Few or Little

When talking about quantities, whether to use few or little might be unclear, but not after reading this blog post. Let’s get it right! Actually it’s just a matter of countable or uncountable nouns.

In a previous post I clarified the difference between fewer and less because it's a common confusion. So now let's look at few and little:

Once again, we have the uncountable nouns which we use with a little or little in the singular form.

Would you like a little ice in your Coke?
There is little time between flights.

We use a few or few for countable nouns in the plural form.

Do you have a few minutes to help me set up my new computer?
The concert was canceled because few tickets were sold.


A little and a few express a positive meaning while little and few convey a negative meaning.

I have a little cheese left. Would you like some? - positive
I have a few grapes to eat with the cheese. - positive


There is little wine left in the bottle. - negative
Carlo has few friends in the city. - negative