Question

2016-07-22 Friday July 22nd 2016 What is the difference between "few" and "a few"?  — Felipe , Mexico

Accepted Answer

The Difference Between "Few" and "A Few" http://learnersdictionary.com/qa/The-Difference-Between-Few-and-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. Below are some examples showing how each is used. I have a few [=some/a small number of] friends.I have few friends. [=I do not have many 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 (if any) of the students forgot to bring their books to class. [=not a lot of the students forgot; many of them remembered] Most of his books are boring, but there are a few that I like. [=I like a small number of them]Most of his books are boring. There are few that I like. [=there are not many that I like] The difference in meaning is subtle, but usually few puts a little more attention on the negative—that there is not a large number (of people or things). A few puts a little more attention on the positive—that there is a small number (of people or things).I hope this helps.

Id	2016-07-22
Title	The Difference Between "Few" and "A Few"
Date	Friday July 22nd 2016
Url	http://learnersdictionary.com/qa/The-Difference-Between-Few-and-A-Few-
Question	What is the difference between "few" and "a few"? — Felipe , Mexico
Answer	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. Below are some examples showing how each is used. I have a few [=some/a small number of] friends. I have few friends. [=I do not have many 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 (if any) of the students forgot to bring their books to class. [=not a lot of the students forgot; many of them remembered] Most of his books are boring, but there are a few that I like. [=I like a small number of them] Most of his books are boring. There are few that I like. [=there are not many that I like] The difference in meaning is subtle, but usually few puts a little more attention on the negative—that there is not a large number (of people or things). A few puts a little more attention on the positive—that there is a small number (of people or things). I hope this helps.

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