巧辨few, a few, little, a little

李誠濡

few， a few， little， a little? 雖然都表示“少”，但使用時有所區別。

一、 few與a few

1. few， a few修飾可數名詞復數。如：

There are few apples on the tree， are there？ 樹上沒有多少蘋果，是嗎？

A few boys are playing basketball on the playground. 幾個男孩在操場上打籃球。

2. few （= not many; hardly any）含否定意義，表示“極少、幾乎沒有”。如：

a few （= some; a small? number of） 含肯定意義，表示“有幾個，有一些”。如：

He has a few friends. 他有幾個朋友。

He has few friends. 他幾乎沒有朋友。

3. not a few = no few = quite a few = a good few = many。如：

Quiet a few people go to the beach to enjoy the nice weather.? 很多人去海灘享受好天氣。

I think no few the superior here. 我想這里有不少高手。

4.當 few被every， last， past， next， some， very等詞所修飾時，表示肯定意義，few之前不再有冠詞。如：

In the last few minutes， he checked up his paper again. 在過去的幾分鐘里，他又檢查了一遍他的論文。

It took us some few days to repair the machine. 修這個機器花了我們幾天時間。

He goes to see his grandfather every few weeks. 每隔幾周他就會去看他爺爺。

Some few have already left. 有幾個早就已經離開了。

The first few chapters are about his early days. 前幾章講述他的少年時期。

二、 little 與a little

1. little 與a little 修飾不可數名詞。如：

He asked for very little money. 他要了很少的錢。

Would you? like a little tea？ 你想喝點茶嗎？

2. little含否定意義（反義詞：much）;表示“極少、幾乎沒有”。a? little含肯定意義（反義詞：none），表示“有一點、有一些”。 如：

We still have a little time. 我們還有點時間。

There is little time left. 幾乎沒剩下什么時間了。

3. 在非正式英語中，一般很少用little，常用not much， only a little來代替。如：

I must go to the butchers since there is only a little meat in the fridge. 我得去肉店，冰箱里的肉不多了。

4. a little 與 little 也可以用作副詞， 表示“有點”“稍稍”。如：

—Can you speak English？ 你能說英語嗎？

—Yes， but only a little. 是的，但只能說一點。

This book is a little more difficult than that one. 這本書相比那本有點難。（比較級）

5. 當little用來表示“可愛的，小的”之意時，也可以用來修飾可數名詞。如：

A little girl is painting over there. 一個小女孩正在那邊畫畫。

The little cat is sleeping. 那只小貓正在睡覺。

三、 歸納

不帶 a 的little和few 含有否定意義，表示數量很少或幾乎沒有，強調“少”;帶有a 的little和few含有肯定意義，表示數量雖然少但畢竟還有，強調“有”。如：

Few people like such things. 沒什么人喜歡那樣的東西。

A few people like such things. 有少數人喜歡那樣的東西。

He knows little English. 他不懂英語。

He knows a little English. 他懂一點點英語。