Question

Fill in the blank with the correct option:
_ _ _ _ _ money is better than nothing.
a) Few
b) A few
c) Little
d) A little

Answer 1

Hint: There are two types of nouns, countable and uncountable. Here ‘money’ is an uncountable noun.

Complete answer:
Uncountable nouns are non-individual objects, so we can’t count them. Let us look at the options given to us and choose the correct determiner. Option a ‘few’ is a determiner used to emphasize how small a number is. For example, “The exam will contain a few objective questions.” This is inappropriate in this context as money here is uncountable. Thus, option ‘a’ is incorrect.
Option b ‘a few’ is used in front of nouns when one is talking about a small number of people or things. While ‘few’ means not many, ‘a few; refers to a small number of things or people. This is again invalid in this context. Thus, option ‘b’ is incorrect.
Option c ‘little’ is a determiner used to refer to a small amount of something. Now, a small amount is not countable. It means ‘not much’ or ‘hardly any’. For example, “I only have little money, so I can’t lend you.” This is inappropriate in the context as it doesn’t make sense in the context. Thus, the option ‘c’ is incorrect.
Option d ‘a little’ is used when one is talking about a small amount that is enough. For example, “I have a little money, you can take it.” This is appropriate in the context. Thus, option ‘d’ is correct.

 Note:
The only difference between ‘little' and ‘a little’ is that little refers to not enough of something while ‘a little’ refers to something that is in small quantity but is enough. The latter matches the context.