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Tuvalet Posted 11 years ago
Grammar
few, a few
Can someone please tell me why i can't put "few" to the following sentence.
I wrote few but it seems the answer is a few.
Since few indicates a little bit more small quantity and it says most were polite.
.......of the children were rude, but most were polite.
Thanks
I wrote few but it seems the answer is a few.
Since few indicates a little bit more small quantity and it says most were polite.
.......of the children were rude, but most were polite.
Thanks
Top answer
a few = some; a small number of few = not very many CJ
- a few = some; a small number of few = not very many CJ
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7 Answers
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I am sorry. I know the difference but just cant understand it.
Could you be more specific please ?
Thanks.
Could you be more specific please ?
Thanks.
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A few emphasizes that there are some like this, though most are not.
Few emphasize that such people or things or events are rare.
A few children from the school went on to college = some did, although the majority did not.
Few children from the school went on to college = It happened occasionally, but it was very unusual.
Few emphasize that such people or things or events are rare.
A few children from the school went on to college = some did, although the majority did not.
Few children from the school went on to college = It happened occasionally, but it was very unusual.
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tuvaletI am sorry. I know the difference but just cant understand it.See
See
See
In short, you compare with 0 (a few) or you compare with many (few).
a few ~ more than 0, 1, or 2. (positive polarity)
few ~ less than many. (negative polarity)
0 1 2 3 4 5 .......................
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So what i am trying to say is that cant i just say
"Few" of the children were rude, but most were polite.
Would it sound weird ?
Though it is not many.
In the end it is grammatically well sentence i think.
Anyway thanks for everything.
"Few" of the children were rude, but most were polite.
Would it sound weird ?
Though it is not many.
In the end it is grammatically well sentence i think.
Anyway thanks for everything.
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No, you can say:
A few of the children were rude, but most were polite.
Few of the children were rude; most were polite.
The but makes it a comparison between the small group who were rude and the larger group who were polite. You need A few (= a small group) here.
A few of the children were rude, but most were polite.
Few of the children were rude; most were polite.
The but makes it a comparison between the small group who were rude and the larger group who were polite. You need A few (= a small group) here.
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tuvaletIn the end it is grammatically aGrammatically OK, but definitely weird. Maybe it would help you to think of "few" as "almost none".wellgood sentence I think.
For example, it's more natural to say "Some were red, but
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