few, a few與little, a little的用法異同：

　　1. few 和 a few 之后接可數(shù)名詞的復(fù)數(shù)形式。few 表示數(shù)量很少或幾乎沒有，強(qiáng)調(diào)“少”，含有否定意義；a few 表示數(shù)量雖然少但畢竟還有，強(qiáng)調(diào)“有”，含有肯定意義。比較：

　　His theory is very difficult, and few people understand it. 他的理論很深?yuàn)W，沒有幾個(gè)人能懂。

　　His theory is very difficult, but a few people understand it. 他的理論很深?yuàn)W，但是有些人懂。

　　2. little 和 a little 之后接不可數(shù)名詞，其區(qū)別跟 few 和 a few 之間的區(qū)別相似。如：

　　Unfortunately, I had little money on me. 很不巧，我身上沒帶什么錢。

　　Fortunately, I had a little money on me. 幸好我身上帶著一點(diǎn)錢。

　　3. 一般說來，在 only, still, can, quite, not 等詞之后通常用帶有不定冠詞的 a few 或 a little，而在 very, some, the, no, so, too 等詞之后通常用不帶冠詞的 few 或 little。如：

　　He was not a little surprised. 他大為吃驚。

　　There’s only a little left. 只剩下一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)。

　　I have so little time to enjoy myself. 我娛樂時(shí)間很少。

　　Very few people understand what he said. 幾乎沒什么人懂他的話。

　　4.兩者的比較等級(jí)變化分別為 few, fewer, fewest (后接可數(shù)名詞復(fù)數(shù))，little, less, least (后接不可數(shù)名詞)。如：

　　Who has the fewest mistakes? 誰的錯(cuò)誤最少?

　　He is the best teacher even though he has the least experience. 他盡管經(jīng)驗(yàn)最少，但教得最好。

　　You ought to smoke fewer cigarettes and drink less beer. 你應(yīng)該少抽煙，少喝啤酒。

　　注：在現(xiàn)代英語的非正式文體中，有時(shí)人們也將 less, least 用于復(fù)數(shù)名詞前，不過這種用法有不少人反對(duì)，初學(xué)者不宜仿用。如(www.yywords.com)：

　　There are fewer [less] cars on the road at night. 晚上路上的汽車要少些。

　　5. few 和 little 前除受不定冠詞修飾表示肯定意義外，若受其他限定詞的修飾也表肯定意義。如：

　　She was among the few who have read the book. 她是少數(shù)讀過這本書的人之一。

　　Her few possessions were sold after her death. 她那點(diǎn)兒財(cái)產(chǎn)死后就被賣掉了。

　　The little of his work that I have seen seems excellent. 我所看到的他那一小部分工作似乎非常出色。

　　注：a man [person] of few words (沉默寡言的人)是習(xí)詞，其中的 few 前不用冠詞或其他限定詞。