only a few vs only few

Both "only a few" and "only few" are correct, but they are used in different contexts. "Only a few" is used when you want to emphasize a small number of something, while "only few" is used to indicate a scarcity or lack of something.

Last updated: March 27, 2024 • 2674 views

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English to emphasize a small number of something.

"only a few"

Use "only a few" when you want to emphasize that there are very few of something. It is often used to indicate a limited quantity.

Examples:

Only a few people attended the meeting.
There are only a few apples left in the basket.
I have only a few dollars in my wallet.
She has only a few friends in this city.
There are only a few days left until the deadline.

Show examples from the web [+]

Only a few means unselected or the unknown few of a proposed random group. Of the many people on the cruise, only a few suffered from seasickness. More are ...
Jan 26, 2022 ... With the Jan. 28 deadline to apply for federal disaster assistance only a few days away, FEMA—along with their state and federal recovery ...
Individual oligodendrocytes have only a few hours in which to generate new myelin sheaths in vivo. Dev Cell. 2013 Jun 24;25(6):599-609. doi: ...
24 hours ago ... Similarly, only a few of Colorado's largest cities still have rising property crime totals: Fort Collins, Greeley and Pueblo.
2 days ago ... You may experience all or only a few symptoms. Sometimes, people have flu-like symptoms before the rash. Some people get a rash first, ...
Layered MAX phase electrocatalyst activity is driven by only a few hot spots†. Check for updates. Katarina A. Novčić,^a Christian Iffelsberger · ORCID logo ...

Alternatives:

just a few
only a small number of
only a handful of

This phrase is correct and is used to indicate a scarcity or lack of something.

"only few"

Use "only few" when you want to emphasize that there is a scarcity of something. It is often used to convey a sense of shortage or insufficiency.

Examples:

Only few people can afford to buy a house in this neighborhood.
There are only few opportunities for advancement in this company.
Only few students passed the exam.
She has only few possessions after moving to a new country.
There are only few chances of success in this venture.

Show examples from the web [+]

However, only few countries have obligatory in-service training for school leaders.
In general only few pigs in a herd give rise to these false/positive reactions.
Also, only few Union producers would be manufacturing (fine) bone china.
There are only few manufacturers of mercury barometers in the EU, mainly SMEs located in the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands.
It will surprise you... ...but between you and me, there are only few differences.
The existing restriction on PFOS in the Union contains only few exemptions compared to those included in the COP4 decision.
R& D in statistics has an important European dimension, because statistical production is international by nature as only few Member States could afford it on their own.
For these categories of persons, only few documents can be requested in order to issue the visa.
There are only few minutes of air here. I've also blocked the device.
R&D in statistics has an important European dimension, because statistical production is international by nature as only few Member States could afford it on their own.
The market of white phosphorus is highly concentrated, since there are only few producers in the world.
The participation conditions for SMEs referring the full-time equivalent and the investment in research conditions are very high, such that only few SMEs can attend to the program.
There're only few of us, can't help
Many contributors agree that the budget has evolved significantly over time, but only few are fully satisfied with the current budget structure.
In particular, the goods herbal and vitamin beverages on the one hand and fruit juice concentrate on the other hand are only remotely similar because they possess only few points of contact.
Currently only few labels benefit from Community recognition, namely those granted within the framework of: -
In Europe, only few countries have developed high security level capability (due to technological and budget difficulties), and two of them (France and the United Kingdom) are nuclear countries.
Didn't you say that only few people can use, the power of the book?
The market size of domestic pallet services is the second smallest one in the CEP sector in Hungary, and given its marginal importance, the market has only few permanent operators.
A limited extension of the scope to energy related products will not allow achieving the full potential of cost efficient improvements of environmental impacts of products as only few new products groups would be added.

Alternatives:

only a small number of
scarcely any
hardly any

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only a few vs only few

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