Quantifiers ampliados (few/a few, little/a little)
Aprende la diferencia entre few / a few (para contables) y little / a little (para no contables). El matiz es importante: ¿“casi nada” o “un poco (suficiente)”?
1) Mapa rápido
Regla de oro:
• few / little = poco, casi nada (matiz negativo).
• a few / a little = algo, un poco, suficiente (matiz positivo).
few / a few → nombres contables en plural (friends, cars). · little / a little → nombres no contables (money, time, water).
2) Mini repaso: contable vs no contable
| Tipo de nombre | Ejemplos | Usa… |
|---|---|---|
| Contable (plural) | friends, chairs, apples, books | few / a few |
| No contable | water, money, time, sugar, information | little / a little |
• I have a few friends in London. (amigos = contable)
• We have a little time before the train. (tiempo = no contable)
Si puedes decir “one, two, three X” → contable → few/a few. Si no puedes contarlo: little/a little.
3) few vs a few (contables)
Ambos significan “pocos”, pero la actitud cambia.
| Forma | Matiz | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| few + plural contable | Muy pocos, no suficientes (matiz negativo). | He has few friends in the city. → Tiene pocos amigos (casi ninguno, suena triste). |
| a few + plural contable | Algunos, suficientes (matiz positivo). | He has a few friends in the city. → Tiene algunos amigos (no muchos, pero está bien). |
| very few | Enfatiza que son muy pocos. | Very few people came to the meeting. |
| only a few | “solo unos pocos”, número limitado. | Only a few students passed the test. |
| quite a few | Coloquial: bastantes. | Quite a few people liked the video. |
• I have a few questions. (tengo algunas → suena bien)
• I have few questions. (tengo pocas → casi nada que preguntar)
4) little vs a little (no contables)
Igual que con few/a few, pero para no contables.
| Forma | Matiz | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|
| little + no contable | Muy poco, no suficiente (negativo). | We have little time. → Tenemos poco tiempo (no es suficiente). |
| a little + no contable | Un poco, suficiente (positivo). | We have a little time. → Tenemos un poco de tiempo (algo, suficiente). |
| very little | Énfasis: muy poco. | There is very little water in the bottle. |
| only a little | “solo un poco”, cantidad limitada. | We have only a little sugar left. |
• She has a little money. (algo de dinero, no está tan mal)
• She has little money. (casi nada de dinero, situación mala)
Piensa: a little / a few = “algo, mejor que nada”. · little / few = “casi nada, problema”.
5) Expresiones útiles con few / little
| Expresión | Tipo | Significado | Ejemplo |
|---|---|---|---|
| very few + contable | contable | muy pocos | Very few students understood the exercise. |
| very little + no contable | no contable | muy poco | We have very little information. |
| only a few + contable | contable | sólo unos pocos | Only a few people answered the survey. |
| only a little + no contable | no contable | sólo un poco | There is only a little milk in the fridge. |
| quite a few + contable | contable | bastantes (más de lo esperado) | Quite a few people came to the party. |
quite a few es muy común y algo informal: significa “bastantes”. No existe ❌ *quite a little* con el mismo sentido.
6) Errores comunes
| Incorrecto | Correcto | Por qué |
|---|---|---|
| *I have a few money.* | I have a little money. | money es no contable → usa little/a little, no few. |
| *We have little friends in this city.* | We have few friends in this city. | friends es contable → usa few/a few, no little. |
| *She has few money.* (queriendo decir “algo de dinero”) | She has a little money. | few / little solos son muy negativos: casi nada. |
| *We have a little informations.* | We have a little information. | information es no contable → sin -s. |
| *I have a few homeworks.* | I have a little homework. / I have a few exercises. | homework es no contable. Para contarlo usamos otras palabras (exercises, tasks). |
7) Mini-práctica
- Completa con few / a few (contables):
a) I have ______ close friends in this city. (positivo: algunos, suficientes)
b) He has ______ friends; he’s very lonely. (negativo: casi ninguno)
c) We asked ______ people, and most of them agreed. (bastantes, más de dos)
d) Only ______ students passed the exam. (sólo unos pocos)
e) There are ______ chairs, we need more. (negativo) - Completa con little / a little (no contables):
a) We have ______ time, but it’s enough. (positivo)
b) We have ______ time, we can’t finish today. (negativo)
c) She has ______ experience; she just started. (negativo)
d) I need ______ help with this exercise. (un poco, suficiente)
e) There is ______ milk in the fridge, just for one coffee. (un poco) - Elige la opción correcta:
a) We have (few / a few) problems, nothing serious.
b) They have (little / a little) water. They’re very thirsty.
c) I have (few / a few) questions. Can I ask you?
d) She has (little / a little) free time, so she’s always busy.
e) Quite (a few / a little) people came to the concert. - Corrige si es necesario:
a) I have a few money in my wallet.
b) We have little friends here, but that’s OK.
c) She has a little friends in London.
d) There is few information about this topic.
e) I have a little homeworks to do. - Traduce al inglés usando few / a few / little / a little:
a) Tengo unos pocos amigos en Canadá. (positivo)
b) Tenemos muy poco tiempo, date prisa.
c) Ella tiene muy poco dinero este mes.
d) Pocas personas fueron a la reunión.
e) Tenemos un poco de agua, pero no es suficiente.
Respuestas ejemplo:
1) a) a few b) few c) a few d) a few / only a few e) few
2) a) a little b) little c) little d) a little e) a little
3) a) a few (problemas pero no muchos) b) little c) a few d) little e) a few
4) a) I have a little money in my wallet.
b) We have a few friends here, but that’s OK. (positivo)
c) She has a few friends in London.
d) There is little information about this topic. / There is very little information…
e) I have a little homework to do. / I have a few exercises to do.
5) a) I have a few friends in Canada.
b) We have very little time, hurry up.
c) She has very little money this month.
d) Few people went to the meeting.
e) We have a little water, but it isn’t enough.
8) Próximo paso
Continúa con Prepositions problemáticas (at/in/on – tiempo y lugar) para aclarar cuándo decir at 7 o’clock, in July, on Monday y at the station, in London, on the bus.