few， a few & quite a few辨析

few， a few， quite a few三者都用来修饰可数名词，但意义不同。

few意为“几乎没有”，带有否定含义。

He is lonely and has few friends here. 他很孤独，在这儿几乎没有朋友。

Very few students learn Latin now. 现在学拉丁语的学生少得很。

a few意为“有几个”，带有肯定意义。

A few of the men wore hats. 这些男人中有几个戴着帽子。

In a few words she had put him in his place. 她简单几句话就杀了他的威风。

quite a few意为“许多”，相当于many。

I have quite a few good friends. I often visit them. 我有相当多的好朋友，我经常拜访他们。

Quite a few of our sale staff are women. 我们相当多的销售人员是女士。

【拓展】

little， a little辨析

little和a little都修饰不可数名词，little与a little的区别跟few与a few的区别相似。

little表示否定意义，表示数量“很少；几乎没有”，强调“少”。

I have little interest in drawing. 我对画画没什么兴趣。

a little表示肯定意义，表示量虽不多，但毕竟还是有一点，强调“有”。

The room attendant speaks a little English. 客房服务员会讲一点英语。

与few和a few不同的是，few和a few后面总是要接可数名词的复数形式，而little和a little后面只能接不可数名词。

Few people like such things. 没什么人喜欢那样的东西。

A few people like such things. 有少数人喜欢那样的东西。

He knows little English. 他几乎不懂英语。

He knows a little English. 他懂一点英语。

【典型题例】

Although hes wealthy， he spends ____ on clothes.

A. little B. few C. a little D. a few

【答案】 A

【解析】 spend所指的是钱，不可数，只能用little或 a little。本句为although引导的让步状语从句，由句意知后句为否定含义，因此应用little表示“很少的（钱）”。