- few
- few [fju:]adjectivepronouna. ( = not many) peu (de)• few books peu de livres• few of them came peu d'entre eux sont venus• he is one of the few people able to do this c'est l'une des rares personnes qui puisse le faire• these past few weeks ces dernières semaines• the next few days les (quelques) jours qui viennent• with few exceptions à de rares exceptions près• such occasions are few and far between de telles occasions sont rares• there are always the few who think that ... il y a toujours la minorité qui croit que ...• so few have been sold on en a vendu si peu• as few as three cigarettes a day seulement trois cigarettes par jourb. (set structures)► a few ( = some) quelques(-uns) quelques(-unes)• a few books quelques livres mpl• I know a few of these people je connais quelques-unes de ces personnes• a few thought otherwise certains pensaient autrement• I'd like a few more j'en voudrais quelques-un(e)s de plus• a few more ideas d'autres idées• he has had a good few (drinks) il a pas mal (inf) bu• there were only a few of us nous n'étions qu'une poignée► quite a few• how many? -- quite a few combien ? -- pas mal (inf)• quite a few books pas mal (inf) de livres• I saw quite a few people there j'y ai vu pas mal (inf) de gens► too few trop peu• he has too few books il a trop peu de livres• there were three too few il en manquait trois• too few of them realize that ... trop peu d'entre eux sont conscients que ...* * *Note: When few is used as a quantifier to indicate the smallness or insufficiency of a given number or quantity (few houses, few people, few shops) it is translated by peu de: peu de maisons, peu de gens, peu de magasins. Equally the few is translated by le peu de: the few people who knew her le peu de gens qui la connaissaient. For examples and particular usages see I 1 in the entryWhen few is used as a quantifier in certain expressions to mean several, translations vary according to the expression: see I 2 in the entryWhen a few is used as a quantifier (a few books), it can often be translated by quelques: quelques livres; however, for expressions such as quite a few books, a good few books, see II in the entryFor translations of few used as a pronoun (few of us succeeded, I only need a few) see II, III in the entryFor translations of the few used as a noun (the few who voted for him) see III in the entry[fjuː] 1.(comparative fewer; superlative fewest) quantifier1) (not many) peu de
few visitors/letters — peu de visiteurs/lettres
one of my few pleasures — un de mes rares plaisirs
their needs are few — ils ont peu de besoins
to be few in number — être peu nombreux
too few women — trop peu de femmes
with few exceptions — à quelques exceptions près
2) (some, several)every few days — tous les deux ou trois jours
over the next few days/weeks — (in past) dans les jours/semaines qui ont suivi; (in future) dans les jours/semaines à venir
these past few days — ces derniers jours
the first few weeks — les premières semaines
2.the few books she possessed — les quelques livres qu'elle possédait
a few quantifier, pronoun quelquesa few people/houses — quelques personnes/maisons
I would like a few more — j'en voudrais quelques-uns/quelques-unes de plus
quite a few people/houses — pas mal (colloq) de gens/maisons, un bon nombre de personnes/maisons
a good few years — un bon nombre d'années
a few of the soldiers/countries — quelques-uns or certains des soldats/pays
a few of us — un certain nombre d'entre nous
there were only a few of them — il n'y en avait que quelques-uns/quelques-unes
quite a few ou a good few of the tourists come from Germany — un bon nombre des touristes viennent d'Allemagne
3.there are only a very few left — il n'en reste que très peu
pronoun (not many) peufew of us succeeded — peu d'entre nous ont réussi
there are so few of them that — il y en a tellement peu que
there are four too few — il en manque quatre
as few as four people turned up — quatre personnes seulement sont venues
the few who voted for him — les rares personnes qui ont voté pour lui
••they are few and far between — ils sont rarissimes
to have had a few (too many) — (colloq) avoir bu quelques verres (de trop)
English-French dictionary. 2013.