A few, a little, few, little (test n°25720 - please quote this number when

you contact us)

RESULTS

1. They live in a very small flat because they have FEW LITTLE money.
2. I really need to see him. I've got A FEW questions to ask him.
3. Could we have LITTLE A LITTLE champagne, please ?
4. 'Were you surprised ?' ' A LITTLE .'
5. They've already been to Spain A FEW times.
6. These plants require A FEW LITTLE water and it's very handy.
7. At home, the kitchen was a pleasant place. There were always A FEW flowers
in a vase.
8. 'How's your father ?' ' A FEW A LITTLE better, thanks.'
9. 'Sandra is fluent in Italian, French and Spanish.' 'It's quite rare, A FEW FEW
people can speak several foreign languages.'
10. This boy isn't very popular at school. He's got very A FEW FEW friends.

QUANTITIES

a) 1st match: SOME vs. ANY

SOME ANY

1) In positive sentences:
I need some butter. 1) In questions:
Is there any cheese left?

2) In questions when offering or 2) In negative sentences:

requesting something that is there: There isn't any milk left.
Could I have some water, please?

b) 2nd match: MUCH vs. MANY

MUCH MANY

MUCH + singular MANY + plural

There is much traffic. There are many cars.

ANSWERS

a) I have some homework to do for tomorrow.

b) I don't see any ducks there!
c) Can I have some wine, please.
d) Are there any vegetables left?

e) There are many people in the cinema.

f) Don't eat much sugar.

Mass Nouns and Count Nouns

I don't own much furniture

Of the quantifiers discussed in the last section, one set is particularly troublesome. When used as
independent pronouns, many and few are generally used for people and other animate beings,
with much and less being used for everything else. The first pair can also appear as nominals
with determiners:

(1) He seemed mad to many.

(2) He didn't do much.
(3) They attracted few.
(4) He gave less to the church.
(5) They attracted a few.
(6) He seemed mad to the many.

When used as postdeterminers, however, much and less (and little when used for quantities) are
used only with a special group of nouns called mass nouns (or non-count nouns) because they
cannot be counted. Most English nouns, of course, are count nouns and a few can be used in
both ways (e.g., trouble). The list of mass nouns is pretty arbitrary, and we simply have to learn
it as we learn the nouns that compose this. Native speakers generally seem to do this, but it can
be a hard distinction to master as a adult.

(7) They carry many sofas in their store.

(8) I don't own much furniture.
(9) I want less rice with my meal.
(10) I need little soy sauce on my rice.
(11) You only gave me a few dishes.

Many mass nouns are hard-to-divide abstractions--goodness, truth, and beauty--belief, evidence,
information--anger, disgust, resentment. Many of the terms we used which had singular nouns
with no determiners--e.g., grammar, time--were mass nouns in such uses. But concrete items
which are seen as an undifferentiated mass can also be treated as mass nouns:bread and cheese,
coffee and tea, cake and sugar, whiskey and water, silver and gold, money and soap. We can
divide such nouns up with expressions using of:

(12) I gave him a bit of advice.

(13) She gave me a look of disgust.
(14) He gave her a pound of chocolate.
(15) They gave me a glass of wine.
(16) You gave them a slice of meat.
(17) They gave you a piece of news.

Do not confuse mass nouns with collective nouns, those (usually singular) nouns which by their
very nature refer to collective entities like the army, government, or police. Most such nouns can
be count nouns, and a few can be used with many even when in the singular, as in sentence (18)
through (20) below, while a few can also be mass nouns, as seen in (21) and (22):

(18) I didn't see many enemy.

(19) We didn't need many police.

(20) They didn't invite many family.

(21) You can't have too much government.

(22) We have too much administration as it is.

Exercise 1: Mass Nouns

Can you say which of the following can be used as mass nouns? If you feel tempted to use an
expression like "a piece of," you may have a mass noun. Otherwise, you'll have to depend on your
ear for the language. Most people seem to find it easier to distinguish between mass nouns used
with much and count nouns used with many than to keep straight the use of less (mass) and few, so
try using that pair as your test.
1.01 acid 1.11 laugh
1.02 bicycle 1.12 memory
1.03 brandy 1.13 nation
1.04 candy 1.14 pursuit
1.05 champ 1.15 reward
1.06 father 1.16 sofa
1.07 genius 1.17 sugar
1.08 gift 1,18 team
1.09 happiness 1.19 vinegar
1.10 haste 1.20 wine

Exercise 2: Complicated Subject Noun Phrases

Now that we've pretty much exhausted the possibilities of noun phrases, can you identify
 the simple subjects and the complete subjects of the following sentences?
1.01 Ron ran to Dan.
1.02 The man in the white hat walked in, and the girl behind him
slinked in.
1.03 The last ten men we hired were from Waukesha.
1.04 I came, I saw, I conquered.
1.05 Guys with a big nose get all the girls.
1.06 The first girl in the window winked at me.
1.07 All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty
together again.
1.08 Both my upper teeth came out.
1.09 My maiden aunt always said that.
1.10 The many men in the shed over there coughed.
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