Page 130 - English Grammar - IX-X

Few, A Few, The Few

Few is used in the negative sense and means not many, almost none.

For example:
• Rishika is an introvert. She likes to stay at home and has few friends.
A few is used in a positive sense and means at least some (though not many).

For example:
• It was Diwali, so a few family friends came to visit Rishika.

The few means all of them, though very few.
For example:

• The few friends who came to visit Rishika were impressed by the way she had decorated
her house for Diwali.

Solved Examples

I. Fill in the blanks with a, an, or the wherever necessary.
1. The history club of our school is organising a tour of the historical places in Madhya
Pradesh in the beginning of the autumn break.
2. The Managing Director was busy in an urgent meeting with the CEO. I had to wait for
an hour and a half before I could meet him.
3. If you are a privileged child, you must learn to share the good things of life you have
with the poor and deprived. You must learn to give, for the more you give, the better
you feel.

4. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. There was not
a single cloud in the sky.
5. I sat in the garden in the wee hours of the morning, watching sunlight filtering through
the leaves in the trees.

6. The man who lives in that tiny white cottage in the woods is an artist by profession.
He is an Indian, married to a Japanese. The two are leading a happy and contented
life.

II. Fill in the blanks with some, any, much, many, little, a little, the little, few, a few, or the
few.
1. Has she got any friends?

2. I think there is some butter in the fridge.
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