Correct usage of FEW :
FEW, A FEW & THE FEW
FEW : (determiner) : (used without A to show the smallness of a number not many & not enough)
1. She has few friends (She has almost no friends)
2. Few understand his complicated theories.
Note :
A FEW is used for plural nouns.
1. I have a few friends. (I have some friends.)
a few : some
few : almost nil
1. I have few friends. (few - not many)
2. I have a few friends. (a few - some)
3. We ate a little food. (We ate some food.)
Note : few - not many, hardly any - a few – some
THE FEW - not many = but all there are.
1. Few men (not many men) reach the age of one hundred years.
2. A few students are there in the class.
3. The few suggestions, made by him, deserve consideration.
4. The few friends, I have, are not rich.
(The few suggestions = those suggestions)
Correct usage of FEW
Correct usage of FEW To HOME PAGE
The Grammar Index