(A) few, (a) little
Only some students hand in their homework on time.
Elsewhere on GuruEAP we've looked at alternatives to some, which tends to be overused by Indonesians translating from beberapa, or, in the example above - hanya beberapa.
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In this post we look at other alternatives to some that are also problematic for Indonesians because they are awkward to translate: few, a few, little, a little.
And as with all quantifiers, we need to begin by deciding whether the noun we're quantifying is countable or uncountable.
(a) few + countable noun
Look at these two statements made by a teacher featuring the countable noun 'student':
A
Few students hand in their homework on time.
B
A few students forgot to hand in their homework.
Now answer these questions based on examples A & B:
1
Which statement implies not enough?
2
Which statement implies some?
3
Which situation is most disappointing for the teacher?
(a) little + uncountable noun
Now look at these two statements made by a student featuring the uncountable noun 'time':
C
We had little time to prepare for the test. That's why our grades are low!
D
The teacher gave us a little time to prepare before the test. That's why nobody failed!
Now answer these questions based on examples C & D:
4
Which statement implies not enough?
5
Which statement implies some?
6
Which situation is disappointing for the students?
Practice!
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