the smallest possible number of people vs possible the smallest number of people

Both phrases are grammatically correct, but they have slightly different meanings. 'The smallest possible number of people' implies that the number of people is the smallest that is achievable or feasible. 'Possible the smallest number of people' suggests that the number of people could potentially be the smallest, but it is not explicitly stated as the smallest.

Last updated: March 25, 2024 • 1008 views

the smallest possible number of people

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

This phrase is used to refer to the minimum number of people that is feasible or achievable in a given situation.

Examples:

We need to have the smallest possible number of people at the meeting due to space constraints.
Please invite only the smallest possible number of people to the event.

Show examples from the web [+]

Combination settings shall be committed to memory by the smallest possible number of individuals needing to know them.
If the quotas are being observed, surely it is in the interest of the fishing communities of the regions and the individuals involved to go out and catch these fish with the smallest possible number of fishing vessels.
The sample mounts must cause only the smallest possible amount of mechanical stress.
It's the smallest possible price.
Apparent source is the real or virtual object that forms the smallest possible retinal image.
I prefer to arrive with the smallest possible complement.
I could add my thanks that this year Hungary was first in disease prevention, as we had the smallest number of people infected with diseases against which there had been a vaccination campaign.
Using the smallest possible aperture, Mr Blasanov... and the fastest shutter speed, our endeavour is to capture...
I was just hanging on to the smallest possible hope, you know, but...
This proposal was aimed at the Italian fleet gradually abolishing the use of drift nets with the smallest possible effect on employment.
We must do everything in our power to achieve the smallest possible concentration of different sized airborne particulates in most parts of Europe by 2015.
Including information on safer Internet use in the various e-Europe programmes, and training activities in particular, is one of the most promising ways forward, as a cost-effective means of reaching the largest possible number of people.
The European Year of Education through Sport should enable the greatest possible number of people - particularly young people - to be made aware of the importance of lifelong participation in sport.
In this context, the proposal is that intermediate structures should be set up at local and regional level to provide appropriate contact points for the largest possible number of people.
However, under the agreement, data can only be transferred with the approval of Europol, on a case-by-case basis and in the smallest possible quantities.
Madam President, I think it is highly regrettable that the compromise achieved in the conciliation procedure is being rejected today by the smallest possible margin.
GL: Well, as far as we know electrons are point particles, so this would be going down to the smallest possible scales. So the way these things are explained in quantum field theory is, all possibilities are expanding and developing at once.
In the long term, priority should be given throughout Europe to promoting those biofuels which show high efficiency, in other words, whose production involves the smallest possible greenhouse gas emissions and minimises other environmental damage.
The definition of the statistical principle of cost effectiveness in Article 2 should expressly also include the smallest possible burden on the respondent, as is stated in the current Regulation.
One never knows the capacity of an ordinary hand satchel until dire necessity compels the exercise of all one's ingenuity to reduce everything to the smallest possible compass.

Alternatives:

the fewest people possible
the minimum number of people
the smallest number of people that can be accommodated
the least number of people that can attend
the minimum possible number of attendees

possible the smallest number of people

This phrase is correct but less commonly used in English.

This phrase suggests that the number of people could potentially be the smallest, but it is not explicitly stated as the smallest.

Examples:

We could have possible the smallest number of people attending the event.

Show examples from the web [+]

I could add my thanks that this year Hungary was first in disease prevention, as we had the smallest number of people infected with diseases against which there had been a vaccination campaign.
How can you label them, removing the smallest number of sweets?
Friends had jokingly coined the term a Dirac, which stands for the smallest number of words it is possible to speak in one hour, while still taking part in a conversation.
2005 saw the smallest number of immigrants arriving in pateras (small boats) since 1999:11.797 immigrants landed illegally on the Spanish coast, 24.7% less than in 2004, when the figure was 15.675.
The smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways.
What's the smallest number we can get away with?
Apex predators - species at the top of the food chain - have the smallest numbers and move in the tiniest packs.
Apex predators - species at the top of the food chain - have the smallest numbers and move in the tiniest packs.
Total number of packages based on the smallest external packing unit.
The number of plain detonators and boosters contained shall be printed on the smallest packaging unit.
Combination settings shall be committed to memory by the smallest possible number of individuals needing to know them.
At the same time, the smallest States must be guaranteed a certain number of Members within the framework of the seven hundred seats we have set as a ceiling.
The number of size classes and the span of the smallest size class facilitate for the Member States to reduce the response burden on SME.
The number of pensioners continues to increase, while we have falling numbers of people active on the labour market.
What we are discussing today makes possible the repeal of a huge number of directives.
Member States should aim to reduce the number of people affected by healthcare associated infections.
Historians are entitled to discuss the number of people killed and how they died.
The number of people trying to enter Poland has risen since the country joined the passport-free Schengen zone last year.
I think a decent number of people watch it.
It could have been touched by any number of people before that night.

Alternatives:

potentially the smallest number of people
maybe the smallest number of people
perhaps the smallest number of people
could be the smallest number of people
might be the smallest number of people

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the smallest possible number of people vs possible the smallest number of people