Page 3 | A few is three

WindyWends · 2023-04-17T06:40:46+00:00

(Lighthearted) DH and I can't agree that: 'A couple of times' is two A 'few' is three And several is 4+ times. So, I go to the shop a couple of times a week (twice) I run a few times a week (three sessions) and gym 4+ times a week (so I go several times). DH thinks a few means two or three and several times means like 10+ times a week. Who's right?!

QuinkWashable · 17/04/2023 10:50

A few is around 5.
4 is just about a few, and 3 is barely a few. If you gave me 3 or 4 smarties and said it was 'a few' I would think you were stingy.

Several is a good handful - I would say 7+ for several.

amusedbush · 17/04/2023 11:15

DH and I have had this argument so many times; our understanding of these words differs and causes many misunderstandings.

A couple is 2, a few is 5 and several is 7. So, to me, "a few weeks ago" is just over a month ago, whereas my DH uses a few to mean 2-3 "a few weeks" is not the same as a fortnight!

Random789 · 17/04/2023 11:22

Amazed that Henry V won his fight with just the three soldiers:

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother...

CatherinedeBourgh · 17/04/2023 11:28

As others have said, context dependent.

I go to the gym a few times a week is not the same number as I go to the gym a few times a month/year. Six times a week is definitely not a few times a week, but six times a year is definitely a few times a year!

WheelsUp · 17/04/2023 11:32

I think that a couple is 2 in any context.

Over the course of a week
a few = 3
Several = 4, 5 or 6
Daily = 7

Several is between 51% and 99% imo

Saltired · 17/04/2023 11:33

60smusic · 17/04/2023 08:49

A couple is definitely two, that's what's in dictionaries, like a couple of items, a couple - two people etc. I learned single is one and couple is two in school.

It pisses me off when people say to me that they're going on holiday for a couple of weeks and come home after 10 days and insist that 10 days is a couple of weeks. No... It's 2 weeks.

After that anything goes, a few, several can mean any length or amount.

See, to me 10 days is not two weeks. You count the completed weeks, not partial weeks - otherwise doing an overnight could be counted as “going away for a week” right?

piratypotato · 17/04/2023 11:34

I think that a couple is 2 in any context

Nah. If I said I had a couple of drinks, there is no way I had 2!!!

strawberry2017 · 17/04/2023 11:41

A few means 3 to me

WheelsUp · 17/04/2023 14:48

piratypotato · 17/04/2023 11:34

I think that a couple is 2 in any context

Nah. If I said I had a couple of drinks, there is no way I had 2!!!

😂

Inthesamesinkingboat · 17/04/2023 14:51

Apart from “couple” they have no exact interpretation and all have a degree of flexibility in their usage.

Ontopofthesunset · 17/04/2023 16:22

But even 'couple' doesn't have a fixed meaning. If you mean exactly two, and you know it's exactly two, why would you say 'couple'? Using 'couple' rather than the number 2 implies a degree of vagueness or uncertainty, deliberate or not.

So apart from when you are talking about a married couple or a couple in physics, it means 'about two' but possibly, as in the case of drinks or snacks or concerns, three or more. 'A couple of weeks ago' might be two and a half weeks, or 12 days, but it's around two weeks, and definitely less than a month.

Ontopofthesunset · 17/04/2023 16:25

I mean, if I always go shopping twice a week, I'll say I go shopping twice a week. But if I usually go twice a week, but sometimes only go once and sometimes more than twice, I might say 'a couple of times a week' as that is suitably vague.

GiltEdges · 17/04/2023 16:26

Claridges12 · 17/04/2023 08:29

I've just read some information on applying for a job. It says that the process takes between a few months and several months. This makes no sense to me. To me, "a few" means around 6 or 7, and "several" means 4 or 5. "A couple" doesn't mean 2 - it means 2 or 3. If you mean 2, then just say 2.

A couple is 2. How many people are in a couple?

piratypotato · 17/04/2023 16:31

GiltEdges · 17/04/2023 16:26

A couple is 2. How many people are in a couple?

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A couple is 2 if you are talking about people, yes. But you aren't always talking about people.

A couple of miles away does not mean exactly 2 miles, it could be 1.5 or more than 3. A couple of years ago does not mean precisely two years, it could be more or less. A couple of drinks is generally not two. Even when you're talking about people...I had a couple of friends over does not necessarily mean two friends.

"A couple means two people so a couple always means two" is very rigid thinking

Original poster

WindyWends · 17/04/2023 20:27

strawberry2017 · 17/04/2023 11:41

A few means 3 to me

Yes! In any context. A few = three.

OP posts:

Original poster

WindyWends · 17/04/2023 20:29

piratypotato · 17/04/2023 16:31

A couple is 2 if you are talking about people, yes. But you aren't always talking about people.

A couple of miles away does not mean exactly 2 miles, it could be 1.5 or more than 3. A couple of years ago does not mean precisely two years, it could be more or less. A couple of drinks is generally not two. Even when you're talking about people...I had a couple of friends over does not necessarily mean two friends.

"A couple means two people so a couple always means two" is very rigid thinking

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A couple of friends, a couple of minutes, a couple of drinks, would, in each case 100% mean 2 friends, 2 minutes and 2 drinks, in my mind.

More would mean a few, or several!

OP posts:

CheriseNuland · 17/04/2023 20:31

Albaniarocks · 17/04/2023 07:45

It all depends on context. A few could mean 20 if you invited 100 people to a party but only a few turned up. A couple is strictly 2, but could mean more if you only had "a couple of biscuits".

Nope. A couple of biscuits is 2 biscuits. You are completely in denial😎

Limboingnow · 17/04/2023 20:36

A couple means two or three ( otherwise would say two).
Few means four or five alliteration
Several means around seven as similar words

Divorcedalongtime · 17/04/2023 20:39

A few definitely starts at 3 and above

LucifersLight · 17/04/2023 20:45

One wouldn’t say few for less than 3 unless one was unhinged, maybe english as a second language. Even americans wouldn’t get that wrong.

However, few is more like a % as it relates to the overall potential of the volume of possibilities - e.g. a few might be 50 out of a million.

But generally you are correct, “a few” is usually considered 3 or 4, whereas several is more than “a few”, and obviously “a couple” is 2.

piratypotato · 17/04/2023 20:46

WindyWends · 17/04/2023 20:29

A couple of friends, a couple of minutes, a couple of drinks, would, in each case 100% mean 2 friends, 2 minutes and 2 drinks, in my mind.

More would mean a few, or several!

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Well then your mind is far too rigid.

YouSoundLovely · 17/04/2023 20:51

Random789 · 17/04/2023 11:22

Amazed that Henry V won his fight with just the three soldiers:

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother...

See also 'Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.'

On 'couple' - German has 'ein Paar' (capital P), meaning a pair of something or a couple (two people in a relationship) and 'ein paar' (small p) meaning a small number of something - so couple in the other sense. The distinction's not as clear in English because the spelling's the same, but if you think about it, you wouldn't say 'a couple of' to actually mean two of an object. It's not 'a couple of shoes'. I think it's often used to minimise/as a euphemism, as in the 'couple of drinks' example. Or think of getting a document back from your boss at work with the comment 'I only need a couple of changes'. No way does that mean two.

lljkk · 17/04/2023 21:04

The old fashioned dictionary definition was
few = several = 2 or 3

But nowadays how they are used is
few = not many
several = neither many nor few

Which is stupid. Meaningless words.

CutesyUserName · 17/04/2023 21:05

Agreed, a few is 3.

Several is also 3.

A 'good few' can be 3-5.

'Quite a few' can be more than 5.

MrsRinaDecker · 17/04/2023 21:06

I’ve also noticed in American English several has a slightly different meaning, more similar to few (so for example “only several” where we might say “only a few”) emphasising a lack of something.
I would generally use few for 3-5, or (with bigger numbers) to mean less than half of something. Several would be 5+ or just more than a few depending on context.