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which one should be used "few or a few" for these two sentences and why? in these two sentences 1. unfortunately, she has got __________ problems. 2. She is lucky, she has got __________ problems. So, I have checked the answers and they said for the first one 'a few' is used and for the second on 'few' is used. But the problem is, I have always been taught that 'a few' is for positive sentences (semantically)or positive meanings and few is used for negative sentences (semantically). my question is: why a few is used for the first sentence that has a negative meaning and 'few' for the second one that has a positive meaning?
Dec 1, 2018 4:48 PM
Answers · 8
5
The answers are right, and so is the information you read about positive and negative meanings. The key here is the word 'semantically' - the question of whether it's a good or bad thing in the real world is irrelevant. The word 'few' is negative semantically in that it means NOT MANY. Obviously, having 'few friends' ( not many friends) is a bad thing, while having 'few problems' (not many problems) is a good thing. The phrase 'a few' is positive semantically in that it means SOME ( i.e. not zero). So, while it is good to have 'a few friends' (as opposed to no friends), it is bad to have 'a few problems' (as opposed to no problems). I hope that makes sense.
December 1, 2018
2
1. A few. 2. Few. "Little" and "few" (without "a") mean "not much"/"not many". As a rule, they are negative ideas. She has few friends here (not many, not as many as she would like). "A little" and "a few" have a more positive meaning. I enjoy my life here. I have a few friends. But in your sentences the words "unfortunately" and "lucky" are key words. Unfortunately, she has got some/a few problems. She is lucky, she has not got many problems/has got few problems. "Few" and "a few" are used with plural nouns. "Little" and "a little" are used with uncountable nouns.
December 1, 2018
yes, what you have checked is right. 1. A few, 2. Few. A few means several or more. Few means only a small amount. if you put 'few' in 1. it would change the meaning of the sentence to say she only had a small amount of problems, where as a few problems makes it sound like she had more than that, a lot more.
December 1, 2018
Unfortunately, she has a few problems <-- "got"? So lucky. She has few problems. <-- "got"? . a few = stresses a number greater than one few = stresses not many . Why? Grammar describes what is. The accepted use is as explained above and by others below. On eneeds a convention to convey meaning. This is the convention here. The collection of such understandings is called grammar.
December 1, 2018
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