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'Little' has negative meaning (almost none); 'a little' has positive meaning (some). Both only with uncountable nouns.
Side-by-side comparison
"Little" without an article has a negative tone: there is very little, almost none. It emphasizes the scarcity of an uncountable thing.
There is little time left before the exam, we need to focus on the key topics now.
He has little experience with cooking, so everything he makes is quite simple and basic.
She showed little interest in the film and fell asleep before the second half started.
"A little" with the article has a positive tone: there is some, even if not much. It emphasizes that some amount does exist, even if small.
Could you add a little more salt? The soup is a bit bland at the moment.
She speaks a little French, enough to ask for directions and order food in a restaurant.
I am a little nervous about the presentation, but I have prepared really well for it.
Common mistake
"I have little friends" is wrong: "friends" is countable, use "few friends". "Little" and "a little" are only for uncountable nouns. And the nuance: "there is little time" = almost none (negative). "There is a little time" = some time (positive).
Trick to remember it
- •Can you count the noun (one friend, two friends)? "Few/a few".
- •Can't count it (one water, no)? "Little/a little".
- •No article = negative/insufficient.
- •With article "a" = positive/sufficient.
Quick rule
- •Countable: "few" (negative) / "a few" (positive).
- •Uncountable: "little" (negative) / "a little" (positive).
Did you know?
The pairs FEW/A FEW and LITTLE/A LITTLE form one of the most elegant quantifier systems in English grammar: a small addition (the article A) reverses the connotation from negative to positive. Normally the article in English simply specifies (definite/indefinite), but here it CREATES the difference between pessimism and optimism. This linguistic phenomenon, a grammatical morpheme that changes the evaluative value of a word, is called by some linguists "the pragmatic power of the article." In daily communication, choosing between "I have little time" (I have little time, it is a problem) and "I have a little time" (I have some time, we can do something) can completely change the tone of a conversation.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
There is _____ hope of finishing on time. We're very behind schedule.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
There is still _____ time before the deadline. We can finish.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
One is for things you can count, the other is for things you cannot count.
'How much' asks about uncountable nouns; 'how many' asks about countable nouns.
One reduces uncountable things, the other reduces countable things.
"Much" is used with uncountable nouns (things that cannot be counted individually); "many" is used with countable nouns in the plural.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy