Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.
There is only _____ water in the glass. Please give me some more.
a) many
b) much
c) a few
d) a little

Answer 1

Hint: Countable nouns are those that can be counted. Uncountable nouns are those that cannot be counted. To describe their quantity or number, words such as quantifiers are often used to do the same. There are quantifiers that are used for uncountable singular nouns such as the one that is supposed to be used here.

Complete answer:
 Here, the sentence shows the amount of water, which is an uncountable singular noun. The sentence wants to point out how much water the glass contains so that the individual can ask for more.
Now, looking at the options given above,
Many: many is used in sentences which have a plural noun. For instance: We don’t have many friends in Punjab, do we?
Much: It is used in the presence of a singular noun. For instance: Pooja has too much money. But, it cannot be used here because it would make sense only if it were like, “There is only so much water in the glass that I cannot bear to share it between us”, depicting how limited something is.
A few: is used with plural countable. Eg: A few of them are narrow minded.
A little: is the apt phrase for the above sentence since, it is the quantifier to be used with singular uncountable nouns. Eg: He saves a little money every week.
So, the correct answer is “Option d”.

Note:
You might get confused with Option b and Option d since both are used for singular nouns. The former when added to the sentence, would point out that there is ample water in the glass, while the latter would refer to the small amount of water in the glass so as to get a refill.