WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN “FEW” AND “A FEW”?

The expression “a few” means a small number.

 e.g. “‘I can climb for a few more years,’ he told the BBC before the 23rd attempt one week ago.”

 The Sherpa interviewed here is hopeful that he can continue climbing for several more years.


 We use “few” as an adjective to emphasise a small number.

 Omitting “a” from the above sentence (i.e. ‘I can climb for few more years’) would subtly change the meaning of the sentence, suggesting that the Sherpa cannot climb for much longer.


 Another example: “Few people allowed themselves to be engaged beyond accepting leaflets.”

 This stresses that the campaign described was unsuccessful, as the number of people engaged was extremely small.

 If “a few” replaced “few” in the above quote (i.e. “A few people allowed themselves to be engaged beyond accepting leaflets”), it would give the sentence a more hopeful tone, indicating that at least some people were engaged by the campaign, even though it was only a small number.


Generally, “few” emphasises the smallness of a number, while “a few” can make the tone of a sentence more optimistic; a small number of something desirable is usually better than none.


Photo credit: Gunther Hagleitner (Creative Commons)