Little, A Little, The Little

 

“Little”, “a little” and “the little” are used only with uncountable nouns.

 

Little: Not much (hardly any).

Little has a negative meaning.

Examples:

1. He showed little concern for his brother. (He showed no concern…)

2. She has little appreciation of good music. (She has no appreciation…)

3. There is little hope of his recovery. (He is not likely to recover.)

 

A little: Some though not much.

A little has a positive meaning.

Examples:

1. There is a little hope of his recovery. (He may possibly recover.)

2. He gave me a little time.

3. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

 

The little: Not much, but all there is.

The little has a negative meaning. It means the same as not much.

Examples:

1. The little information he had was not quite reliable.

2. The little time we spent on reading the text was not enough to be able to answer the question.