# few vs. a few



## Zaeem

What is the difference between “a few” & “few”?
When should I use “a few” and when should I use “few”



Thank you in advance


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## Zaeem

I found the answer.
I find out that it is an advanced English grammar even some natives don't know the answer.

thanks anyway


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## maequitos90

Could you tell me?


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## elroy

I would use "a few" when emphasizing the items as individual entities.

_There are a few books on the table._
_I know a few songs by Ricky Martin._
_I've been to a few countries in western Europe._

"Few" emphasizes the smallness of the whole group, without evoking the image of individual people or things. 

_Few people know the answer to this question._
_I have had only few encounters with that man._
_Few things annoy me more than exaggeration._ 

Perhaps a more direct comparison would help clarify the difference:

_I have few memories from that trip._
(This sentence is only telling me that the memories from the trip are few. There were not many of them.)

_I have a few memories from that trip._
(When I hear this, I expect that the speaker is referring to a select few specific memories. I almost anticipate some stories about them.)

I hope that's helped. The difference really is quite subtle and nuanced, I guess, and can thus be hard to explain.


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## maequitos90

It helped me Thank you.


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## Zaeem

What I was looking for is this: the difference is something with the quantity or the amounts.

“a few” is more than “few” in amounts
“a little” is more that “little” in amounts


For example:

1. There are ______ opportunities for promotion here. We're looking for intelligent, well-motivated people.



2. There are ______ opportunities for promotion here. You'll have to look elsewhere.



The answer for 1 is “a few”
The answer for 2 is “few”





And there are also other reasons for choosing one of them but what I want to know was the above.



I found an exercise but unfortunately I can't put the URL because my posts are not over 30, so I will send you the URL in a privet message.


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## Zaeem

I think Elroy explained it very well.
Take it from native 



Thank you very much elroy


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## elroy

I don't think "a few" is always more than "few."

In your sentences, there could be just as many opportunities in sentence 1 as in sentence 2.  The difference is that in sentence 1 the presence of those few opportunities is emphasized, so there's a positive connotation, whereas in sentence 2 the paucity of opportunities is emphasized, so there's a negative connotation.  The sentences could perhaps be reworded like this:

_1. There is a select (small) number of opportunities for employment here._

_2. There are not many opportunities for employment here._


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## xs.

what's the difference between "few" and "A few"?
Thanks


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## spielenschach

few
For example you have any coins in your pocket. Your mate has a lot. Relatively to him you have little money ...
a few
... but you have any money.
It's ok?


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## xs.

spielenschach said:


> few
> For example you have any coins in your pocket. Your mate has a lot. Relatively to him you have little money ...
> a few
> ... but you have any money.
> It's ok?


 

So "few" means less,"a few" is nothing? is it ?


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## petereid

"Few" never means "nothing"  It always has an unknown value.

Few english people speak a foreign language. ::= A small percentage of the whole.
There is (are) a few who speak two languages.:: = A small percentage of a discrete group
There are fewer who are mutilingual. ::= a comparative:  A lesser percentage than the previous


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## spielenschach

xs. said:


> So "few" means less,"a few" is nothing? is it ?


No. 
Suppose you are a shepherd. You are not, I'm sure. But suppose...
You have a flock (of sheep). You decide too sell two or three. That means you decided to sell few sheep. 
Now suppose that your flock have a hundred sheep. Your neighbour has three or four sheep. Relatively to you he has few sheep.
Now suppose yet some of your sheep are ill: four or five. Only a few of your sheep are ill as the others are enjoying good health.
It's OK?
If you speak another language I can translate if it remains any doubt.
BYE


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## JamesM

spielenschach said:


> No
> Suppose you are a shepherd. You are not, I'm sure. but suppose...
> You have a flock (of sheep). You decide too sell two or three. That means ýou decided to sell few sheep.
> Now suppose that your flock have a hundred sheep. Your neighbour has three or four shee. Relatively to you he has few sheep.
> Now suppose some of your sheep are ill: supose four or five. Only a few of your sheep are ill as the others are enjoying good health.
> It's OK?
> If you speak another language I can translate if it remains any doubt.
> BYE


 
Yes.  I would say that all of these are correct.  "A few" is relative to the total number when talking about collections of things.  

"A few", by itself, though, means somewhere around two to five, to me.  "A few friends and I went down to the mall and hung out."  It's not clear how many friends were there, but it would not be a large number.


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## nay92

I dont know the difference between "few" and "A few". I thought they ment the same thing. 

But i know Few means not many but more than one.

Hope that helps a little bit


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## spielenschach

A few you have understood. But few you don't. Have you a lot of friends or have you few?
I don't matter to know but have you understood?
​


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## nay92

Have you a lot of friends or have you few?

i dont really get that question? 

Do you mean Have you got lots of friends or not that many? (does that make sense)


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## GenJen54

The difference lies in the "intent" of meaning, conveyed by the speaker.

*Few* (without the article) carries a somewhat "negative" meaning.
*A few* is very close to "some" and the two can more or less be interchanged at will, with "a few" being an undetermined lesser quantity.

I made *few* friends while living abroad.  Suffice it to say, I was lonely a lot. (In other words, I did not make very many friends).

I made *a few *(some) friends while living abroad, and that made the experience a great deal more tolerable.

*Few* people can claim the title of billionnaire.  In other words, there are not many people in the world who ever achieve the status of billionnaire.

*Few* of my friends are Democrats.  (I don't have many friends who are democrats, and in fact, prefer not to hang around them).

*A few *of my friends are Democrats.  (Some of my friends are democrats).


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## JamesM

spielenschach said:


> A few you have understood. But few you don't. Have you a lot of friends or have you few?
> I don't matter to know but have you understood?


 
I didn't notice that you had used "few", not "a few" in the first sheep example.



> You decide too sell two or three. That means ýou decided to sell few sheep.


 
In this case, we would say you decided to sell _a few _sheep, not few.

You have few sheep.
You sell a few sheep (if you're talking about a specific instance.)
You now have fewer sheep.
You sell few sheep (if you're talking about a general trend.) 



GenJen54's post on this topic is excellent, comparing "few" to "a few."


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## spielenschach

nay92 said:


> Have you a lot of friends or have you few?
> 
> i dont really get that question?
> 
> Do you mean Have you got lots of friends or not that many? (does that make sense)


 
Have you little money or do you have a lot? 
Do you understand the idea?


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## Miss Piggott

Hi. Hope someone can help me with this.
Should I say that the place X is located
- (just) a few steps far from the place Y or 
- few steps far from the place Y?
I read the second one but it didn't sound correct to me... Am I wrong?
Thank you in advance!?


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## liliput

*Re: few vs. a few* 


> Hi. Hope someone can help me with this.
> Should I say that the place X is located
> - (just) a few steps far from the place Y or
> - few steps far from the place Y?
> I read the second one but it didn't sound correct to me... Am I wrong?
> Thank you in advance!?


It's located *a* few steps *away* from place Y


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## floridasnowbird

few  -  fewer  -  fewest

Only* few *people went to the party, even *fewer* than last year and *the fewest* wanted to stay.


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## Miss Piggott

Oh thank you liliput! How quick!  

So I could say: "Just a few steps (away? from? ) Piazza di Spagna you can find/see... (etc)"
Thanks again.


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## liliput

Miss Piggott said:


> Oh thank you liliput! How quick!
> 
> So I could say: "Just a few steps (away? from? ) Piazza di Spagna you can find/see... (etc)"
> Thanks again.


 
A pleasure. 
You can say
"Just a few steps away from Piazza di Spagna you can find/see... (etc)" 
or
"Just a few steps from Piazza di Spagna you can find/see... (etc)"


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## majlo

spielenschach said:


> Have you *got a*  little (or Do you have) money or do you have a lot?
> Do you understand the idea?


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## Marty10001

"Few" is the opposite of many - "he had few words". 
"A few" is the opposite of none - "he said he would say a few words"


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## floridasnowbird

spielenschach said:


> few
> For example you have any coins in your pocket. Your mate has a lot. Relatively to him you have little money ...
> a few
> ... but you have any money.
> It's ok?


 
little: uncountable mass (money, snow, water)
few: a numer of persons / things (cars, candles, computers)


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## Miss Piggott

liliput said:


> A pleasure.
> You can say
> "Just a few steps away from Piazza di Spagna you can find/see... (etc)"
> or
> "Just a few steps from Piazza di Spagna you can find/see... (etc)"


 
Thanks again.


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## learning_grenglish

*She has few books to read.*
*She has a few books to read.*

The first sentence sounds me as if she has no one book to read, and the second sentence sounds me as if she has few books but less than `some books'.

Please help me.


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## bibliolept

The meanings are about the same, except that the first one implies that although she has some books, these are not enough.


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## learning_grenglish

Can I say, "*She has a few book to read" instead of* "*She* *has** a **few* *books to read"**?*


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## bibliolept

Either is correct.
"She has a few books to read" *might* be read as meaning that she has been assigned to read these.
"She has few books to read" *might* be read as meaning that she has an insufficient number of books to read.


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## Joelline

learning_grenglish said:


> Can I say, "*She has a few book to read" instead of* "*She has* *few books to read"?*



Hi,

You can use either, depending on your emphasis:  When you say, "few books," you are stressing the negative: she doesn't have many books to read; she has hardly any books to read.  When you say, "a few books," the sentence is slightly more positive: she doesn't have a great many, but at least she does have a few books to read.


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## learning_grenglish

I have edited the post #3. Please look at it


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## learning_grenglish

Where was you for the last *few* days?

I know we use "a few" for a positive expression, and only "few" for a negative expression.

e.g. *I have a few friends.*...............I have some friends.
*I have few friends*...................I have very less (less than I expected) friends.


But the original sentence does not have the article "a" but still expresses positive mood. Could you tell me how it so?


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## river

It does have an article - "the."

Where have you been or the last few/several days.


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## learning_grenglish

river said:


> It does have an article - "the."
> 
> here have you been *for??typo? *the last few/several days.


Thank you friend.

Do you mean this *{"Where was you for the last days?"} i*s incorrect?


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## Ecossaise

*"you were"*

*"you was" *is incorrect grammar. So yes, the sentence is wrong.


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## learning_grenglish

Thank you.

Where were you for the last few days?

Is this correct?


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## bibliolept

Yes, that sentence is correct.


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## mimike

I learnt that the difference between "few" and "a few" is that the previous expresses some negative ideas whereas the latter some positive. So, if I say _I've got few friends, _maybe it's because nobody likes me. But if I say _I've got a few friends_, it only means I haven't got many, but enough to have a good time. Now, I saw this sentence in a quiz on English: _Only *a* *few* tickets were sold for the concert._ To me this definitely expresses a negative idea. What now?


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## camaysar

Hi Mimike,

"Only" makes it the same as "few". Without "only", it would mean "some" tickets were sold, but not lots of them. But the negativity is not stressed. "Only a few" is exactly the same as "few".


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## mimike

Thanks, camaysar.


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## Rivendell

Yes, I agree with Camaysar. The negative idea is not expressed by "_only_", not by "_a few_".

If you say: "_There were about 5000 people in the concert_", 5000 could be a big or a small number. But if you hear: "_There were only 5000 people in the concert_", you are certain that 5000 is not great deal.


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## WisteriaLane

If I say: '- If you need to raise the temperature by few degrees  only....etc' it doesn't sound right.... maybe it'd be better 'a few degrees' but I have been taught that 'a few' generally means 'not much but enough' while here the idea is that the amount is scarce, irrelevant....


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## sound shift

You are right, Wisterialane. 

"You need to raise the temperature by few degrees."  
"You need to raise the temperature by a few degrees."   If we say "You need to raise the temperature by *quite *a few degrees", we are talking about a more substantial increase.


Consider these sentences:
1.) "There were few people there."
2.) "There were a few people there."
The number of people was greater in 2.) than in 1.) Possibly you were thinking of this type of comparison.


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## Esca

Hi WisteriaLane,
I think it's more accurate to think of it this way:

"a few" = "some," "a small number of," "a couple" 
(describes simply how many there are)

Therefore, "We only had to raise the temperature _a few_ degrees."
"We saw that the temperature had already risen _a few_ degrees."


"few" = "not very many at all," "almost none" 
(describes a lack, or what a small number there are)

Therefore, "We thought it would be easy to raise the temperature so _few_ degrees."
"We were disappointed to see that the temperature had risen so _few_ degrees."

Does that help?


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## Waylink

sound shift said:


> You are right, Wisterialane.
> 
> Consider these sentences:
> 1.) "There were few people there."
> 2.) "There were a few people there."
> The number of people was greater in 2.) than in 1.) Possibly you were thinking of this type of comparison.



I don't think it is the *actual number* that is different; it is the way that the speaker/writer *feels about it*.

For example, 20 people attended a party.
A:  There were *few people* at the party ( = fewer than I expected)
B:  There were *a few people* at the party. ( = more than I expected)

Another example, Jack has three friends in the whole world.
C: Jack has *few friends*. ( emphasising that he is not well liked! )
D: Jack has *a few friends*. ( emphasising that he does have some friends)

Similarly:
E: I need some money to get the bus home.
F: I have *little money*. ( = sorry, I'm too poor to help you!)
G: I have *a little money*.  ( = not a lot, but enough to help you and I'll share what I have)


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## Forero

WisteriaLane said:


> If I say: '- If you need to raise the temperature by few degrees  only....etc' it doesn't sound right.... maybe it'd be better 'a few degrees' but I have been taught that 'a few' generally means 'not much but enough' while here the idea is that the amount is scarce, irrelevant....


"Few" = "a small number if any, almost no".
"A few" = "some, but not many".

Two problems with "by few degrees only" without "a":

1. _Only_ is superfluous with _few_.  "Very few" would be fine.
2. "A few degrees" is a quantity, not an actual number of things, so it sounds odd to talk about "few degrees".  It would be more natural to say something like "little increase in temperature".


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## littledragon

"If you need to raise the temperature by only a few degrees" would be best.


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## WisteriaLane

Thank you all, very interesting.


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## vtg81

Hello
 
How would you complete the following sentence:
 
*We’ve filled most of the positions so it should only take __________ weeks to complete the project. *
 
I'm in doubt whether to use "*a few*" or "*few*"? Are they both grammatically correct?
 
Thank you in advance.


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## jeterinmicipen

the correct answer is a few, the difference between a few and a few is that Few without article has negative connotations and a few means some.


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## Qomi

vtg81 said:


> Hello
> 
> How would you complete the following sentence:
> 
> *We’ve filled most of the positions so it should only take __________ weeks to complete the project. *
> 
> I'm in doubt whether to use "*a few*" or "*few*"? Are they both grammatically correct?
> 
> Thank you in advance.


 
A few has a positive meaning. 
Few has a negative meaning.

Ex.
There are a few eggs. I can make a cake. (enough)
There are few eggs. I can't make a cake. (not enough)

As for your sentence, I think "a few" will be better as there is a positive meaning. 

A few weeks  enough time to finish the project


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## BeautifulCouple

Hi everyone,

I have a question regarding the use of 'few' and 'a few'.

My girlfriend and I are writing a letter in English (English is not our native-language), and we've been 'arguing' about the use of 'few' and 'a few'.

The controversy started because of this sentence:

"I tried to call you a few days ago."

I wrote that. She says it's not correct, that it should be "I tried to call you few days ago".

To me both sound right, but the way I wrote it sounds more correct in my opinion.

So, the question would be:

What's correct or more correct (or equally correct)?

Thanks for your help, I hope I made some sense. 

Happy new year!


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## pickarooney

You're correct - it's "a few days ago". 

Few is not as often used on its own as it is with 'a' and where it is, the meaning is a little different, e.g. 

"Few people have heard of Grayson Tittle"
"A few people have heard of Grayson Tittle"

Although the number of people concerned is essentially roughly the same, in the first instance you're concentrating on the fact that Tittle is not well known whereas in the second you're focussing more on the positive aspect that at least some people have heard of him. It's a subtle but important difference.


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## Trisia

Hello,

Welcome to WordReference. 

We discussed this before... a long time ago.  -- I liked post #4 in particular:
Click: "a few" & "few"

Also, these ones might help:
few vs. a few
few/a few
few/a few
few or a few?
difference between few/a few and little/a little


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## BeautifulCouple

Thank you, pickarooney. 

Happy new year!


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## BeautifulCouple

Thank you, Trisia. 

I'll make sure to read those together with my girlfriend! 

Happy new year!


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## Dmitry_86

"I tried to call you *a few* days ago." is the correct answer. If you use "few", it will not make any sense at all. I will not repeat the explanation here because my friends have already done this in the posts above, but I would like to draw your attention to the difference between "few" and "a few" - it is very important. Both, however, are used with count nouns only. If you want to follow the same logic with uncount nouns (milk,sugar,water,amount,etc.) use "little" and "a little", respectively


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## acidfunk

> *Few *numbers capture the attention of managers and shareholders more than operating profits. Moreover, different costing-method decisions can have a big impact on profit margins.



I read this sentences in the Cost Accounting by Charles T.Horngren.

I know that "few" means small number of people or things.

Then, in this sentence, "few numbers capture the attention of managers and shareholders more than operating profits" means those numbers almost can not capture the attention of managers and shareholders more than operating profits or small number of those numbers can attract more attention than operating income?


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## Copyright

*There aren't many* numbers *that *capture the attention of managers and shareholders more than  operating profits.

Does that help?


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## acidfunk

I understood clearly. Thank you very much.


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## o1686

I syntactically don't understand what is the crucial difference meaning between using FEW and A FEW in the sentence.

For Example
A few girls came over and Few girls came over.

Can anyone explain in detail?


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## Copyright

*A few girls came over. *(Several girls came over -- congratulations.)
*Few girls came over. *(Not many girls came over -- sorry.)


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## lishanran

Copyright said:


> *A few girls came over. *(Several girls came over -- congratulations.)
> *Few girls came over. *(Not many girls came over -- sorry.)


 Hi, I really like your explanation method, I mean the metaphor.


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## o1686

It seems like the amount of people are the similar if I say several girls or not many girls came over.
Suppose that there are only 4 friends that I know among 100 people in a specific place, which phrase do I need to use? A few or Few? What happen if there are 10 friends of mine instead of 4?


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## Copyright

o1686 said:


> It seems like the amount of people are the similar if I say several girls or not many girls came over.
> Suppose that there are only 4 friends that I know among 100 people in a specific place, which phrase do I need to use? A few or Few? What happen if there are 10 friends of mine instead of 4?



   I think you’re right about the *number* (not _amount_) of people. In many cases the difference will be one of emphasis – elation (a few girls) versus disappointment (few girls). In your question…

_I know 100 people but few visit me._
_I know 100 people and a few visit me._

  Even the *but/and* choice above enhances the number in these examples, and more words will go further in skewing the emphasis:

_I know 100 people, but only a few ever take the time to visit me._
_I know 100 people, so it’s natural that a few visit me every day. _

  These aren’t perfect examples but you get the idea about emphasis coming not only context but from how the writer/speaker views the number – even if it’s the same number in both cases.
_
There are 100 people at this party. I know a few of them._ (Elation -- I'm not a total stranger.)
_There are 100 people at this party. I know few of them. _(Disappointment -- I feel pretty alone.)


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## o1686

I think I know what you meant!
Basically, *A few* is for elation and emphasis and *Few* is used for disappointment in speech or writing right?


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## Natalisha

o1686 said:


> I think I know what you meant!
> Basically, *A few* is for elation and emphasis and *Few* is used for disappointment in speech or writing right?


 
 Let's take this example: 

_*A few* pupils in my class can speak a foreign language. But *few* of them speak Russian._ 

If there are 15 pupils in my class, we can say that 5-10 of them speak a foreign language (_a few_), but only 2-3 pupils speak Russian (_few_ means "not many").


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## Cagey

Natalisha said:


> Let's take this example:
> 
> _*A few* pupils in my class can speak a foreign language. But *few* of them speak Russian._
> 
> If there are 15 pupils in my class, we can say that 5-10 of them speak a foreign language (_a few_), but only 2-3 pupils speak Russian (_few_ means "not many").


For my part, I don't think the difference can be translated into numbers.  "A few" does not necessarily mean more people than "few."  

I see the difference as primarily one of attitude.  To my mind, "a few" counts up from zero, "few" counts down from _many_.  They may actually refer to the same number of people, for instance.


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## atsamo

'A few' can be flexible when used with the adverbs of degree 'only' and 'quite'. 'Only' before 'a few' means that the number of people or things is really small whereas 'quite' increases it:

Only a few of my friends live abroad.
I've made quite a few friends recently.


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