Think of them as positive and negative. "a few/a little" indicates some, and it may be sufficient even though the amount is small. " I can have lunch with you because I have a little money." "Few/ little" without the article will be an amount that is sadly small and insufficient. "He is so lonely because he has few (or: too few) friends."

This is an interesting question and I thought about it very hard. After discussing it with my boyfriend, which just led to confusion, this is what I came up with: "few" and "a few" : There is only a slight difference between these words, but it's important. "Few" tends to mean to have "not much/many" but "a few" means to have "some". So if we reworded your sentences, the first would be "They have some trees in their garden" and the second would be, "They don't have many trees in their garden." As for "little" and "a little" : Using just the word "little" will normally be used to describe something plural (for example: I have "little" toes.) However, "a little" will describe something singular (for example: I have "a little" toe) Does this answer your question? Please let me know. =)

a few = some few = not many Really, that is the only difference.

They have got a few trees in their garden a few = several few = not much little = not big a little = not much