The cook had … oil and so could not prepare the soup

Analyze the question

The sentence is: "The cook had ......... oil and so could not prepare the soup."

The word "so" shows that the first part of the sentence explains why the soup could not be prepared. The blank must therefore express a shortage of oil, meaning almost none was left.

Explain the concept

Oil is an uncountable noun, so we use quantifiers such as little, much, some and a lot of with it.

• little (without "a") means "hardly any", which has a negative sense.
• a little means "some, though not a lot", which has a positive sense.
• some is positive. It says there was oil, which does not fit the idea of not being able to cook.
• much is normally used in negative sentences and questions ("He didn't have much oil"). In a positive sentence like this one, it sounds unnatural and does not give the sense of shortage.
• small is used for size or physical dimension (a small bottle), not for the amount of an uncountable substance. So "small oil" is wrong.

Show the solution

1. The cook could not prepare the soup, so there was a shortage of oil.
2. The oil is uncountable, which rules out small.
3. Some and much do not show shortage in a positive sentence.
4. "The cook had little oil" means "hardly any oil", and this explains why the soup could not be made.

Answer: A. little

Tip: Remember the difference:

• little = almost none (negative)
• a little = some (positive)

When the sentence gives a reason for failure or lack, such as "and so could not...", look for little or few. Use little with uncountable nouns (oil, water, salt) and few with countable nouns (eggs, books).