few

few [fju:]

adjective

pronoun

   a. ( = 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 jour

   b. (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 entry

When few is used as a quantifier in certain expressions to mean several, translations vary according to the expression: see I 2 in the entry

When 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 entry

For translations of few used as a pronoun (few of us succeeded, I only need a few) see II, III in the entry

For 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) quantifier

1) (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

the few books she possessed — les quelques livres qu'elle possédait

2.

a few quantifier, pronoun quelques

a 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

there are only a very few left — il n'en reste que très peu

3.

pronoun (not many) peu

few 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.