American literature.
=> he has some books — not a lot of books, but probably enough for our purposes.
EX: Charlie owns few books on Latin American literature.
=> he doesn't have enough for our purposes and we'd better go to the library.
Source

Yes, I understand. I meant to ask if it is valid
to use "only few" and if yes, what would it mean?
"Charlie owns only few books on Latin American Lit."
It does not sound right, but don't know why.
Thanks

[Tdol]

Don't use it. 'Only' is unnecessary.