few

few
few
1. Few may be used with or without preceding a, although the sense is slightly different. There were few seats left means there were not many (and is negative in implication), whereas There were a few seats left means that some were still left (and is positive in implication).
2. For comparatively few, see comparatively.

Modern English usage. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?
Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • few — W1S1 [fju:] determiner, pron, adj comparative fewer superlative fewest [: Old English; Origin: feawa] 1.) [no comparative] a small number of things or people a few ▪ I have to buy a few things at the supermarket. ▪ Pam called to say she s going… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • few — [ fju ] (comparative fewer; superlative fewest) function word, quantifier *** Few can be used in the following ways: as a determiner (followed by a plural noun): Few people live there now. There were a few animals in the barn. as a pronoun: Many… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Few — (f[=u]), a. [Compar. {Fewer} (f[=u] [ e]r); superl. {Fewest}.] [OE. fewe, feawe, AS. fe[ a], pl. fe[ a]we; akin to OS. f[=a]h, OHG. f[=o] fao, Icel. f[=a]r, Sw. f[*a], pl., Dan. faa, pl., Goth. faus, L. paucus, cf. Gr. pay^ros. Cf. {Paucity}.]… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • few — (adj.) O.E. feawe (plural; contracted to fea) few, seldom, even a little, from P.Gmc. *faw , from PIE root *pau few, little (Cf. L. paucus few, little, paullus little, parvus little, small, pauper poor; Gk. pauros …   Etymology dictionary

  • FEW — bezeichnet einen 1/8 bis 2/8 bewölkten Himmel, siehe Bewölkung#Einteilung Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch Freiburgische Elektrizitätswerke, siehe Groupe E Frostigs Entwicklungstest der visuellen Wahrnehmung, siehe Marianne Frostig das… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Few of Us — Directed by Šarūnas Bartas Produced by Paulo Branco Joachim von Mengershausen Written by Šarūnas Bartas Starring …   Wikipedia

  • Few of Us — (lituanien : Mūsų nedaug) est un film lituanien réalisé par Sharunas Bartas, sorti en 1996. Sommaire 1 Synopsis 2 Fiche technique 3 Distribution …   Wikipédia en Français

  • few — index deficient, infrequent, scarce, several (plural) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • few — /fju:/ quanountifier, noun (plural) 1 a few/the few (no comparative) a small number (of): I ve got a few books on gardening. | I ll pop into the supermarket and get a few bits and pieces. | only a few hundred yards past the crossroads | It s one… …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • few — [[t]fju͟ː[/t]] ♦ fewer, fewest 1) DET: DET pl n 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... We had a few drinks afterwards …   English dictionary

  • 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 (… …   Combinatory dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”