Difference between little, a little, few, a few

The difference between little, a little, few and a few is simple. The meaning of the base word will never change. The base words are Few and Little. Forget about the article 'a' that comes as the prefix for these base words. Generally, few is something that is very less in number and little is something that is very less in magnitude or amount.

The following are some of the examples that will give you better clarity on where to use little, a little, few and a few.

Example sentences using few / little:

1) I have made few mistakes in my life. (imagine you've made 1 or 2 mistakes)
2) I have little money in my wallet. (imagine you have 5 bucks)

3) I have few friends who help me with everything. (imagine you have 2 or 3 friends)

4) I have little water in my bottle. (imagine you've 10 ml of water)

Now when the article 'a' is used to the base words, Few and Little, the above 4 sentences would be modified as follows.

Example sentences using a few / a little:

5) I have made a few mistakes in my life.(imagine here that you've made 5 or 6 mistakes)

6) I have a little money in my wallet. (imagine that you've 20 or 30 bucks)

7) I have a few friends who help me with everything. (imagine you have 7 or 10 friends)

8) I have a little water in my bottle. (imagine you've 100 ml of water)

The last 4 example sentences using 'a few' or 'a little' have slightly bigger values than the first 4 examples using 'few' or 'little' in terms of quantity and number. Remember that all the examples are used to indicate that something you possess is less. But, because article 'a' is not used in examples 1, 2, 3 and 4, it means that the amount is the least. And, when article 'a' is used, like in examples 5, 6, 7 and 8, it means that the value is slightly bigger than the value mentioned in the first 4 sentences.

Note: The word 'few' is used for countable nouns and 'little' is used for uncountable nouns. That is why, the word 'little' is used for money and water. 'Few' is used for friends and mistakes.