Which word best completes 'There is ___ little time before the exam' to indicate a small amount?

Which word best completes 'There is ___ little time before the exam' to indicate a small amount?

• A. So
• B. Very
• C. Much
• D. Many

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is how to express a strong, small amount with an uncountable noun like time. Since time is uncountable, we use little, not many. To show how scarce it is, an adverb of degree goes before little. There is so little time before the exam uses so to intensify the scarcity more strongly, giving a urgent, emphatic sense that very little time remains. While very little would also be grammatical, so little is the phrasing that conveys the strongest emphasis in this context. Time with not much or very little would work in different tones, but they’re not the intended emphasis here.

The idea being tested is how to express a strong, small amount with an uncountable noun like time. Since time is uncountable, we use little, not many. To show how scarce it is, an adverb of degree goes before little.

There is so little time before the exam uses so to intensify the scarcity more strongly, giving a urgent, emphatic sense that very little time remains. While very little would also be grammatical, so little is the phrasing that conveys the strongest emphasis in this context. Time with not much or very little would work in different tones, but they’re not the intended emphasis here.