/fju:; fju/
indef det, adj [usu attrib 通常作定语] (-er, -est)
1 (used with pl [C] ns and a pl v 与复数可数名词和动词复数形式连用) not many 不多; 很少
*Few people live to be 100. 很少有人活到一百岁.
* a man/woman of few words, ie one who speaks very little 沉默寡言的人
* There are fewer cars parked outside than yesterday. 外面停的汽车比昨天少.
* The police found very few clues to the murderer's identity. 警方对杀人凶手的线索所知甚少.
* There are very few opportunities for promotion. 晋升的机会很少.
* The few houses we have seen are in terrible condition. 我们见到的为数不多的几所房子都非常糟糕.
* There were too few people at the meeting. 参加会议的人寥寥无几.
* Accidents on site are few. 工地上事故不多. (Cf 参看 There are few accidents on site. ) =>Usage at less 用法见less. =>Usage at much1 用法见much1.
2 (idm 习语) ,few and ,far be`tween infrequent, with long periods of waiting involved 少的（要等候很久的）
*The buses to our village are few and far between. 到我们村的公共汽车很少.
* The sunny intervals we were promised have been few and far between. 我们原可望能有几阵晴天, 结果却很稀少.

indef pron not many people, things, places, etc 很少的人、物、地方等.
(a) (referring back 用以复指前文)
*Of the
150 passengers, few escaped injury. 150名乘客中鲜有未受伤者.
* Few can deny the impact of his leadership. 几乎没有人能否定他的领导作用.
* (saying 谚) Many are called but few are chosen. 邀请的人多, 选上的人少.
* Hundreds of new records are produced each week but few (of them) get into the charts. 每周推出数以百计的新唱片, 但（其中）没有几张能进入每周流行榜.
(b) (referring forward 用以预指後文)
*Few of us will still be alive in the year 2050. 我们很少有人能活到2050年.
* The few who came to the concert enjoyed it. 来听音乐会的少数几个人喜欢这场音乐会.
* We saw few of the sights as we were only there for two hours. 我们在那里只待了两个小时, 因此没怎么游览.

/fju:; fju/
a few indef det (used with pl [C] ns and pl vs 与复数可数名词和动词复数形式连用) a small number of; some 少数; 几个
*a few letters 几封信
* a few days ago 几天前
* He asked us a few questions. 他问了我们几个问题.
* A few people are coming for tea. 有几个人要来吃茶点.
* Only a few (ie Not many) students were awarded distinctions. 只有几个学生获得优等成绩. =>Usage at much1 用法见much1.

determiner, pron, adj comparativefewersuperlativefewest
[Language: Old English;Origin: feawa]
[no comparative]
a small number of things or people
a few
　I have to buy a few things at the supermarket.
　Pam called to say she's going to be a few minutes late.
　There were a few people sitting at the back of the hall.
　There are a few more things I'd like to discuss.
few of
　I've read a few of her books.
　I could suggest many different methods, but anyway, here are just a few .
　There are only a very few (=not many) exceptions.
the last/next few
　The office has been closed for the last few days.
every few days/weeks etc
　The plants need to be watered every few days.
the/sb's few days/weeks etc
　She had enjoyed her few days in Monaco.
quite a few/a good few/not a few
a fairly large number of things or people
　She must have cooked a good few dinners over the years.
quite a few/a good few/not a few of
　There were hundreds of protesters, not a few of whom were women.
not many or hardly any people or things
≠ many
　low-paid jobs that few people want
　Many people expressed concern, but few were willing to help.
　The team that makes the fewest mistakes usually wins.
few of
　Very few of the staff come from the local area.
　Mr Wingate was full of explanations, but precious few (=hardly any) of them made sense.
the few
　The cathedral was one of the few buildings not destroyed in the war.
　This hospital is one of the few that are equipped to provide transplant surgery.
sb's few belongings/friends etc
　I gathered together my few possessions.
no fewer than
used to emphasize that a number is large
　I tried to contact him no fewer than ten times.
as few as 5/10 etc
used to emphasize how surprisingly small a number is
　Sometimes as few as 20 out of 500 or more candidates succeed in passing all the tests.
to name/mention but a few
used when you are mentioning only a small number of people or things as examples of a large group
　This is a feature of languages such as Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese, to name but a few.
the (privileged/chosen) few
the small number of people who are treated better than others and have special advantages
　Such information is made available only to the chosen few.
　The needs of the many have been ignored -- instead, the priority has been to bring benefits only to the few.
be few and far between
to be rare
　Jobs are few and far between at the moment.
have had a few (too many)informal to have drunk too much alcohol
　He looks as if he's had a few!

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WORD CHOICE: a few, few, a little, little, a bit, fewer, less
a few and few are used before plural nouns.
a few means 'a small number' : It will take a few minutes. | I've got a few friends who live nearby.
few means 'not many'. It emphasizes how small the number is. It is mainly used in writing or formal speech : Few people would deny her talent. |He has few interests outside his work.
In spoken English or informal writing it is more usual to say not many : Not many people saw what happened.
a little and little are used before uncountable nouns.
a little means 'some, but not a lot' : We still have a little time left.
In spoken British English, it is more usual to say a bit : 'Are you tired?' 'A bit.' |I've got a bit of money left.
little means 'not much'. It emphasizes how small the amount is. It is mainly used in writing or formal speech : There is now little hope of success.
In spoken English or informal writing it is more usual to say not much : There was not much milk left.
The comparative of few is fewer : Few people have read the book, and even fewer understand it.
The comparative of little is less : We know little about his adult life, and less about his childhood.
!! Sometimes people use less before a plural noun, but many people think that this is incorrect, so it is better to use fewer : a village of fewer (NOT less) than 200 inhabitants

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