巧辨few, a few, little, a little

李诚濡

few， a few， little， a little  虽然都表示“少”，但使用时有所区别。

一、 few与a few

1. few， a few修饰可数名词复数。如：

There are few apples on the tree， are there？ 树上没有多少苹果，是吗？

A few boys are playing basketball on the playground. 几个男孩在操场上打篮球。

2. few （= not many; hardly any）含否定意义，表示“极少、几乎没有”。如：

a few （= some; a small  number of） 含肯定意义，表示“有几个，有一些”。如：

He has a few friends. 他有几个朋友。

He has few friends. 他几乎没有朋友。

3. not a few = no few = quite a few = a good few = many。如：

Quiet a few people go to the beach to enjoy the nice weather.  很多人去海滩享受好天气。

I think no few the superior here. 我想这里有不少高手。

4.当 few被every， last， past， next， some， very等词所修饰时，表示肯定意义，few之前不再有冠词。如：

In the last few minutes， he checked up his paper again. 在过去的几分钟里，他又检查了一遍他的论文。

It took us some few days to repair the machine. 修這个机器花了我们几天时间。

He goes to see his grandfather every few weeks. 每隔几周他就会去看他爷爷。

Some few have already left. 有几个早就已经离开了。

The first few chapters are about his early days. 前几章讲述他的少年时期。

二、 little 与a little

1. little 与a little 修饰不可数名词。如：

He asked for very little money. 他要了很少的钱。

Would you  like a little tea？ 你想喝点茶吗？

2. little含否定意义（反义词：much）;表示“极少、几乎没有”。a  little含肯定意义（反义词：none），表示“有一点、有一些”。 如：

We still have a little time. 我们还有点时间。

There is little time left. 几乎没剩下什么时间了。

3. 在非正式英语中，一般很少用little，常用not much， only a little来代替。如：

I must go to the butchers since there is only a little meat in the fridge. 我得去肉店，冰箱里的肉不多了。

4. a little 与 little 也可以用作副词， 表示“有点”“稍稍”。如：

—Can you speak English？ 你能说英语吗？

—Yes， but only a little. 是的，但只能说一点。

This book is a little more difficult than that one. 这本书相比那本有点难。（比较级）

5. 当little用来表示“可爱的，小的”之意时，也可以用来修饰可数名词。如：

A little girl is painting over there. 一个小女孩正在那边画画。

The little cat is sleeping. 那只小猫正在睡觉。

三、 归纳

不带 a 的little和few 含有否定意义，表示数量很少或几乎没有，强调“少”;带有a 的little和few含有肯定意义，表示数量虽然少但毕竟还有，强调“有”。如：

Few people like such things. 没什么人喜欢那样的东西。

A few people like such things. 有少数人喜欢那样的东西。

He knows little English. 他不懂英语。

He knows a little English. 他懂一点点英语。