few
/fjuː/determiner, pronoun
उच्चारण फ़्यू
कुछ, थोड़े-से
Basic wordPYP · asked 11 times
Asked in previous papers
as idiom, one-word substitution
+6 more
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- 2
not many; hardly any
बहुत कम, न के बराबर
- Few people can afford such a car.
- Very few of the answers were correct.
- Few students know the answer to that question.
+ 2 more examples
- Very few trains run on this route after midnight.
- Few of us were surprised by the result.
Synonyms hardly any not many scarcely any
- 1
small in number
कम, थोड़े
- His few belongings fitted in one bag.
- Few people remember the old railway station that stood here.
- The few mangoes left on the tree were still green.
+ 2 more examples
- Her few words of advice helped me a great deal.
- In the last few days, the weather has changed.
Opposite many
§Structures (grammar patterns) 4
few + plural countable noun
Few means not many and has a negative feel. It is only used with plural countable nouns and takes a plural verb.
'Few' का अर्थ बहुत कम है और इसमें नकारात्मक भाव होता है। यह केवल plural countable nouns के साथ आता है और verb plural रहती है।
- Few students passed the test.
- Few people knew about the changed timetable.
a few + plural countable noun
A few means some, and the feel is positive. Compare 'a few friends' (some) with 'few friends' (hardly any).
'A few' का अर्थ कुछ है और इसमें सकारात्मक भाव होता है। 'A few friends' (कुछ मित्र) और 'few friends' (लगभग कोई नहीं) की तुलना करें।
- I have a few questions about the syllabus.
- Radhika has few friends, but a few are very close.
few of + the / these / them
To speak of a part of a group, use few of followed by a determiner or pronoun.
किसी समूह के कुछ भाग के बारे में बताने के लिए few of के बाद determiner या pronoun लगता है।
- Few of the candidates were prepared.
- A few of them left early.
fewer (comparative) + plural countable noun
Fewer is used with countable nouns, while less is used with uncountable nouns. The superlative is fewest.
'Fewer' गणनीय nouns के साथ और 'less' अगणनीय nouns के साथ आता है। Superlative 'fewest' है।
- There are fewer seats in the second batch.
- She made the fewest mistakes in the class.
+Collocations 3
quantifier + few
verysotooquite aonly aa good
- There are so few buses at night that people wait for hours.
few + noun
exceptionschancesoptionssurvivorscomplaintswords
- There were few survivors after the flood.
fixed phrases
few and far betweenin the next few daysevery few minutesthe fewprecious few
- Honest officers are few and far between in that story.
“More examples 5
- Few trains run on this route during the monsoon.
मानसून के दौरान इस मार्ग पर बहुत कम रेलगाड़ियाँ चलती हैं।
- She spoke a few words of thanks at the end.
उसने अंत में धन्यवाद के कुछ शब्द कहे।
- Very few of my classmates came from villages.
मेरे बहुत ही कम सहपाठी गाँवों से आए थे।
- Quite a few students wrote the answer wrongly.
काफ़ी विद्यार्थियों ने उत्तर गलत लिखा।
- Radhika took a few minutes to calm down before the interview.
इंटरव्यू से पहले राधिका ने शांत होने के लिए कुछ मिनट लिए।
!Common mistakes 3
✗ There are few water in the bottle.
✓ There is little water in the bottle.
Water is uncountable, so few is wrong; use little.
Water अगणनीय है, इसलिए 'few' गलत है; 'little' का प्रयोग करें।
✗ He has few friends, so he is happy.
✓ He has a few friends, so he is happy.
Few suggests not enough and clashes with being happy; a few gives the positive sense needed.
'Few' का भाव 'पर्याप्त नहीं' है और 'happy' से टकराता है; सकारात्मक भाव के लिए 'a few' चाहिए।
✗ Few of the student were absent.
✓ Few of the students were absent.
After few of, use a plural noun with a determiner.
'Few of' के बाद determiner के साथ plural noun आता है।
≠Thesaurus: which synonym when
Few, little and several all show small quantity, but they differ in what they count and in feeling.
Few, little और several तीनों कम मात्रा दर्शाते हैं, पर किसे गिनते हैं और भाव में अंतर है।
Not many; used with countable nouns and sounds negative.
बहुत कम; countable nouns के साथ और नकारात्मक भाव के साथ।
- Few shops opened on Sunday.
Not much; the same idea for uncountable nouns.
बहुत कम; अगणनीय nouns के लिए यही भाव।
- There is little time left.
¶Idioms 2
few and far between
not frequent; not happening often
बहुत कम, कभी-कभार
- Good hostels in this town are few and far between.
quite a few
a fairly large number
काफ़ी सारे, अच्छी-खासी संख्या में
- Quite a few students failed the mock test.
≈Synonyms and antonyms
?Which word?
few, a few and the few
Few (without a) means almost none and is negative: 'Few students passed.' A few means some and is positive: 'A few students passed.' The few means the small number of people or things that exist: 'The few who came enjoyed it.' Few is used with countable nouns; little with uncountable ones.
Few (बिना a) का अर्थ 'न के बराबर' है और यह negative है, जैसे 'Few students passed'। A few का अर्थ 'कुछ' है और यह positive है, जैसे 'A few students passed'। The few का अर्थ 'जो थोड़े हैं, वे' है, जैसे 'The few who came enjoyed it'। Few countable nouns के साथ और little uncountable के साथ आता है।
§Grammar and usage
'fewer' for countable nouns (fewer mistakes), 'less' for uncountable (less time).
Countable के लिए fewer (fewer mistakes) और uncountable के लिए less (less time)।
“Collocations, idioms and sayings
Few and far between, quite a few.
Idioms: few and far between (बहुत कम और दूर-दूर पर मिलने वाले), quite a few (काफ़ी संख्या में, यानी कम नहीं)। ध्यान रहे कि 'quite a few' का अर्थ 'थोड़े' नहीं बल्कि 'काफ़ी' होता है।
✓In the exam
Notes
One of the most-tested determiners: few/a few/the few (countable) and little/a little/the little (uncountable).
सबसे ज़्यादा पूछे जाने वाले determiners में से एक: few/a few/the few (countable) और little/a little/the little (uncountable)।