Select the correct determiner from the options given below:
__________ help that they gave us is praiseworthy.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → The little
Complete sentence: The little help that they gave us is praiseworthy. The clause "that they gave us" points to a particular amount of help, the whole of it, so the little is needed.
| Option | Meaning and use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) The few | "Few" goes with countable plural nouns (the few books). "Help" is uncountable. | – |
| (2) The little (answer) | Little, a little and the little: all three are used with uncountable nouns such as help, water, money. The little = the small amount that there is or was, all of it. | He spent the little money he had on books. |
| (3) Much | "Much" without "the" cannot point to the particular help defined by "that they gave us". "Much help that they gave us is praiseworthy" is not English. | – |
| (4) Little | Little = hardly any (negative). A little = some, a small amount. "Little" means almost none, which clashes with a clause about help actually given and praised. | – |