few minutes vs a few minutes

Both "few minutes" and "a few minutes" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "Few minutes" implies a small or insufficient amount of time, while "a few minutes" indicates a short but sufficient amount of time. The addition of the article 'a' changes the meaning from negative (few) to positive (a few).

Last updated: April 06, 2024 • 584 views

few minutes

This phrase is correct and implies a small or insufficient amount of time.

Use "few minutes" when you want to convey that there is not much time available or that the time is limited.

Examples:

I have a few minutes to spare before the meeting starts.
There are few minutes left before the deadline.

Show examples from the web [+]

The light-rail train passed by every few minutes.
Programming winding models takes just a few minutes.
Charles, I just need a few minutes alone with you.
I was unfairly harsh to you a few minutes ago.
That delayed our departure for a few minutes.
You should have the documents in a few minutes.
Software takes hardly few minutes to display final result.
A few minutes ago a one-armed man was in here.
Mr. Secretary, I only need you for a few minutes.
Let him know I'll be down in a few minutes.
I'm sure that I could spare a few minutes for you.
He may have been out of my sight for a few minutes.
Wayne assated Tommy in the alley a few minutes later.
You'll be out of air in a few minutes.
She was, for a few minutes, technically dead.
We'll be serving breakfast in a few minutes.
An hour, give or take a few minutes.
Only a few minutes left to start the ritual.
We'll ony be here for a few minutes.
It was just a few minutes.

Alternatives:

scant minutes
limited time
insufficient time
scarce minutes
short time

a few minutes

This phrase is correct and indicates a short but sufficient amount of time.

Use "a few minutes" when you want to convey that there is a short but reasonable amount of time available.

Examples:

I'll be ready in a few minutes.
Just give me a few minutes to finish this task.

Show examples from the web [+]

Mr. Secretary, I only need you for a few minutes.
You'll be out of air in a few minutes.
Charles, I just need a few minutes alone with you.
I was unfairly harsh to you a few minutes ago.
That delayed our departure for a few minutes.
You should have the documents in a few minutes.
Let him know I'll be down in a few minutes.
I'm sure that I could spare a few minutes for you.
He may have been out of my sight for a few minutes.
Wayne assated Tommy in the alley a few minutes later.
She was, for a few minutes, technically dead.
We'll be serving breakfast in a few minutes.
An hour, give or take a few minutes.
We'll ony be here for a few minutes.
I was under the impression you noticed a few minutes ago.
Although, a few minutes ago would have been better.
Although, a few minutes ago would have been better.
Just give me a few minutes to look over there.
We only have a few minutes, so let's focus.
They haven't got a few minutes.

Alternatives:

several minutes
a handful of minutes
a small amount of time
a short period
a couple of minutes

What Our Customers Are Saying

Our customers love us! We have an average rating of 4.79 stars based on 283,125 votes.
Also check out our 2,100+ reviews on TrustPilot (4.9).

"Amazing! I like that the editors are REAL people and not A.I., like some use. The editors actually see clients as real people and not just apart of their job, and it shows. 💖"
moggie April 2025
"TextRanch has been a great help to me, especially at work because I often email my boss."
Jhey April 2025
"Thank you!"
Sachi Nakama July 2024
"I have literally been through chat, PI, claude, bard and bing and I got conflicting answers! Thank you! Human intelligence reigns!"
Retha July 2024
"Faster than AI"
CYNTHIA December 2023
"This was very helpful and I personally think this site is the best."
Kaden October 2023
"It was extremely thorough and very helpful!"
imperialelisa October 2023
"7 years without any disappointment. Always 100% satisfied. You guys are the best in the world at what you do. Thank you so much :)"
Zubair Alam October 2023
"In a world of text messages and online communication, this is great to have as a live tool. Thank you."
Selena October 2023
"Without textranch I would be stuck!"
宏祐 October 2023
"Accuracy and fast response. Personal comments from editor. Thank you."
Clh September 2023
"I wasn't aware of this service, it's fascinating and more reliable than standard IA tools available on the internet"
Arturo September 2023
"The fact that you can get reliable fast feedback on your texts."
Vinicius Antonio August 2023
"you guys are better than grammarly i'm being honest here"
ordinary July 2023
"OMG! This is really good than any other text correction tools I've used so far. Highly recommend this."
Vehan July 2023
"Very fast and accurate. thank you."
mojtaba July 2023
"I love this app because it's help to writing skills all of students ♥️"
Tarisini July 2023
"This was exactly the mistake I was looking for, the wording dind´t sound right at first. Better than grammarly!"
Ente July 2023
"The immediate help that I received was reassuring and very satisfactory. Thanks."
priiiyanshuu July 2023
"this helps A LOT for my studies."
kathnunez02 June 2023
"Woow!! I would never have expected such precision! Thank you soooo much!!"
Berta June 2023
"Real Time Editor and not AI. Many Thanks."
Priya June 2023
"The very first thing excites me about Textranch is how much your editors care."
sepideh June 2023
"The fact that texts are checked by human editors rather than by AI, etc. I appreciate this!"
Анна June 2023