Choose the most suitable determiner for the given sentence. He spoke…

Answer: little.

Explanation: "little" is used with uncountable nouns to indicate a very small amount or almost none. In the sentence, "English" is uncountable, and "He spoke little English" means he spoke almost no English, which makes communication difficult.

• Example showing the negative sense: He spoke little English, so it was difficult to communicate with him. (almost no ability)

• Contrast with the positive sense: He spoke a little English, so he could manage basic communication. (some ability)

Quick rules:

1. Use "little" and "a little" with uncountable nouns.

2. Use "few" and "a few" with plural countable nouns.

3. Meaning difference: "little" / "few" (negative: almost none). "a little" / "a few" (positive: some).

Why the other choices are wrong:

• "a little" would imply some ability to speak English, which does not match the sentence that emphasizes difficulty communicating.

• "a few" and "few" are for plural countable nouns, so they cannot be used with "English" (an uncountable noun).