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Few and little are both quantifiers which have a negative
meaning : 'not a lot'.
Their use with countable or uncountable nouns is shown in the table
below.
In the examples given, apples is a plural countable noun,
modified by fewer and fewest.
Milk is an uncountable noun, modified by less
and least.
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Meaning and use |
Example |
| Few |
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Meaning : not many/not a lot
- Used before plural nouns. |
There are few apples at the market today. |
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Fewer |
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Meaning : not as many
- Used before plural nouns |
The supermarket has fewer apples. |
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Fewest |
- Meaning : the smallest number
- Used with 'the' before plural nouns |
This shop has the fewest apples. |
| Little |
- Meaning : not much/not a lot
- Used before uncountable nouns. |
There is little milk left in the bottle. |
| Less |
- Meaning : not as much
- Used before uncountable nouns. |
We bought less milk yesterday. |
| Least |
- Meaning : the smallest quantity
- Used with 'the' before uncountable nouns. |
The child refused to drink the least milk. |
N.B.
'A few' and 'a little' have a positive meaning : a small
quantity.
- There are a few apples. There is
a little milk.
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