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Dear all,

Is there any difference between few and a few in the following example?

We had some for .......... lunch ......... few days ago.

a) (nothing) , (nothing)

b) (nothing) , a

c) both a & b

Regards,

Iman

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

A few means a small number of.

He arrived a few hours ago.

The tree had only a few apples this year.

They have a few coins in their pockets.

Few is used with count nouns as an adjective meaning 'almost no'

This used car has so few defects that you should buy it. It is almost perfect.

The boy did not finish school, so he has few skills. He will have a hard time finding a job. Few employers would even consider him.

The rebels were poorly equipped. They had a lot of hand guns, rifles and pick-up trucks, but few heavy guns, and no tanks at all.

Everest is such a difficult mountain to climb that few people ever attempted it until modern climbing equipment was developed.

Anonymous · Answer

In your example, you should use "a" before "few".

It might have been clearer if you had written out both choices rather than

your a), b), c) multiple choice question which I found very confusing

(but finally deciphered).

Not really relevant to your question but related:

"few" and "a few" can convey the same information but with different emphasis....

1) He found few mushrooms. (he found almost no mushrooms, but he did find a small number.....emphasis

on almost finding nothing).

2) He found a few mushrooms. (he found a small number of mushrooms.....emphasis on finding something).

Imantaghavi · Answer

Thank you AlpheccaStars.

That was fruitful for me.

Iman

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