[English] A little / a few and little/few

(a) little은 (a) little + 불가산(uncountable) 명사로 쓴다.(a) little + uncountable noun

  • (a) little water
  • (a) little money
  • (a) little time
  • (a) little soup

(a) few는 (a) few + 복수형(plural) 명사로 쓴다. (a) few + plural noun

  • (a) few books
  • (a) few questions
  • (a) few people
  • (a) few days

a little은 조금 그러나 많지는 않은. a little = some but not much

  • She didn’t eat anything, but she drank a little water.
  • I speak a little Spanish. (= some Spanish but not much)
  • A: Can you speak Spanish?
    B: A little.

a few는 조금 그러나 많지는 않은. a few = some but not much

  • Last night I wrote a few letters.
  • We’re going away for a few days.
  • I speak a few words of Spanish.
  • A: Do you have any stamps?
    B: A few. Do you want one?

(a 없는) little은 거의 아닌 혹은 거의 없는. a little (without a) = almost no or almost nothing

  • There was little food in the fridge. It was almost empty.

very little을 쓸 수 있다. You can say very little.

  • Dan is very thin because he eats very little. (= almost nothing)

(a 없는) few는 거의 없는. a few (without a) = almost no

  • There were few people in the theater. It was almost empty.

very few를 쓸 수 있다. You can say very few.

  • Your English is very good. You make very few mistakes.

little and a little

A little은 긍정적인 느낌이다. A little is a positive idea. 🙂

  • They have a little money, but they’re not rich. (= they have some money)

Little (또는 very little)은 부정적인 느낌이다. Little (or very little) is a negative idea. 🙁

  • They are very poor. They have (very) little money. (= almost no money)

few and a few

A few는 긍정적인 느낌이다. A few is a positive idea. 🙂

  • I have a few friends, so I’m not lonely. (= I have some friends)

Few (or very few)는 부정적인 느낌이다. Few (or very few) is a negative idea. 🙁

  • I’m sad and I’m lonely. I have (very) few friends. (= almost no friends)

[English] a little ~ 조금 ~ 한

I’m just a little bit pissed off about his rude manner. : 그의 무례한 태도에 그냥 조금 화가 났다.

It’s a little bit cold here. : 여기 좀 춥다.

I need more time to grow up a little bit. : 좀 더 성숙해질 시간이 더 필요하다.

위의 세 문장 모두 bit이 필수가 아니다.