Question

Fill in the blank with the correct option:
His condition is so serious that there is ____ hope of his recovery.
(a)Little
(b)A little
(c)Few
(d)A few

Answer 1

Hint: Read the given sentence carefully. Try to make out the core meaning of it. Find out the subject, predicate, and object of the given sentence.

Complete answer:
 The given sentence conveys that someone’s condition is so serious that there is no scope of recovery. There are four given options. The given options are determiners. Determiners are a modifying word that determines the kind of reference a noun or noun group has, for example: a, the, every. We have to fill in the blank with the most suitable one.
Now, let us examine all the given options to find out the correct option :
(a)Little-It is a determiner which means not big but small. For example: Do you want the big one or the little one? It is used in a negative sentence.
(b)A little-It is a determiner which means a small amount of something. For example I’d like a little sugar in my tea. It is used in a positive sentence.
(c)Few-It is a determiner which means not many or a small number of; some. For example few people live to be a hundred. It is used in a negative sentence. It is used in a negative sentence.
(d)A few-It means 'some', so it cannot be the correct option. It is generally used for things. So, we will eliminate this option. It is used in a positive sense.
As we have analyzed all the given options, we can easily figure out the correct option. Here, the correct word to be filled in is – little.
Hence, option ‘a’ is the correct option.

Note:
All the other options are plausible distractions. Don’t confuse between ‘few' and ‘little’. They both have different meanings and different usage. *With uncountable nouns, use little (not few)