Comments on: Few vs. Several

By: Don Vaillancourt

Don Vaillancourt — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:19:51 +0000

A handful is more than a mouthful, or less, depending on the person.

I agree with Ali that a couple should be two. But if you look at its use, coupling things together can imply more than two. But usually coupling involves two at the actual time of coupling.

More than two results in polycoupling. And really, wasn’t there a raid in Texas a while back because of that.

By: Ali

Ali — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:11:54 +0000

I would say that a couple HAS to be two exactly… three’s a crowd.

By: cmdweb

cmdweb — Wed, 14 May 2008 10:21:35 +0000

I agree with Brad. I use ‘a couple’ in speech but rarely in writing. A few to me would mean more than a couple but less than a handful – oh no, what’s a handful…??

By: Alfa King

Alfa King — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:13:28 +0000

Good insight into the origins of these words.

By: guardian angel

guardian angel — Sun, 11 May 2008 11:32:02 +0000

I always think that few and several are not interchangeable, but it is only now that I learned about their proper use.

Another quality lesson from you that I should be thankful.