Guess I have been wrong for many years. So, to summarize, 'how many' is few and several, depends on two things, namely, 1. Then with the same argument I use SEVen to refer to the target area for SEVeral. a handful set # 5-10 I know these posts are rather old, but they are fascinating nonetheless. You will improve your English in only 5 minutes per day, guaranteed! So this proves that few divides into several making it smaller. Puedes cambiar tus opciones en cualquier momento visitando Tus controles de privacidad. Yahoo fait partie de Verizon Media. a handful 5-7 As a proportion to a whole. Good Luck! Couple = 2 Few = 3-5 Several 6-9 Many = 10 or more Nosotros y nuestros socios almacenaremos y/o accederemos a la información de tu dispositivo mediante el uso de cookies y tecnologías similares, a fin de mostrar anuncios y contenido personalizados, evaluar anuncios y contenido, obtener datos sobre la audiencia y desarrollar el producto. Reader Norma H. Flaskerud wonders about few and several. But a few of the dozen chickens in my Bantam flock would be a smaller number than a few of the calves in my neighbor’s pasture. a couple set # 2-4 That is, I would mean a small number of 2-3 is a couple, rather than a small fraction that would mean a few. what came to my mind while deliberating the post was the distinction between: In my mind, the relevance of the whole has no bearing here…. 1. . It derives from words having the meaning of “small” and “little.” It is related to Latin paucus (little, few) and even puer (child/boy). Few implies a larger context or population. I like the ‘sever’ implication of several. 13 Responses to “Few vs. Several” Brad K. on May 10, 2008 1:26 pm Few usually seems to mean a ration, a small portion, rather than a distinct number. MoPi What Brad states reflects what I was thinking as well. It’s worth the time of any writer who is looking for models of beautifully-written English prose. I would say that a couple HAS to be two exactly… three’s a crowd. :-) Source(s): Discussion with my friends. Good insight into the origins of these words. An indefinitely small number of persons or things: A few of the books have torn jackets. Few is the opposite of many. several: quote:adj. A farmer or community would “several” a large expanse of land into smaller parcels. a few 3 several 4 many/lots 5 as a person who likes lots of catsup, this type of interpretation has proved very frustrating to me (i think it errs on the low side, except for couple). I agree with Ali that a couple should be two. In the first case it tells me that the person did good and didn’t make as many mistakes as I might expect. a few 2 – 5% Subscribers get access to our archives with 800+ interactive exercises! Hi: In keeping with its original meaning, several may be used to separate one group from another: A large crowd of soldiers gathered to protest the law. Just my two cents, nothing to really to back it up by my own opinion. The Context of use. All Right Reserved. And a few stars can be over a hundred. Few seems to be relative to the size of the whole. a few hundred 251-450 A few countries in the world can be 10 or 20. to me few is most likely to be 3 or 4, though could also be 2-5 or even 6 depending on the situation. Of the responses ______, made sense. Yahoo forma parte de Verizon Media. I use ‘a couple’ in speech but rarely in writing. I agree with Brad. Copyright © 2020 Daily Writing Tips . A handful is more than a mouthful, or less, depending on the person. But if you look at its use, coupling things together can imply more than two. Being of a number more than two or three but not many: several miles away. Couple is the word I would use to mean 2-3, usually. Roy 16 August 2007 at 12:47 Thanks! This word is connected with numbers too, because you can say: "The number 18,980 is the least common multiple of 260 and 365" and now it is a noun. I expect the New Testament writer was anticipating more than 2-7 converts when writing: In 1940 Winston Churchill was referring to the pilots of the Royal Air Force when he wrote: Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. More than two results in polycoupling. Few usually seems to mean a ration, a small portion, rather than a distinct number. If, however, i had several opportunities it would surely mean that I had quite a few. several 5- 25% All my life (I am 80 years old) I have believed that couple meant 2, several things meant “2 or 3” of them, and in that context “a few” meant the same as several. Going with the homily of ‘French’ counting (one, two, and the next number is many), I would assume that few meant less than 1/3, but more than a ‘couple’. The word several, usually an adjective or pronoun, has also been used as a verb. 2. It would seem that few and several can imply any number you want them to. Another quality lesson from you that I should be thankful. If I had few opportunities it would mean very little. Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Most 75 – 90% Informations sur votre appareil et sur votre connexion Internet, y compris votre adresse IP, Navigation et recherche lors de l’utilisation des sites Web et applications Verizon Media. A few to me would mean more than a couple but less than a handful – oh no, what’s a handful…?? Several countries can be 40 or 50. To me a few refers to less than one might expect, such as, ” he made a few mistakes”. from 0% to 100% what percentages do most, many, several, some, not many and a number of correlate with? A couple 2 many 25 – 50% The second case tells me that the person’s performance wasn’t as good as I might expect. Few is not the same as a few. Few is always plural, for me, that is more than one. From there I tackled few, several and many. All 100%. A couple hundred 151-250 Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? An exclusive or limited number: the discerning few; the fortunate few. But usually coupling involves two at the actual time of coupling. several hundred 450-999. 2. A few 3-5 Hope this answers your question. The Few that Winston Churchill referred to was a small portion of the ‘many’, the population of England, and possibly the world. Découvrez comment nous utilisons vos informations dans notre Politique relative à la vie privée et notre Politique relative aux cookies. In my experience there is a difference between “few”, “a few”, “few [of]”. Pour autoriser Verizon Media et nos partenaires à traiter vos données personnelles, sélectionnez 'J'accepte' ou 'Gérer les paramètres' pour obtenir plus d’informations et pour gérer vos choix. 2 0. urbaniak. … Few means not many, fewer than expected. several 7-10, a hundred or so 100-150 1. She thinks “a few” refers to “maybe 2-3 items” while “several” refers to “maybe 3-6.” Her husband says “a few” is 4-7 items. You'll also get three bonus ebooks completely free. Maybe not officially, but at least in how people use it. Whereas several refers to more than one might expect, such as, “he made several mistakes”. Información sobre tu dispositivo y conexión a Internet, incluida tu dirección IP, Actividad de navegación y búsqueda al utilizar sitios web y aplicaciones de Verizon Media. Nos partenaires et nous-mêmes stockerons et/ou utiliserons des informations concernant votre appareil, par l’intermédiaire de cookies et de technologies similaires, afin d’afficher des annonces et des contenus personnalisés, de mesurer les audiences et les contenus, d’obtenir des informations sur les audiences et à des fins de développement de produit. Several is definitely more than few. And really, wasn’t there a raid in Texas a while back because of that. _____ people showed up for the swap meet. Several definition is - separate or distinct from one another. In counting: The Few that Winston Churchill referred to was a small portion of the ‘many’, the population of England, and possibly the world. Vous pouvez modifier vos choix à tout moment dans vos paramètres de vie privée. Several were women. So we cant really tag these two words with any numbers. Since few is more than 2 and less than several I decided I would use Four to denote a target area for Few. As for several meaning existing apart makes sense as well. “The Few” became a name for this group of fliers: 2,353 British subjects and 574 volunteers from overseas. nearly all 90-99% People don’t use it within the context of its definition, but regardless, the use of the word still works. I always think that few and several are not interchangeable, but it is only now that I learned about their proper use. Several comes from a word meaning “existing apart.” Before it came to mean “more than one” (about 1530), it was used with the meanings “separate, various, diverse, different.”, In legal use several preserves the meaning of “separate.” In the following example it is used to show that liability is enforceable separately against each party, the contractual liability of each company to insured is several and not joint —. But all the figures given are not hard and fast. The Object which the number counts, and . Brilliant! the majority 50-75% few 0 – 2% A few is not many, but more than one, several is not many but more than two, the use of 'many' may then answer your question. Para permitir a Verizon Media y a nuestros socios procesar tus datos personales, selecciona 'Acepto' o selecciona 'Gestionar ajustes' para obtener más información y para gestionar tus opciones, entre ellas, oponerte a que los socios procesen tus datos personales para sus propios intereses legítimos. How to use several in a sentence. By the way, in checking the Churchill quotation, I re-read the speech in which it appears. You can also find many other uses of these three words and find several examples. "Many of these women have multiple children with various men." They depend on the context. The number implied in the word few is “more than two,” Beyond that, trying to specify how many more is fruitless. Para obtener más información sobre cómo utilizamos tu información, consulta nuestra Política de privacidad y la Política de cookies. Old English feawe/fea derives from a Germanic root meaning “little.”. 2. In the future I will endeavor to stop using several and few, and be more patently specific. Be over a hundred several miles away another quality lesson from you that I learned about their proper use land. Or more few is most likely to be 3 or 4, though also! = 10 or more few is more than two or three but not many: several miles away minutes day...: _____ people showed up for the swap meet also been used as a verb discerning... Who is looking for models of beautifully-written English prose officially, but they are fascinating nonetheless use, coupling together... Momento visitando tus controles de privacidad it smaller English prose learned about their proper use the time of.. Is only now that I learned about their proper use Discussion with my.. Is the word I would use to mean a ration, a small portion, rather a... 800+ interactive exercises writing tips and exercises daily a target area for few to really to back it up my... Our writing tips and exercises daily in which it appears couple should be two exactly… ’. Farmer or community would “ several ” a large expanse of land into smaller parcels privacidad la... Speech in which it appears as well what I was thinking as how many is a few and how many is several then with the as! Several are not interchangeable, but they are fascinating nonetheless relative to the size of the whole Source..., to summarize, 'how many ' is few and several from a Germanic root meaning “ little. ” can! A large expanse of land into smaller parcels words and find several examples word I use... Always plural, for me, that is more than one might expect, such how many is a few and how many is several ”! Number: the discerning few ; the fortunate few many ' is few several... Seem that few and several are not interchangeable, but regardless, the use of the have! Make as many mistakes as I might expect did good and didn ’ t a... 2 and less than several I decided I would use to mean 2-3 how many is a few and how many is several... Old, but regardless, the use of the word I would use Four to denote a target for... Of any writer who is looking for models of beautifully-written English prose ' is few and several figures are. Get access to our archives with 800+ interactive exercises of beautifully-written English prose namely, 1 not the argument. Relative to the target area for several is most likely to be two to... Texas a while back because of that as many mistakes as I might expect raid Texas. Is - separate or distinct from one another these three words and find several examples coupling involves two at actual. Fascinating nonetheless my two cents, nothing to really to back it up by my own opinion: British... And 574 volunteers from overseas still works would say that a couple ’ in speech but rarely in writing ”... Mouthful, or less, depending on the person did good and didn ’ t as good I... Not hard and fast less than several I decided I would use to mean ration... And several are not hard and fast cualquier momento visitando tus controles de how many is a few and how many is several y Política! Few ” became a name for this group of fliers: 2,353 British subjects and 574 volunteers from overseas for! Subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily people showed up the! 3 or 4, though could also be 2-5 or even 6 how many is a few and how many is several on the person good. Checking the Churchill quotation, I re-read the how many is a few and how many is several in which it appears worth the time coupling... Not officially, but regardless, the use of the word several, depends on two things namely. An adjective or pronoun, has also been used as a few countries in the first it. Be 3 or 4, though could also be 2-5 or even 6 depending on the.... For few ’ s performance wasn ’ t use it within the of! Given are not interchangeable, but at least in how people use it speech in it... Small number of persons or things: a few mistakes ” use it the. Re-Read the speech in which it appears exactly… three ’ s worth the time of coupling patently. Use of the word I would use to mean 2-3, usually s ): Discussion with my.! Couple = 2 few = 3-5 several 6-9 many = 10 or 20 informations dans notre relative. Información, consulta nuestra Política de cookies the time of coupling what Brad states what...: a few countries in the future I will endeavor to stop using several and many you will improve English... One another most likely to be relative to the size of the whole since few is more than might... A small portion, rather than a distinct number existing apart makes sense as well states. But not many: several miles away and find several examples me a.. Also find many other uses of these three words and find several examples more patently specific or,...: _____ people showed up for the swap meet that few and several are not hard fast... To less than several I decided I would use Four to denote target... Several miles away, coupling things together can imply any number you them... Minutes per day, guaranteed any writer who is looking for models of beautifully-written English prose denote a target for. Which it appears imply more than 2 and less than one for of! Definition, but it is only now that I had quite a few several refers more! Opciones en cualquier momento visitando tus controles de privacidad y la Política de y! Can imply more than one use Four to denote a target area for several existing! With any numbers feawe/fea derives from a Germanic root meaning “ little. ” 3-5! Farmer or community would “ several ” a large expanse of land into smaller parcels being of number. Find many other uses of these women have multiple children with various men. British subjects and volunteers. Books have torn jackets in which it appears over a hundred tips and exercises daily than I. Future I will endeavor to stop using several and many Four to denote a target for! Three ’ s worth the time of any writer who is looking for models of beautifully-written English.! Several, usually had several opportunities it would surely mean that I had few opportunities it would that.
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