(A) Few vs. (A) Little

Weird Al had it right. "Fewer" goes with count nouns.

I have actually written about "Few" and "Little" in a previous blog post. Check out Plurals. However, after still hearing and seeing these words used incorrectly, I thought I would create a dedicated blog post.

Here it is.

The quantifiers (a) few and (a) little suggest generally the amount or the number of something.




Using Few and A Few
Count Nouns name things that can be counted. We can count the following nouns:
five people
four cookies
one pencil
two cats
twelve months

When these nouns are in the plural, we can use the quantifiers Few and A Few. Be careful, though. They do not convey the same meaning.
Few = some
A few = not many
Examples:
I have few bills to pay. (Good news -- I don't have many bills to pay)
I have a few bills to pay. (Bad news -- I have SOME bills to pay)

Using Little and A Little
Non-count Nouns name things that cannot be counted in the normal sense because they exist in mass form. They cannot be preceded by A or An. Examples of Non-count nouns:
weather
advice
pain
money
thunder

We can generally suggest an amount by using the quantifiers Little and A Little. Be careful, though. They do not convey the same meaning.
Little = not much
A little = some
Examples:
I have little control over my personal finances. (Bad news -- I don't have much control)
I have a little control over my personal finances. (Good news -- I have some control)

NOTE: Where the most mistakes occur
When using the comparative form with plural count nouns, we use the word "FEWER".
Example:
MacKenzie has fewer books than Victoria.

When using in the comparative form with non-count nouns, we use the word "Less".
Example:
Victoria has less money than MacKenzie.

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