QuantitéNiveau d’anglais A2
A few / A little
Parler d’une petite quantité, mais suffisante — a few avec les dénombrables au pluriel, a little avec les indénombrables. Les deux ont une nuance positive.
Règle
Emploie a few avec les dénombrables au pluriel et a little avec les indénombrables. Les deux signifient « peu, mais assez ».
Structure
| a few | plural countable nouns (you can count them) | a few tomatoes / a few friendsI have a few friends here. (positive: there are some) |
|---|---|---|
| a little | uncountable nouns (not counted one by one) | a little milk / a little timeWe have a little time. (positive: there is still some) |
Comparaison
| a few / a little | few / little |
|---|---|
| Positif — il y en a assez : I have a few friends here. | Négatif — presque aucun : I have few friends here. |
| We have a little time. (il en reste un peu) | We have little time. (presque plus de temps) |
Exercices
I have mot manquant friends here - maybe three or four.
There's only mot manquant milk left, but it's enough for coffee.