Using Few, A Few, Little and A Little •The phrases a few and a little have a positive meaning. They talk about something that you have or something that exists. She has a few friends in her new class. (Positive: She has some friends.) George drank a little water because he was thirsty. (Positive: Some water) •The words few and little have a negative meaning. They talk about something that you don't have or something very small, almost nonexistent. She is not popular. She has few friends in her new class. (Negative: She does not have many friends; almost no friends) George drank little water and now he feels sick. (Negative: George drank almost no water; very little water.) •You can use Very to make the negative idea stronger or the amount seem smaller. They are very poor. They have very little money. (Negative: They practically have no money; almost nothing.) Important: Few and a few are used with plural countable nouns. Little and a little are used with uncountable nouns.
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