Grammar Rules · A few vs. a little
A few vs. a little.
"A few" goes with countable nouns and "a little" with uncountable ones: "a few emails", "a little time". Without "a", the meaning turns negative: "few friends" means almost none. When you mean "some", keep the "a".
Wrong → right
| Common mistake | Corrected |
|---|---|
| We have a few time before the meeting. | We have a little time before the meeting. |
| Can I get a little minutes of your time? | Can I get a few minutes of your time? |
| She added a few sugar to the tea. | She added a little sugar to the tea. |
| I made a little changes to the design. | I made a few changes to the design. |
| I need few minutes to finish this. | I need a few minutes to finish this. |
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