從用法上看,few和a few后面要接可數(shù)名詞的復(fù)數(shù)形式;從意義上看,few 用來強調(diào)小數(shù)目的否定意義,相當(dāng)于說“很少”或“幾乎沒有”,它的含義是該數(shù)目令人失望或令人吃驚的小。如: Few people like snakes. 很少有人喜歡蛇。 I know few of them. 他們當(dāng)中我?guī)缀醪徽J(rèn)識什么人。 a few的意思與few不同,它沒有否定含義,它表示“有幾個”,有時甚至還表示“一些”。如: After a few tries they gave up. 試過幾次之后他們就放棄了。 當(dāng)要與一段時間連用時,我們總是用a few,不用few。如: We need a place where we can stay for a few days. 我們需要一個能住幾天的地方。 另外,還要注意not a few和quite a few這兩個短語,不要誤認(rèn)為它們是反義詞,其實它們幾乎是同義詞,都可表示“不少”“相當(dāng)多”的意思。如: Not a few of the members were absent. 不少會員未出席。 Quite a few of us are worried. 我們不少人很著急。