![]() a little money." "*I only have few friends. If 'only' is used, it is it which makes the idea of reference to a desirable/needed quantity clear, and 'a few / a little' are used instead of 'few / little'. ( large ≠ small quantity, relative = you do know that the person feels this is more than enough ≠ not enough) ( large ≠ small quantity, absolute = you do not know whether the person stating this feels that they would like to have more or not) Relative = with reference to a desirable/needed quantity To begin with, something should be said about absolute quantity versus relative quantity:Ībsolute = without reference to a desirable/needed quantity = This model is available in more colors than you might think quite a bunch/variety/selection/gamut of rather many the speaker didn't really expect to have such a choice, or thinks you are unlikely to expect it. The speaker probably wishes there were more to choose from. = This model is available in only a few colors, just a few colors less than a few. = This vehicle model is available in several colors, a number/selection of colors, but less than many. = Many people, a (surprisingly) large number, think that smoking is healthy. "Quite a few people think that smoking is healthy." = Only a few people, a very small number, think that smoking is healthy most think that it is not. "Few people think that smoking is healthy." = Some people think that smoking is healthy. ![]() "A few people think that smoking is healthy." So, saying "I have quite a few friends" is the same as saying "I have quite a lot of friends". ![]() It means the exact opposite thing: "a large or significant number, many". ![]() In some contexts (not always!), it can also imply that you don't feel very well about it, that you wish you had more friends.Īlso, note that there is a very common expression "quite a few", which is a trap for foreign learners because it looks like it should mean "rather few, very few" - but it does not. "I have few friends", however, implies that you have only a few friends (as opposed to many). "I have a few friends" is just the same as saying "I have some friends". ![]()
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