Grammar Practicing

EXERCISE A - SENTENCE COMPLETION

Directions: Use A FEW, (very) FEW, A LITTLE, or (very) LITTLE in the

following sentences.

1. Do you have ____________________ minutes? I’d like to ask you

____________________ questions. I need ____________________ more information
about your insurance system.
2. I love to listen to ____________________ music after dinner.
3. He is very unpopular. ____________________ people like him.
4. I have to go to the post office because I have ____________________ letters to mail.
5. Don’t be frustrated because you get so ____________________ mail. You ought to
write to your friends more often, too!
6. The children in that family have ____________________ clothes. We should give them
____________________ pieces this coming winter.
7. I need ____________________ more hours to finish my report.
8. I think you need help. Let me give you ____________________ advice.
9. She is very careful. She makes ____________________ mistakes in her work.
10. After Rod tasted the soup, he added ____________________ salt to it.
11. The professor lectured very clearly. As a result, ____________________ students had
questions at the end of class.
12. I’d like to show you ____________________ songs that my father wrote.
13. We got to the stadium very quickly because there was ____________________ traffic.

EXERCISE B - FEW and LITTLE

Directions: Complete the following sentences with one of the following:

VERY FEW VERY LITTLE A FEW A LITTLE

1. A: Why are those flowers looking so sad, Bill?

B: Well, we’ve had ____________________ rain, you know.
2. A: I see the garden’s looking good, Sally.
B: Yes. Well, we had ____________________ rain last night and that makes all the
difference.
3. A: Could you give me a cigarette, Charlie?
B: Sure. I think there are ____________________ in that pack on the table.
4. A: Did you bring your cigarettes, Jennifer?
B: Yes, but we’d better stop and buy more; I’ve got ____________________ left.
5. A: The new house was very big and we had ____________________ furniture, so
all the rooms looked empty.
6. He saved all the money he could and soon he bought himself ____________________
furniture and some new clothes.
7. The old lady was very lonely because ____________________ people came to see
her.
8. We thought we would be the first at the party, but ____________________ people were
already there when we arrived.
9. He had ____________________ money when he arrived and couldn’t even afford to
buy himself a meal.
10. My aunt has given me ____________________ money, so let’s go out and celebrate.

EXERCISE C - SENTENCE COMPLETION

Directions: Complete the sentences using A FEW, FEW, A LITTLE, or LITTLE.

1. ____________________ politicians realized the importance of solar energy.

2. Would you like ____________________ champagne?
3. You don’t need to go shopping. There are ____________________ eggs in the fridge.
4. I have ____________________ interest in politics.
5. The average person has ____________________ real power.
6. His theory is very difficult, ____________________ people understand it.
7. His theory is very difficult, but ____________________ people understand it.
8. There’s still ____________________ cream in the container.
9. Only ____________________ students passed the test.
10. ____________________ of us realized how ill he was at that time.
Grammar Review
FEW and A FEW; LITTLE and A LITTLE
COUNT
a) She has been here only two
weeks, but she has already made
a few friends.
(Positive idea: She has made
some friends.)
c) I feel sorry for her. She has
few friends.
(Negative idea: She does not
have many friends; she has
almost no friends.)
NONCOUNT
b) I’m very pleased. I’ve been
able to save a little money this
month.
(Positive idea: I have saved some
money instead of spending all of
it.)
d) I have little money. I don’t
even have enough money to buy
food for dinner.
(Negative idea: I do not have
much money; I have almost no
money.)
A few and few are used with
plural count nouns.
A little and little are used with
noncount nouns.
In (a) and (b): a few and a little
give a positive idea; they indicate
that something exists, is present.
In (c) and (d): Few and little give
a negative idea; they indicate that
something is largely absent.
(Often few and little are preceded
by very: She has very few
friends. I have very little money.)