English Grammar
FEW - LITTLE
(few - fewer - fewest / little - less - least)
FEW and LITTLE are both quantifiers.
♦ Few means 'not many'. →
Few questions were asked at the meeting.
♦ Little means 'not much'.
→ Little attention was paid to comfort.
The comparative forms are :
♦ Fewer (than) : → Fewer
than 50 brochures were distributed.
♦ Less (than) :
→ Less money was spent on advertising than last year.
The superlative forms are :
♦ The fewest : →
In December we received the fewest number of enquiries ever.
♦ The least
:→ This car is the least expensive of all the models on show.
FEW - FEWER - FEWEST
are used with countable nouns (one biscuit, two biscuits…)
- Few biscuits were left on the plate. (= Not many biscuits were left.).
- Few people attended the concert. (= Not many people attended..)
- Few readers noticed the advertisement.(=Not many readers noticed.).
- Few countries provide really good public transport.
- There are fewer customers in the shops today than yesterday. (= Not as many ...as)
- Fewer people voted than was expected.
- There were fewer accidents this year than last year.
- We have fewer problems than before with the new system.
- Maria made the fewest mistakes in the English test. (= The lowest number of ...)
- Jack's article received the fewest reviews.
- Her comments always contain the fewest words possible.
- The oldest model comes with the fewest features.
are used with uncountable nouns (milk, water, attention, energy, hope …)
LITTLE:
- Little attention was paid to the warning (= Not much attention was paid.)
- There was little hope of finding any survivors. (= There was not much hope).
- There is little milk left in the jug. (= There is not much milk left.)
- Little is known about the cause of the accident. (= Not much is known)
- Alex earns less money than Julia.(= not as much money as)
- The new system is less satisfactory than the old one. (= not as satisfactory as)
- My grandfather has less energy than when he was younger.
- The book was less interesting than I expected.
- The youngest pupils were given the least homework. (= the lowest amount)
- The poorest people spend the least money.
- Charlie did the least work of any of us.
- Julie chose the least expensive item on the menu.
Meaning | Example | |
Few | Not many/not a lot | There are few melons in the shop today. We don't have much choice. |
Fewer | Not as many. | The supermarket has fewer melons than the greengrocer . |
Fewest | The smallest number | The shop has the fewest melons today. |
Little | Not much/not a lot | There is
little milk left in the jug. Is there enough for breakfast? |
Less | Not as much | We bought less milk yesterday than today. |
Least | The smallest quantity. | The eldest child drinks the least milk. |
NB: A few and a little have a positive meaning. They indicate a small amount.
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See also: a lot/much/many
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