Generally speaking, we use ‘a’ or ‘an’ before unspecific nouns or maybe when we are talking about something for the first time:
Would you like ‘an’ apple
Carry on like that and you will get a slap in the face!
We can use ‘one’ to emphasise the number:
‘One’ day I will be a millionaire
‘One’ day last week I met my friend Bob
Above we are using expressions to draw attention
a few
(to make a point that we are specifically communicating about a quantity or ‘some’)
We have ‘a few’ problems to resolve
I have ‘a few’ pairs of shoes
He has ‘a few’ ideas
few
(without an article, ‘few’ can denote a negative feeling)
I have ‘few’ friends
‘Few’ people think it is important to wash their hands before eating
They have ‘few’ examples to show us these days
only a few (suggests that ideally there could me more)
There are only ‘a few’ days left this holiday
There are ‘only a few’ customers in the shop today
I have only been to the US ‘a few times’
little/a little (used with uncountable nouns)
When making pasta sauce ‘a little’ salt to add some flavour.
Spend little ‘time’ on the small things and a lot of time on the big things
few/ a few (used with countable nouns)
Would you like ‘a few’ cakes for your party?
‘Few’ people believe in extra terrestrial beings
Quiz
What is the difference between?:
I got a friend/ I have one friend
I have one coffee a day/ I have a coffee a day
______
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