few - fewer - fewest / little - less - least

Few and little are both quantifiers which have a negative meaning : 'not a lot'.


Their use with countable or uncountable nouns is shown in the table below.


In the examples given, apples is a plural countable noun, modified by fewer and fewest.

Milk is an uncountable noun, modified by less and least.


Meaning and use Example

Few - Meaning : not many/not a lot

- Used before plural nouns.

There are few apples at the market
today.

Fewer - Meaning : not as many

- Used before plural nouns

The supermarket has fewer apples.


Fewest - Meaning : the smallest number

- Used with 'the' before plural nouns

This shop has the fewest
apples.

Little - Meaning : not much/not a lot

- Used before uncountable nouns.

There is little milk left in the
bottle.


Less - Meaning : not as much

- Used before uncountable nouns.

We bought less milk yesterday.


Least - Meaning : the smallest quantity

- Used with 'the' before uncountable nouns.

The child refused to
drink the least milk.


N.B.
'A few' and 'a little' have a positive meaning : a small quantity.
- There are a few apples. There is a little milk.

from: Learn English Today

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS


In English, there are two kinds of nouns: count nouns and non-count nouns. It is important to understand the difference between them, because they often use different articles, and non-count nouns usually have no plural


1.Countable nounsThey deal with things that we can count: one dog, a mule, one man, the barber shop.

They usually have a singular and plural form: two dogs, ten mules, six men, ten barber shops.


2. Uncountable nounsThey deal with things that we do not usually count: tea, sugar, water, air, rice, etc. or for abstract ideas or qualities such as knowledge, beauty, anger, fear, love.

They do not usually have a plural form.

Examples of common uncountable nouns:money, advice, information, furniture, happiness, sadness, news, research, evidence, safety, beauty, knowledge.

You can usually work out whether a noun is count or non-count by thinking about it.

Count nouns are usually objects which can be counted.

Non-count nouns are often substances (such as sand, water or rice) which cannot be easily counted, or they may be large abstract ideas such as "nature", "space" or "entertainment".

You can put "a" or "an" before count nouns.

For example:
I have an apple.
She doesn't need a table.

You can also use "How many" with count nouns:

How many horses are there in the farm?

You can put "some" before noncount nouns.

For example:

I have some chocolate at the party.

I just had some rice for lunch.

You can also use "How much" with non-count nouns:

How much traffic is there in San Francisco?


3. Container, Piece, and Measurement Words


Many things that you can buy in a supermarket are noncount

i.e. soap, cereal, butter, beef, ice, etc.

However, we often want to talk about certain quantities of these things.

In order to do this, we divide them into units that can be counted.

Here is where the container words become handy.

Container words

: a can of...,
a box of...,
a bowl of ...,
a glass of ...i.e.

I bought two boxes of cereal.

Piece words:
a piece of, a slice of...,
a bar of ...i.e.
A slice of pizza.
Who needs a piece of paper?

Measurement words:
a quart of...,
a liter of...:
i.e. She has to get two quarts of milk.
At the brunch, Angela had a bowl of Jell-O, a piece of cake, two slices of cheese, and a cup of coffee.

some - any - a little - a few

Some-any-a little- a few are used to express quantity, to say or ask if you have a quantity of something or not.


Some is used in affirmative sentences, and also when asking for or offering something.

Any is used in negative and interrogative sentences.

A few is used with countable nouns :

a few apples.

A little is used with uncountable nouns : a little cheese.



Affirmative

There are some apples.

(We don't know how many, but the bowl is not empty)

We can also say : There are a few apples, i.e. not many, a small number.

There is a little cheese

Negative

There aren't any apples (The bowl is empty)

There aren't many apples

There isn't much cheese.


Interrogative

Are there any apples? (We want to know if the bowl contains apples)

Are there many apples?

Is there much cheese?


N.B. Asking and Offering : Can I have/would you like some coffee?

from: Learn English Today