Little and a little follow the same pattern as few and a few. The only difference is that we use few and a few with countable nouns in the plural, and we use little and a little with uncountable nouns.
An uncountable noun refers to things that are seen as a whole or as a mass because they cannot be separated. Some examples of uncountable nouns are water, rice, sugar, information, advice, air, etc.
How to use a little?
When we say "a little" we are talking about a small but sufficient amount, for example:
- I have a little money, enough for the cinema at least.
Saying we have a little money but "good enough" is enough to get into the cinema.
How to use little?
When we say "little" we are talking about a very small amount and not enough, for example:
- I have little money, not enough for the cinema at least.
Either in this example, we say we have very little money, but not enough to go to the cinema.