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 "and so" shows that the cook could not make the soup because of a lack of oil. We need the word that shows a shortage or insufficiency.

Explain the concept

Oil is an uncountable noun, so we use quantity words that fit uncountable nouns:

• little = almost none, not enough (negative meaning)
• a little = some, a small amount (positive meaning)
• small describes size, not quantity, so it is not normally used with uncountable nouns like oil.
• some = a positive quantity, which does not explain why the soup could not be made.
• much is mostly used in negatives and questions ("did not have much oil"). In a positive statement like this, "had much oil" would mean the cook had plenty, which contradicts "could not prepare the soup."

Step-by-step solution

1. The result is negative: "could not prepare the soup."
2. So the cause must be a shortage of oil.
3. Option B (small) is the wrong kind of word for an uncountable noun.
4. Options C (some) and D (much) suggest enough or plenty of oil, which does not match the result.
5. Option A (little) means hardly any oil, which logically leads to not being able to cook.

Correct answer: A. little

"The cook had little oil and so could not prepare the soup."

Tip

Remember: little goes with uncountable nouns and carries a negative sense (oil, water, salt, money), while few goes with countable nouns (eggs, tomatoes). When the sentence has a negative result such as "could not", look for the word that signals shortage.