21 English Sentences Few, A few and The few

Note: It must be noted that ‘Few’, ‘A few’, ‘The few’ are used with countable plural nouns.

Examples:

Few mangoes were ripe. (mangoes – plural – countable)

She has a few friends in London. (friends – plural  – countable)

The few books he wrote were worth reading. (books – plural  – countable)

Few

‘Few’ is Adjective and Noun.

Synonyms:

Not many, hardly any, almost nil, not many but more than one, negligible but not zero. It has a negative sense.

Sentences:

1.  Anne spent her few free hours with her parents.

2.  Few men are free from faults.

3.  Few people know the real value of books.

4.  Few persons reach the age of eighty years.

5.  Harold has few friends in London. 

6.  Smoking is one of John’s few bad habits.

7.  Zany has few marbles in her bag.

A few

‘A few’ is Adjective.

Synonyms:

Some, a small number. It has a positive sense. It is opposite to ‘none’.

Sentences:

1.  A few girls wanted to watch tennis.

2.  Ann asked us a few questions.

3.  I saw her a few days ago.

4.  Julie left this place a few weeks ago.

5.  Only a few achieve real success.

6.  We have sold a few more books than usual.

7.  Zany had a few meetings before the agreement.

The few

‘The few’ is Adjective.

Synonyms:

Not many, but all of that number. It has both negative and positive sense. It is used when two sentences combine together e.g. ‘The few dollars she had were stolen.’ (The few dollars she had) (were stolen.)

Sentences:

1.  The few boys, who were teasing Ann, ran away.

2.  The few clothes John had were all dirty and torn.

3.  The few friends Mary has are very rich.

4.  The few marbles he had were stolen by Tom. 

5.  The few novels Julie wrote were very interesting.

6.  The few remarks John made were negative.

7.  The few stamps Kelly has are not worth much.

Quotations

1.  Academic chairs are many, but wise and noble teachers are few; lecture-rooms are numerous and large, but the number of young people who genuinely thirst after truth and justice is small – Albert Einstein

2.  All religions are founded on the fear of the many and the cleverness of the few – Stendhal 

3.  Can anything be as elegant as to have few wants, and to serve them one's self? – Ralph Waldo Emerson

4.  Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts – Albert Einstein

5.  Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example – Mark Twain

6.  For many are called, but few are chosen - Matthew 

7.  Love is as much of an object as an obsession, everybody wants it everybody seeks it, but few ever achieve it, those who do, will cherish it, be lost in it, and among all, will never...never forget it – Curtis

8.  The supreme object of life is to live. Few people live. It is true life only to realize one's own perfection, to make one's every dream a reality – Oscar Wilde

9.  There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart...pursue those – Michael Nolan

In case of doubt, download and refer free dictionary ‘WordWeb’.

*****