afewとは 意味・読み方・使い方

限定詞

a few

1. A small number of (a set of countable items); more than one but not very many; especially, more than two but not very many (explained in usage note at several).

   Synonyms: a couple of, several

   Antonyms: one; zero, no; a lot of, many, numerous; countless

   Hypernyms: multiple, various

   Coordinate terms: a handful of; (mass counterpart) a little

   She loves to sing karaoke, but there are a few songs that she refuses to cover.

   After a dismal few months my life at long last changed for the better.

   Only a few miles separates the villages.

   • 1909 September 9, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], chapter II, in The Squire’s Daughter, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC:

     "I don't want to spoil any comparison you are going to make," said Jim, "but I was at Winchester and New College." ¶ "That will do," said Mackenzie. "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. Then I ran away and sold papers in the streets, and anything else that I could pick up a few coppers by—except steal. […]"

代名詞

a few

1. A small number of things.

   Regrets, I've had a few, but then again too few to mention.

   Did everyone go home? ―No, a few (of them) are still chatting.

使用する際の注意点

A few and few without a differ in emphasis. Few emphasizes that the number is not as large as expected, while a few emphasizes the fact that the number, while small, is not zero but more than two.

Compare:

I was expecting lots of people at the party, but few turned up.

I wasn't expecting any young people at the party, but a few turned up.

Note that when a few is preceded by another determiner, a is dropped. The few and every few mean “the group of a few” and “every group of a few” respectively.

派生語

• quite a few

アナグラム

• Efaw