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What (who) is few - definition
WIKIMEDIA DISAMBIGUATION PAGE
FEW; Few (disambiguation)
Few
·superl Not many; small, limited, or confined in number;
- indicating a small portion of units or individuals constituing a whole; often, by ellipsis of a noun, a few people.
few
(fewer, fewest)
Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
You use a few to indicate that you are talking about a small number of people or things. You can also say a very few.
I gave a dinner party for a few close friends...
Here are a few more ideas to consider...
She was silent for a few seconds.
DET: DET pl-n
•
Few is also a pronoun.
Doctors work an average of 90 hours a week, while a few are on call for up to 120 hours...
A strict diet is appropriate for only a few.
PRON
•
Few is also a quantifier.
There are many ways eggs can be prepared; here are a few of them.
...a little tea-party I'm giving for a few of the teachers.
QUANT: QUANT of def-pl-n
2.
You use few after adjectives and determiners to indicate that you are talking about a small number of things or people.
The past few weeks of her life had been the most pleasant she could remember...
...in the last few chapters...
A train would pass through there every few minutes at that time of day.
ADJ: adj/det ADJ n
3.
You use few to indicate that you are talking about a small number of people or things. You can use 'so', 'too' and 'very' in front of few.
She had few friends, and was generally not very happy...
Few members planned to vote for him...
Very few firms collect the tax, even when they're required to do so by law.
? many
DET: DET pl-n
•
Few is also a pronoun.
The trouble is that few want to buy, despite the knockdown prices on offer.
...a true singing and songwriting talent that few suspected.
PRON
•
Few is also a quantifier.
Few of the volunteers had military experience.
QUANT: QUANT of def-pl-n
•
Few is also an adjective.
...spending her few waking hours in front of the TV...
His memories of his father are few.
ADJ
4.
The few means a small set of people considered as separate from the majority, especially because they share a particular opportunity or quality that the others do not have.
This should not be an experience for the few.
...a system built on academic excellence for the few.
N-SING: the N
5.
You use as few as before a number to suggest that it is surprisingly small.
One study showed that even as few as ten cigarettes a day can damage fertility...
PHRASE: PHR num [emphasis]
6.
Things that are few and far between are very rare or do not happen very often.
In this economic climate new ideas were few and far between.
= rare
PHRASE: v-link PHR [emphasis]
7.
You use no fewer than to emphasize that a number is surprisingly large.
No fewer than thirteen foreign ministers attended the session.
PHRASE: PHR num [emphasis]
few
I
determiner, n., pronoun
1) relatively few
2) a few of (we saw a few of them)
USAGE NOTE: The use of the preposition of is necessary when a pronoun follows. Compare the following constructions with nouns--we saw very few students; we saw a few ('several') students.
II
n.
1) (a) precious, very few
2) (misc.) to have a few too many ('to drink too much'); few and far between ('rare'); just a few, only a few
Examples of use of few
1. Take a few Palestinians, a few Syrians, a few "moderate" Arabs, shake well and serve.
2. FEW CONSOLATIONS For England, there were few consolations.
3. A few houses down here, the next few there still standing – followed by another few that have collapsed.
4. Because a few stood up, a few thousand stood up, and then a few million stood up.
5. In normal times, very few financial assets are wiped out and very few generate returns of a few times over.