It is known that English in its structure is very different from Russian. A particular problem for the Russian-speaking population studying English is the pronouns few and little. The difference between them, despite the obvious meaning, is far from immediately apparent. Nevertheless, it can be understood quite quickly. It is enough to show a little curiosity and patience.
Countable and uncountable nouns
And you should start with the fact that nouns in the English language can be divided into two categories: countable and uncountable.
| Countable Nouns | Uncountable nouns |
| general characteristics | They can be counted, the expression "several pieces / individuals / individuals" is applicable to them | It is impossible to count them. To measure them, alternative, non-relative quantities are used: kilograms, liters, cubic meters, ounces, centners and so on |
| Examples | A person (one person, two people - can be counted), a dog (one individual, several individuals), a chair (one or several pieces), a flower, an umbrella, a sneaker, etc. | Sugar (in kilograms), milk (in liters), water (cannot be counted: "one water, two waters"), happiness, good, apple juice |
The classification by countability in the Russian language completely coincides with the English, therefore, having mastered and learning to distinguish between these two groups of nouns, you can immediately proceed to the study of few and little and the difference between them.
When is few used?
Few translates to "little." It is used in combination with countable (and only countable) nouns.
Here are some examples of using few in English sentences.
| Example | Transfer |
| When I entered the room, I saw a few people sitting on the sofa and talking to each other very lovely | Entering the room, I saw several people sitting on the couch and having fun talking to each other |
| She found too few eggs in her fridge to cook a cake, so she decided to make an omlette | She found too few eggs in the refrigerator to bake a pie, so she decided to cook an omelet |
| My girlfriend visited this town for so few times that she hasn't noticed yet how much had it changed | My girlfriend has come to this city so few times that she has not yet noticed how much he has changed |
| It is the most unconvinient thing for all painters to see that there are too few pencils to draw something beautiful, but too many of them to buy a new set | The most unpleasant (uncomfortable) thing for an artist is to see that there are too few pencils left to draw something beautiful, but too much to buy a new set |
In all four cases, the word few was used with countable nouns: people, eggs, times (trips to the city) and pencils.
When should i use little?
The difference with few can be traced directly: if until now it was a question of countable nouns, now we will talk about uncountable nouns.
Here are some examples of little.
| Example | Transfer |
| We all deserve a little happiness | We all deserve a bit of happiness |
| There is too little milk, you should buy more if you want me to cook something tasty-ish | There is too little milk; you have to buy more if you want me to cook something delicious |
| Would you like me to bring you a cup of coffe, or you would rather drink a little tea? | Would you like me to bring you a cup of coffee, or would you rather have some tea? |
| The rain brought too little water and plants could not grow healthfully without farmer's interference | Rain brought too little water, and plants could not grow healthy without the intervention of farmers |
In all four cases uncountable nouns were used: happiness, milk, tea and water.
The difference between fewer and less
These words are a comparative form from the pronouns already considered in this article. The difference (few and little) remains even in comparative form, and the rule remains unchanged.
It looks as follows.
| Example | Transfer |
| Fewer - with countable nouns | There are fewer candies that I remember to be yesterday. Have you eaten any of them, young lady? | There are fewer sweets than I remember yesterday. Have you enjoyed them, young lady? |
| Less - with uncountable nouns | He has always got less love than another children, but he managed to become a very nice man of an incredibple politeness | She always received less love than other children, but he managed to grow up a very sweet and unusually polite person. |
Continuing the theme of difference (few and little), it remains only to say that cramming this rule is useless in most cases. It is much easier to master it with examples. You can use the provided in this article, but it will be much more effective to come up with your own. Reading will also help with memorization: stable sentences, which are later deposited in the memory of a diligent student, do not require each time to recall the learned rule again and are written without errors, "on the machine."