14'

A

44'

①a little / little (形容词) 用在不可数名词之前:
a little salt 一点盐
little salt 没有多少盐

②a few / few (形容词) 用在复数名词之前:
a few people 有几个人
few people 没有几个人

③上述四种形式也可以

38'

a. 作代词使用
– Sugar? 要糖吗？
– A little, please. 请给一点儿。

b. 单独使用

c. 与of连用
Only a few of these are any good.
这其中只有几个用得着。



B
a little, a few (形容词和代词)

20'

①a little 指少量或说话者认为少的量;

②a few 指小数目或者说话人认为小的数目。

50'

* 把only 放在 a little / a few 之前，是为了强调说话人认为该数量的确很小。
Only a few of our customers have accounts.
我们的顾客中只有少数人是记账的。(很少人)

* 但是把 quite 放在 a few 之前就大大增大了这个数量。
I have quite a few books on art.
我有不少关于艺术的书。(许多书)




C
little 和 few (形容词和代词)

44'

little 和 few 意为很少或没有，几乎具有否定意义:
There was little time for consultation.
几乎没有时间商量。
Little is known about the side-effects of this drug.
这种药物有些什么副作用，现在还不大清楚。
Few towns have such splendid trees.
有这么好看的树木的城市不多。

73'

* little 和 few 容易被误认为是 a little / a few，因此，在日常会话中 little 和 few 通常由 hardly any 替代，也可以由 动词否定式 + much / many 替代:
We saw little.
我们没有看到什么。
相当于: We saw hardly anything.
或: We didn't see much.

Tourists come here but few stay over night. 有游客到这里来，但很少有人过夜。
相当于: Tourists come here but hardly any stay overnight.
有游客到这里来，但几乎没有人在这里过夜。

62'

* 但如果 little 和 few 由 so, very, too, extremely, comparatively, relatively 等词修饰，就可以较为自由地使用。fewer (比较级) 也可以更自由地使用。
I am unwilling to try a drug I know so little about.
我不乐意服我知之甚少的药。
They have too many technicians, we have too few.
他们的技术员太多，而我们的又太少。
There are fewer butterflies every year.
蝴蝶的数量每年都在减少。



D
a little / little (副词)

7'

① a little 可以:

102'

a. 与动词连用:
It rained a little during the night.
夜里下了一点雨。

b. 与具有“令人不快的”意义的形容词和副词连用:
a little anxious 有点儿着急
a little annoyed 有点儿不耐烦
a little unwillingly 有点儿不情愿地
a little impatiently 有点儿不耐心地
* 这种情况下 rather 可以代替 a little。
rather 也可以用于比较级之前，但 a little 更常用一些。

c. 与形容词和副词的比较级连用:
The paper should be a little thicker.
这纸可以再厚一点儿。
Can't you walk a little faster?
你不能走得快一点吗？

49'

② 在比较正式的文体中，little 主要同 better 或 more 连用:
His second suggestion was little better than his first.
他的第二个建议比第一个好不了多少。
He was little more than a child when his father died.
他父亲去世时，他差不多还是个孩子。

29'

* 在正式的英语中， little 可以用在某些动词如 except, know, suspect, think 等之前:
He little expected to find himself in prison.
他几乎没有料到自己会进监狱。
He little thought that one day...
他几乎不曾想过有一天……

116'