Little and few.

How to use the quantifiers little and few in English.

General rules.

Little, as a quantifier, is used to talk about uncountable nouns. Few talks about countable nouns.

There's little happiness in my life.
I've got a little whisky. Would you like some?

There are few good beaches here.
I've got a few biscuits. Would you like one?

Little and few without the article.

Little and few have different uses depending on if we place the indefinite article "a" in front of these words or not. Without the indefinite article, the meaning is not much or not many. The use is often quite formal:

John has little interest in history. His examination results were poor in this subject.
Few people these days have a Kodak camera since the company closed in 2012.

Compare with a more informal style, where we prefer to use not much and not many in front of adjectives:

John hasn't got much interest in history. I'm not going to ask him to answer my question.
Not many people have a Kodak camera these days. It's a pity!

Little and few with the article.

When we say a little or a few, the meaning is more positive. It is similar to saying some. The style can also be conversational:

I've got a little rum in the cupboard. Let's have a drink!
We need a little rain. Everything is very dry.

There are a few students who need more help in the English class.
I had a few hours sleep last night. I feel better today.

We can use only a little or only a few when we want to say not much or not many:

There was only a little food left at home so we went out to eat.
There were only a few people at the party. It was boring.

A Little is also used as an adverb and pronoun. The style is quite formal:

I felt a little tired after lunch so I went to bed.
I like to exercise a little at the weekend.
I like to paint a little.

Use of a bit and a bit of.

Compare the above with the a bit structure. This has the same meaning but is more colloquial:

I felt a bit tired...
He looked a bit silly in his new suit.
I like to paint a bit.

A bit of (informal) is also used with adjectives and means a little:

We had a bit of lunch before we went to the beach.
Would you like a bit of chocolate?

It is also common in colloquial English to say a little bit. There seems to be little difference in meaning between a bit and a little bit:

Children! I'd like a little bit of quiet in the classroom, please!

Comparative forms.

The comparative form of few and little is fewer (plural nouns) and less (uncountable nouns):

You see fewer flowers in the countryside these days. I think it's because of herbicides.
I've got less work to do now I'm the boss. That means more time for playing tennis.

In colloquial English, we can hear native speakers who use less with plural nouns:

There're less trains on Sundays.

Some people think this is wrong. For English tests and exams, use the more correct form:

There're fewer trains on Sundays.

See more on the use of comparatives...

Exercises on little and few...