Few vs. A Few (2024)

FAQs

Few vs. A Few? ›

Few means "not many (people or things)." It is used to say that there are not a lot of people or things. A few means "some (people or things)." It is used to say that there are a small number of people or things.

While Few, a few, and the few might look similar, their usage and meanings can vary subtly. The term 'few' is used as a quantifier, expressing the quantity of an object. 'Few' indicates a small number, 'a few' signifies some, and 'the few' implies not many.

"few" is used with a countable noun: "There are too few apples in the box". This is equivalent to "not enough apples". "Water" is not countable, so you cannot say "too few water".

Either can be correct - depending on what you intend to convey. The one with the article - a few questions implies a positive quantity: some questions, not many. Without the article - few questions - it implies a negative quantity: not any; none (hardly any). The same difference applies to “l*ttle” versus “a little”.

I have a few [=some/a small number of] friends. A few people [=some people] arrived early. Few people [=not very many people] arrived early. A few of the students [=a small number of the students] forgot to bring their books to class.

Few is a quantifier used with plural countable nouns. Without the article “a,” few emphasizes a small number of something. Adding the article removes the emphasis—a few means some. The same rule applies to little, which is used with singular uncountable nouns.

You can use it when you want to suggest that a given quantity or amount is small enough or satisfactory enough. For example, "We only have three cookies left, but that is few enough for everyone to have one.".

Few is for countable nouns and very little is for uncountable nouns. Few people came to the meeting. There are few places where you can still see these birds.

Only/Just a few people came. We went out for a few drinks after work. I know a few people in the class. The train leaves in a few minutes.

How many is a few? ›

How many is a few? A few is generally considered to mean between two and several. Some people use a few to mean around three, but this is not a universal interpretation. Its meaning is highly relative to the context—it often depends on what's being discussed, especially the scale and expectations.

"Few" means "not many" but "a few" means "not many, but some." While they both mean "not many" or "a small number," "few" emphasizes the smallness of the number and "a few" emphases that there are some, rather than none at all.

The football team always loses, because it has too few good players. People feel unsafe, because there are too few policemen in the streets.

A Few: "A few" typically implies a small number, often more than two but not many. It can be loosely understood as approximately three to five items, though it may vary from person to person. A Couple: "A couple" usually means exactly two, though it can sometimes be used informally to mean a small number, of.

I have few questions is correct. 'Few' is a countable noun (plural).

How many is a few? A few is generally considered to mean between two and several. Some people use a few to mean around three, but this is not a universal interpretation. Its meaning is highly relative to the context—it often depends on what's being discussed, especially the scale and expectations.

The word 'few' refers to countable nouns and is used with the plural form. 'Little' is generally used to refer to non-countable nouns and is used with the singular form.

The words were taught this way. A couple was 2. A few was 3 to 4. Several was considered a vague term with 4 to 8 being the accepted meaning. A dozen was 12.

We use a little with singular uncountable nouns. We use a few with plural countable nouns: Mary said nothing, but she drank some tea and ate a little bread. We stayed a few days in Florence and visited the museums.