FEW vs. A FEW

Good morning. I hope all of you had a nice weekend.

This week we are going to look at the meanings and uses of the word FEW. Today we look at the difference between FEW and A FEW.

Meaning of FEW: an insignificantly small quantity; almost none.

Note: Few is used with countable nouns only.

Example 1:
There were few tickets sold, so the performance had to be cancelled.

Example 2:
All of the candidates were highly qualified. I see few reasons not to invite them all to the training session.

Meaning of A FEW: some.

Note: A Few is also used with countable nouns only.

Example 3:
Oscar: There are a few people waiting outside.
Miranda: Already? We don't open for another 20 minutes. How many are there?
Oscar: Five or six. I guess they want to get the best seats.

Example 4:
There were a few interesting sessions at the conference, but I would have preferred more opportunities for interaction.

Tomorrow we will begin to look at some expressions with the word FEW.

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I hope everyone has a good day.