Determiners few, a few, the few, little, a little, the little

Determiners	VerbsList	Tense
Voice	Narration	Preposition

DETERMINERS: Few, a few, the few, little, a little, the little

In the previous lesson, we have learned the usage of articles (a, an, the), which are also determiners. We can now move to our next lesson that is determiners few, a few, the few, little, a little, the little and learn the usage of these.

Table of Contents

• Articles A and AN
  
• Article The
  
• Few, a few, the few
  
• Little, a little, the little
  
• Much, many, some, any
  
• Each, every
  
• Either, neither
  
• Less, fewer

Few, a few, the few

Determiners few, a few, the few, little, a little, the little

Determiners few, a few, the few are used for countable things.

Let us discuss one by one.

Few

Few means almost none and it shows a negative meaning.

EXAMPLES

1. I have few books. This means that I hardly have any books or I almost have no books.
   
2. He was involved in an accident and few came to help him. This means that hardly any person came to help him.

A few

A few means not many but enough and it shows a positive meaning.

EXAMPLES

1. She has got a few friends. This means she at least has some friends, if not many.
   
2. My brother has a few books left in his possession. This means he has at least some books, if not many.

The few

The few means the total and it shows both positive and negative meanings.

EXAMPLES

1. The few friends he has are all very rich. This means that he has some friends (not many) and all are very rich.
   
2. She lost the few friends she had. This means that she had some friends (not many) and she lost all of them.

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Little, a little, the little

Determiners little, a little, the little are used for uncountable things.

Little

Little means almost none and shows a negative meaning.

EXAMPLES

1. I have little money left in my pocket. It means I hardly have any money.
   
2. There is little milk in the glass. It means that there is hardly any milk in the glass.

A little

A little means not much but enough and it shows a positive meaning.

EXAMPLES

1. There is a little milk left in the glass. It means there is at least some milk in the glass, if not much.
   
2. Give her a little milk. It means she is to be given only some milk and not much.

The little

The little means the total and it shows both positive and negative meanings.

EXAMPLES

1. He drank the little milk he had. This means he had only some milk and he drank all.
   
2. Give the little milk in the glass to the boy. This means there is some milk, if not much, in the glass and is to be given to the boy.

In this lesson, we have learned about determiners and articles a, an, the. If you have any doubts, feel free to comment below.


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Determiners	VerbsList	Tense
Voice	Narration	Preposition

TODAY'S QUESTION

Fill in the blanks with few, a few, a little, the little

_____ men are free from fault. I used ____ milk that I had to prepare coffee.

Post your answers below in the comment box.