FEW, A FEW, LITTLE, A LITTLE

➤ FEW exprime un petit nombre de noms dénombrables (countable nouns) =

Peu de…
 There are few cars in the street.
Il y a peu de voitures dans la rue.
 Few people know the answer.
Peu de gens connaissent la réponse.
 Few friends of mine are musicians. (few of my friends….)
Peu de mes amis sont musiciens.
➤ A FEW renvoie au fait que le nombre est faible, mais supérieur à 1 =
Quelques…
 I have owned a few cars in my life.
J’ai possédé quelques voitures dans ma vie.
 Just a few people registered.
Seulement quelques personnes se sont inscrites.
 I have a few friends working in real estate.
J’ai quelques amis qui travaillent dans l’immobilier.

Les collocations à connaître:

a few times = quelques fois (à quelques reprises)
 I have already seen that film a few times.
J’ai déjà vu ce film quelques fois.
a few days ago = Il y a quelques jours
 Joe returned from his trip a few days ago.
Joe est rentré de voyage il y a quelques jours.
quite a few = pour insister sur le fait que ce n’est vraiment pas la première fois.
 I have been there quite a few times.
J’y suis allé un petit paquet de fois.
➤ LITTLE exprime une petite quantité de noms indénombrables = Peu de…
 There’s little water left in the bottle.
Il reste peu d’eau dans la bouteille.
 I only have little money left.
Il ne me reste que peu d’argent.
 I eat very little sugar.
Je mange très peu de sucre.
➤ A LITTLE renvoie au fait que la quantité est faible = Un peu de…
  The plants on the balcony need a little water every day during summer.
Les plantes sur le balcon ont besoin d’un peu d’eau tous les jours en
été.
 Earning a little more money wouldn’t hurt.
Gagner un peu plus d’argent ne ferait pas de mal.
 Just add a little sugar and it will be perfect.
Ajoutez juste un peu de sucre et ce sera parfait.

A LITTLE comme adverbe

On peut employer A LITTLE comme adverbe avec des verbes et d’autres
adjectifs
Dans ce cas, cela signifie: dans une moindre mesure, à un certain degré…
 You should work a little less and get some rest.
Tu devrais travailler un peu moins et te reposer.
 He was a little frustrated after the game (match).
Il était un peu frustré après le match.
➤ Souvent on emploie A LITTLE BIT. C’est la même chose que A LITTLE.
 She has been practising a little bit more since the lockdown.
Elle s’entraîne un peu plus depuis le confinement.
 I am a little bit hungry. Fancy some dinner?
J’ai un peu faim. Ça te dit d’aller dîner ?

Exercice 1 : Compléter avec LITTLE, A LITTLE, FEW ou A FEW

(i) Peu de mes amis portent des lunettes.
__few__ of my friends wear glasses
(ii) J’ai besoin d’un peu plus de temps
I need _a little ___ more time
(iii) J’ai vu Sarah il y a quelques jours.
I saw Sarah _a few ___ days ago.
(iv) J’ai généralement besoin de peu d’aide.
I generally need __little__ help.
(v) Quelques uns de mes amis viennent dîner ce soir.
__few__ friends of mine are coming over for dinner tonight.

Exercise 2 : Complétez ces phrases à l’aide de ‘a little’ ou ‘a few ‘

(i) They live in a very small flat because they have ……a little……… money.
(ii) I really need to see him. I've got ……a few…….. questions to ask him.
 (iii) Could we have …a little…….. champagne, please?
(iv) Were you surprised ?' '……a little………...'
(v) They've already been to Spain ……a few………. times.
(vi) These plants require ……a little………. water and it's very handy.
(vii) At home, the kitchen was a pleasant place. There were always …a
few………. flowers in a vase.
(viii) 'How's your father ?' '……a little………. better, thanks.'
(ix) 'Sandra is fluent in Italian, French and Spanish.' 'It's quite rare, ……a
few ……….. people can speak several foreign languages.'
(x) This boy isn't very popular at school. He's got ……a few……. friends.

Exercice 3 : Complétez ces phrases à l’aide de ‘few’ ou ‘little’ ; ‘a little’ ou ‘a

few ‘
(i) Philip has …little…… time for his wife and kids.
Philip n'accorde pas beaucoup de temps à sa femme et ses enfants.
(ii) Will you have ……a little…….. milk with your tea?
Voulez-vous un peu de lait dans votre thé ?
(iii) I get by with ……a little………..help from my friends.
Je me débrouille avec un petit peu d'aide de mes amis.
(iv) You insulted him ……a little……… !
Vous l'avez un petit peu insulté !
(v) ……few…. people know the true story of Horatio's youth.
Peu de gens connaissent la véritable histoire de la jeunesse d'Horatio.
(vi) The Pope called me ……a few…….. days ago.
Le Pape m'a appelé il y a quelques jours.
(vii) There are very ……few……… elephants left in the area.
Il n'y a plus beaucoup d'éléphants dans le coin.
(viii) The ……few of……… you who did not finish their paper, please go and
see the principal.
Peu d'entre vous qui n'ont pas fini leur dissertation, adressez-vous au principal.
(ix) I have ……little……… money.
Je n'ai vraiment pas beaucoup d'argent.
(x) Bruno has ……a few……..contacts in the White House.
Bruno a quelques contacts à la Maison Blanche.
(xi) Polly has…little……. patience for womanizers like Philip.
Polly n'a pas beaucoup de patience avec les dragueurs comme Philip.
(xii) ……a few………. hours ago, I received a call from my friend, the Pope.
Il y a quelques heures, j'ai reçu un appel de mon ami, le Pape.
 (xiii) If I had ……a little……… free time, I should come over.
Si j'avais un peu de temps libre, je devrais venir.

Exercice 4 : Complétez ces phrases à l’aide de ‘few’ ou ‘little’ ; ‘a little’ ou ‘a

few ‘
(i) There was ……little…………food in the fridge. It was nearly empty.
(ii) When did he go out? ……a few……. minutes ago.
(iii) I can't decide now. I need ………a little……… time to think about it.
(iv) There was ……little……….traffic, so we arrived earlier than we
expected.
(v) The bus service isn't very good at night. There are ………
few………..buses after 9 o'clock.
(vi) Would you like some soup? Yes, ………a little…………, please.
(vii) I'd like to practise my English more but I have………few…………
opportunity.
(viii) We're going away for ……a few…………. days.
(ix) Everybody needs ……a little………….. luck.
(x) I can't talk to you now. I've got ……a few ………… things to do.
(xi) I eat very……little………….meat. I don't like it very much.
(xii) Excuse me, can I ask you …a few……… questions?
(xiii) There were ……few………..people on the bus. It was nearly empty.

Exercice 5 : Complétez ces phrases à l’aide de ‘few’ ou ‘little’ ; ‘a little’ ou ‘a

few ‘
(i) I have ……a little……… cold water. Do you want me to share it with
you?
(ii) My father has ……a few…………. wonderful friends. He never feels
lonely / alone.
(iii) Her grandfather ……little……. information about computer. He can
rarely use it.
(iv) There are ……few……….. doctors in her village. They really need to
have more.
(v) Her boyfriend has got ……little…….. time. They can meet each other at
the weekend.
(vi) When I was young, I had ……little…… self-confidence. I could not talk
to new people.
(vii) There is …little……… milk. We cannot make a cake.
(viii) I have ……a few…. apples. Would you like one?
 (ix) There is ……a little……… meat left in the fridge. It should be enough for
our lunch.
(x) Unfortunately, ………few………… students could pass their exams.
(xi) I have ……a few…….. books about successful people in my bookcase.
(xii) I think you are lucky because you have ……few……….. problems.

Exercice 6 : Complétez ces phrases à l’aide de ‘few’ ou ‘little’ ; ‘a little’ ou ‘a

few ‘
(i) Come on Robert! I need ……a little………. help.
(ii) How interesting! ……few…………. people know that.
(iii) We made good time because there was ………little……. traffic so early
in the morning.
(iv) We are going away for …a few……… days.
(v) Will you have …a little……… more ice cream? We might as well finish
it.
(vi) Stuart is a good student, he has……few……… problems at school.
(vii) Can I help you? I speak ……a little……… English.
(viii) I need to borrow …a little……… euro, could you help me?
(ix) It's a very quiet area here, there is ……….. noise in the streets.
(x) Did you take……………. photographs during your holidays?

Exercice 7 : Complétez ces phrases à l’aide de ‘few’ ou ‘little’ ; ‘a little’ ou ‘a

few ‘
(i) Hurry! We've got …………. time.
(ii) I met Michael ………… weeks ago.
(iii) She is always alone. She's got…………. friends.
(iv) Let's go and have a drink. We've got ………….time before school starts.
(v) She has ……………. w friends at the seaside, and we enjoy ourselves a
lot.
(vi) ………….. people can speak two languages perfectly.
(vii) She has got ……….. patience. She always gets angry.
(viii) The school was almost empty. There were ………….. students.
(ix) There is ……….. sugar in the house. Can you go and buy some?
(x) Would you like some tea? Yes, please, but only ……………

Exercice 8 : Complétez ces phrases à l’aide de ‘few’ ou ‘little’ ; ‘a little’ ou ‘a

few ‘
(i) We must be quick. We have …………. time
(ii) Listen carefully. I'm going to give you …………… advice
(iii) Do you mind if I ask you ……….. questions?
(iv) This town is not a very interesting place to visit, so ………… tourists
come here.
(v) I don't think Jill would be a good teacher. She's got a few little
patience.
(vi) ' Would you like milk in your coffee?' Yes please. ……………. .
(vii) This is a very boring place to live. There's ……………. to do.
(viii) 'Have you ever been to Paris?'' Yes, I've been there ………….. times.