The Quantifiers

Few / A Few / Little / A Little - These expressions show the speaker's attitude towards the quantity he/she is referring to.

Few and A Few (for countable nouns) and Little and A Little (for uncountable nouns).

 

A Few (negative idea)                                                                    

I saw a few friends at the mall this afternoon.

                             
                               Two or Three (positive idea)
I saw two or three friends at the mall this afternoon.

              
                               Few
He has few friends because he's a bad person.


                               Almost none (negative idea)
He has almost no friends because he's a bad person.


                               A Little
I have a little homework to be done.


                               A Small Amount (positive idea)
I have a small amount of homework to be done.


                               Little
There is little pollution in that country.




                               Almost none (negative idea)
There is almost no pollution in that country.



Translation:

few a few little a little

= = = =

poucos, poucas alguns, algumas pouco, pouca um pouco (de)