Difference between "few" and "a few" / "little" and "a little"

The usage of the words “few” and “a few” as well as “little” and “a little” has often confused many of us. Though they may appear simple and straight forward, many are not sure which one to use when.

First of all, “few” and “a few” are used with countable nouns. E.g.: few friends / a few friends, few books / a few books, etc.

Whereas, “little” and “a little” are used with uncountable nouns. E.g.: little time / a little time, little sugar / a little sugar, etc.

“A few” and “a little” express a positive idea; it means that something is present. For example, a statement such as “I have a few friends there” shows that the person making the statement has SOME friends there. The statement “I have a little time for exercise” shows that the person making the statement has SOME time for exercise.

“Few” and “little” express a negative idea; it means that something is largely absent. For example, a statement such as “I have few friends there” shows that the person making the statement has NO friends there. The statement “I have little time for exercise” shows that the person making the statement has NO time for exercise.

Hope this helps.

Therefore, on reading this post if you got some knowledge on the usage of few/a few and little/a little, you can say, “I got a little knowledge from this post” and if reading this post was a real waste of your time, you can very well say, “I got little knowledge from this post”.

So, what would you say?