Explanations:Quantifiers are words that modify a noun to express quantity. They are used to indicate how much or how many of something there is. In English, quantifiers can be divided into two main categories: those used with countable nouns and those used with uncountable nouns.
Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted, such as "friends," "books," or "apples." Uncountable nouns, on the other hand, are nouns that cannot be counted, such as "water," "information," or "advice."
When dealing with countable nouns, we use quantifiers like "a few," "few," "many," and "several." "A few" is used to indicate a small number of countable items, and it has a positive connotation. For example, "A few friends came to the party" means that a small number of friends attended, and this is generally seen as a positive statement.
"Few," without the article "a," also indicates a small number of countable items, but it has a negative connotation. For example, "Few friends came to the party" suggests that the number of friends who attended was disappointingly small.
"Many" is used to indicate a large number of countable items. For example, "Many friends came to the party" means that a large number of friends attended.
For uncountable nouns, we use quantifiers like "a little," "little," "much," and "a lot of." "A little" is used to indicate a small amount of an uncountable noun, and it has a positive connotation. For example, "A little water is left in the bottle" means that there is a small amount of water, and this is generally seen as a positive statement.
"Little," without the article "a," also indicates a small amount of an uncountable noun, but it has a negative connotation. For example, "Little water is left in the bottle" suggests that the amount of water is disappointingly small.
"Much" is used to indicate a large amount of an uncountable noun. For example, "Much water is left in the bottle" means that a large amount of water is present.
In the given sentence, "Only ..... his friends went to the match," the noun "friends" is countable. Therefore, we need to use a quantifier that is appropriate for countable nouns. "A few" is the correct choice because it indicates a small number of countable items and has a positive connotation, which fits the context of the sentence.
The other options are incorrect because "few" without "a" would imply a negative connotation, "many" would suggest a large number, and "much" is used with uncountable nouns, not countable ones.