(A) few, (a) little

Examples	Positive	Negative
(a) few (used with plural countable nouns)	I have got a few (несколько) close friends that I meet regularly. A few of her songs were popular and she was very well known.	He has few (мало) close friends and often feels lonely. Few of her songs were very popular and eventually she gave up her musical career.
(a) little (used with uncountable nouns)	I have to go now, I have a little (немного/некоторая) work to do. We had a little (немного, но достаточно) money left, so we went out for a meal.	There was little (мало) work to do, so I didn't earn much money. We decided to abandon our trip as we had little (мало, недостаточно) money left.

Note 1: In speech or informal writing, it is more usual to use not many/much or only a few/little instead of few and little, and we often use a bit of in informal speech instead of a little:

• I won't be long. I've only got a few things to get.

• Sorry I haven't finished, I haven't had much time today.

• Do you want a bit of chocolate? (rather than ...a little chocolate?)

In more formal contexts, such as academic writing, we generally prefer few and little:

• The results take little account of personal preference. (rather than ...don't take much...)

Note 2: We use less (than) with uncountable nouns and fewer (than) with plural countable nouns:

• You should have mixed less water with the paint.

• There seemed to be fewer lorries on the motorway today.

Note 3: When we talk about a distance or a sum of money we use less, not fewer:

• Barbara said the beach was twenty miles away, but I thought it was less than that.

Note 4: Notice that we use less than or fewer than with percentages:

• Less (or fewer) than 40 per cent of the electorate voted in the general election.

Note 5: We can use no fewer/less than when a quantity or amount is surprisingly large:

• The team has had no fewer than ten managers in just five years. (or ...no less than...)

Much, many, a lot of, lots of, plenty of, etc.

Much (of)	Many (of)
1) are used to talk about quantities and amounts
with uncountable nouns many people with a singular countable noun to mean 'a large part of' Much of the national park was destroyed in the fire.	with plural nouns much milk
2) are used in negative sentences to emphasise that we are talking about small (or smaller than expected) quantities or amounts.
He didn't show much interest in what I said.	Not many of my friends knew I was getting married.
are used in questions to ask about quantities or amounts.
Have you got much homework to do?	How many questions could you answer?
4) used in affirmative sentences after as, so, and too:
She gave me so much spaghetti, I couldn't eat it all.	I'd say there were twice as many women at the meeting as men.

Note 1: In affirmative sentences we often use a lot of, lots of, or plenty of to talk about large amounts and quantities, particularly in conversation and informal writing. Using much (of) often sounds a little formal, and many (of) is often very formal or inappropriate:

• Lots of her students went on to become teachers. ('many of ' is a little more formal)

• We had plenty of hotels to choose from. ('many hotels' is more formal)

• I've given the problem a lot of thought. ('much thought' is very formal)

However, in formal contexts, such as academic writing, much (of) and many (of) are often preferred, or phrases such as a great deal of or a large amount/number of:

• Much debate has been generated by Thornton's controversial paper.

• A great deal of the exhibition was devoted to his recent work. (or Much of...)

• A large amount of the food was inedible. (or Much of ...)

Note 2: We rarely use much and many without a noun at the end of affirmative sentences. Instead we use phrases such as a lot or lots:

• 'Have you got any small nails?' 'Yes, I've got a lot / lots.' (not ...I've got many.)

But we can use much and many at the end of affirmative sentences after as, so, and too:

• Do you want some of the pudding? I've got too much.

Note 3: We often use plenty of instead of a lot of or lots of. However, plenty of means 'enough, or more than enough' and is therefore not likely in certain contexts. Compare:

• We took lots of food and drink on our walk through the hills. (or ...plenty of...)

• Jim doesn't look well. He's lost a lot of weight. ('plenty of’ is unlikely here)

Note 4: Notice that we don't use plenty without of before a following noun:

• We've got plenty of time left. (not We've got plenty time left)