0
Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
a few and few
Hi,
Which ones show positive and negative polarity properly for the uses of the words 'a few' and 'few'? Which ones are not necessary?
1,After a few (few -- necessary??) exhausting days of workouts, I took a long rest at home.
2.Few (IMO, A few is good if you want to create that polarity effect) excruciating workouts can do a work on your body.
3. He should drink few (a few is good, IMO, if you intend to say something to the opposite effect) cups of water when he works out strenuously.
But no. 1 is where a person would not normally resort to positive- or negative-polarity notion use. Can you think of few (a few ??) more uses like this?
Which ones show positive and negative polarity properly for the uses of the words 'a few' and 'few'? Which ones are not necessary?
1,After a few (few -- necessary??) exhausting days of workouts, I took a long rest at home.
2.Few (IMO, A few is good if you want to create that polarity effect) excruciating workouts can do a work on your body.
3. He should drink few (a few is good, IMO, if you intend to say something to the opposite effect) cups of water when he works out strenuously.
But no. 1 is where a person would not normally resort to positive- or negative-polarity notion use. Can you think of few (a few ??) more uses like this?
Top answer
As you say, "a few" is positive ("not many, but some"), and "few" is negative ("hardly any", "not as many as expected"). ", but anyway... "Few" is very unnatural in (1).
- As you say, "a few" is positive ("not many, but some"), and "few" is negative ("hardly any", "not as many as expected").
- ", but anyway...
- "Few" is very unnatural in (1).
- It's not something anyone would ever want to say because the "hardly any" meaning does not fit with the rest of the sentence.
- "A few" is fine.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
2 Answers
0
As you say, "a few" is positive ("not many, but some"), and "few" is negative ("hardly any", "not as many as expected"). I don't really understand what you mean by "Which ones are not necessary?", but anyway...
"Few" is very unnatural in (1). It's not something anyone would ever want to say because the "hardly any" meaning does not fit with the rest of the sentence. "A few" is fine
"Few" is very unnatural in (1). It's not something anyone would ever want to say because the "hardly any" meaning does not fit with the rest of the sentence. "A few" is fine
00
1,After a few exhausting days of workouts, I took a long rest at home.
2.Few (IMO, A few is good if you want to create that polarity effect) excruciating workouts can do a work on your body. Incomprehensible. I can't help you here.
3. He should drink a few cups of wat
2.Few (IMO, A few is good if you want to create that polarity effect) excruciating workouts can do a work on your body. Incomprehensible. I can't help you here.
3. He should drink a few cups of wat
0
Related Questions