Question

Choose the correct option-
____ town in India have public libraries.
a- few
b- a few
c- little
d- a little

Answer 1

Hint: We use determiners to indicate the quantity or amount of something or someone. For example- a few cars, a little oil, etc.

Complete answer:
Let’s look at the functions of different quantifiers and determiners-
1) A Few- It is a determiner that is used to indicate a scarce number or amount of something. It is also used with plural countable nouns. For example- I have given her a few notes.
2)Few- It is a determiner that is used to indicate a very less quantity of something. For example- There were few bad things about her.
3) A Little- It is a determiner that is used to indicate a small quantity or amount of something. ‘Little’ is used with uncountable nouns. For example- I asked for little oil.
4) Little- It is used to indicate a meager quantity of something. It is generally used in a negative sense with uncountable nouns. For example- I have very little time to complete it.
In the given question- The idea conveyed by the given statement is that there are not many towns in India that have public libraries. Hence, the correct answer is ‘few’ and ‘a few’ because both are used with countable nouns and here, ‘libraries’ is a countable noun.
Now, let’s examine the given options-
Option a- ‘few’ is the correct option because it is used to indicate plural countable nouns.
Option b- ‘a few’ is also the correct option because it is used to indicate countable nouns.
Option c- ‘little’ is an incorrect option because it is used with uncountable nouns but ‘libraries’ is a plural countable noun.
Option d- ‘a little’ is an incorrect option because it is used with uncountable nouns but ‘libraries’ is a plural countable noun. The correct answers are Option ‘a’ and ‘b’.

Note:
Keep in mind, the use of a determiner depends upon the type of noun- Plural or Singular. Also, quantifiers and determiners help in modifying the nouns.