Follow up from Charmond

Question

CécileI think Charmond's (and now my) question arises because of ambiguity about the section headed (Un) peu de, where it is stated that «un peu de 'used with uncountable quantities'»  etc. The impression given/gained is that this is in contrast to quelque(s) which is noted to be for countable quantities, and applies to the full section. However, on reflection, I think it means only that 'un peu de' is for uncountables, but that 'peu de' is/can be used for countables with a slight difference in meaning/translation when used instead of quelques. Please clarify - and maybe clarify in the lesson too! Thanks

Accepted Answer

Hi Maarten,
The two expressions -
un peu de
and
peu de
mean totally different things and they are used for uncountable things. 
un peu de = a bit of ( a small quantity of)
peu de = not much ( not enough of)
J'ai un peu de temps pour te répondre = I have a bit of time to answer you
J'ai peu de temps disponible en ce moment = I have little available time at the moment
If you were talking about countable things you would use 
quelques 
J'ai quelques pommes/livres  à te donner = I have a few apples/books to give you
but 
j'ai un peu d'argent, tu en veux? = I have a bit of money, do you want some?
J'ai peu d'argent, je ne peux pas t'en donner = I don't have much money , I can't give you any
I hope this helps!