Few or A Few ? It depends on the situation , expectation and emotion

         

  “A few ” means  “ some ” , “ a small number”  or “ a handful”.  The implied meaning is  “ not a big number , but not too small either.”

You may say 

1.    I have  written a few essays  about  World War II.

    2.    A few guests arrived  early  at the party. 

    “ Few ” , on the other hand ,  means “ not many ” or “ almost none” . The word “ few ” emphasizes the smallness of the number.

You may say :

    1.    There are only few people  who are willing to help for free.

    2.    Unfortunately , few people  are really good at listening to others.

Let’s put this in context .

Let’s say  that it’s  an  awfully   cold  rainy day . A teacher  does not expect her students to come . She expects no one . But when she enters her room , she finds eight  students ( out of the total forty ) .  Then, she can say to her colleagues after the class:

“ Wow , I had  A FEW  students actually . ”

Now, let’s change the weather. Let’s say it’s a bright , sunny day . The teacher expects  most of her students  to come , but finds  only  eight  out  of forty . Then , she can say to her colleagues after the class:

“ Guess what. I had  FEW  students today . I wonder what happened to them.”

( and if she says “ very few” , that gives greater  emphasis on the “ smallness.”

                In terms of the emotions conveyed , “ a few ” is somewhat neutral or leaning toward  the positive side.  On the other hand , “ few  ” expresses a tone of sadness  or  regret.

              So , if you have three friends  and  you say :

“ I have a few friends. ”

then , it means that you’re okay and happy  with that . 

But if you say  :

“ I have few friends. ”

the connotation is that you are not happy with the number  of friends you have  ( i.e. , three )  and that  you wish   you had more friends around you.

So , the next time you have to choose between “  a few ” and “ few ”,  you have to first analyze  the situation ,  expectation and emotion .

                              

p.s.

I think three good friends are enough.

                      

Collective Nouns

                       

                                               

 COLLECTIVE NOUNS

          A collective noun takes a singular verb when it is  referred to as a unit or as a group acting as one . However ,  it takes a plural verb when its members are referred to as separate individuals with separate actions  or qualities .  Examples of collective nouns are  committee , board , council , group , team , batch , congregation  and entourage.

   

 Examples :

1. The senate committee on ethics  has decided to investigate the complaint against the solon. [ singular ] 
2. The senate committee  on ethics have been  arguing since this morning.[plural] 

 Activity :   Encircle the  letter of the  answer that   will  correctly  complete each sentence.

1.    The  choir ________still deliberating on the repertoire of songs  for the jubilee concert.

a.  is                         b. are                         c. has                   d. have

2.    The congress  ______________ divided on the issue of charter change .

a. seems                 b.   seeming                    c. seem             d. has seemed 

3.    The FBI   ____________  its investigation on the fraud case.

a. have wrapped  up               b. wrapping up     

c. has wrapped up                  d. are wrapping up

4.    The parliament _________________ to have  a recess for a month.

a. are scheduled                                   b. is scheduled

c. were scheduled                                d. scheduled

5.    The  senate ___________  going to start the  session  when some of its members walked out of the hall.

a.  are                   b.  were                    c.  was             d. will

6.    Due to the  sudden rain ,  the  marching band  _____________  to different directions .    

a. going                                   b. has gone

c.  have gone                          d. gone

7.    HS Batch ’98 _____________going to have a reunion  at the  Atlanta  Polo Club a week from  now.

a. is                                   b. are                   c. was             d.  were

8.    The band ______________  October  27  as the date of their fund-raising concert .

         a. have chosen          b. chosen             c. choose                d.  has chosen

9.    FC Barcelona ______________ on a one-month vacation  after winning  the Copa Cup .  

a. is        b.   are           c.  are going     d.    have gone   

10. The board of directors _________________ a split decision on the election of a new chairman .

a. has rendered                                                       b. have rendered

b. is rendering                                                         d. has rendering

Vocabulary Activity

                                                               


1. redundant  - repetitious
2. peril   - danger
3. catholic   - universal
4. enervate  -  to cause  one to lose energy
5. gullible - easily fooled

Activity  :  Fill in the blank with the correct word.

1.  When I told Phillip that  Justin Bieber visited the school when he was absent , he actually believed it . He is so _______________________.

2. One thing that I don't like about Professor Smith is that he  says the same thing over and over again . He is __________________________.

3. Love for  one's family exists in all ethnic groups .  It  is a _____________________   trait .

4.  Any day that goes higher than  25 degrees Celsius will knock me off.  Heat  easily _____________ me.

5. The men  ignored the ______________ of the rough sea  and went fishing anyway . 

Compound subjects connected by " or" , " either-or" or " neither-nor "

 

              For compound subjects connected by  “or”  , “either-or”    or   “neither- nor" , the verb should agree with the subject nearer  the verb.

Look at these examples .

    1.    Either  John   or  the  Quincy   brothers  are going to  wash the dishes at the  bar tonight .   

( In Sentence  1 , the  plural noun “ brothers ” is nearer  the verb . Therefore , the verb should be  “ are ” .  But look at Sentence 2 below. We have switched  the position of the  two subjects.        Now , the  singular  noun “ John ” is nearer the verb position , thus , the verb has to be changed to         “ is ” )

  

     2.    Either the Quincy  brothers  or John  is going to  wash the dishes at the bar tonight .  

Here  are more examples :

     1.    Either I or you   are responsible  for the missing  book that we borrowed from the professor .

     2.    Neither she nor I have the time to prepare dinner tonight.

     3.    Neither Bert nor his family members  are voting for that corrupt senator .

     4.    Either the printers or the laptop  needs to be fixed by the technician.

     5.    Either the cupcakes or the ice cream is to be served  for  dessert.

Practice Activity  1  : Underline the correct verb.

   1.    Either  I or she   [  has / have  ]  to buy the pizza for all of us .

   2   Neither the chairs nor the table  [ has  / have ] been cleaned by the janitor.

   3    Either the teacher or two of her students  [  is  / are ]  preparing the laboratory  equipment.

   4.    Peter or his sister  [ is / are ]  taking care of their sickly  parents.

   5.    Neither this dress  nor these shoes   [ is / are ] on sale.

Practice Activity 2 : Choose the correct   compound subject .

   1.    ________________  is attending the party.

a.    Either Dan or his friends

b.    Neither you nor I

c.    Either Beth or Mary

  2.    ________________ have the skills for this job.

a.    Either you or she

b.    Neither the outgoing engineer nor the new applicants

c.    Either my friend Harry or your football buddy

   3.    _________________ has to re-write the script  for the new drama.

a.    Either the original writers or the director

b.    Neither the director nor the writers

c.      The actors  and the writer

  4.    __________________believe in love at first sight .

a.    Neither you nor I

b.    Neither I nor she

c.    Neither they nor he

   5.    __________________ is going to New York.

a.    Either Paul or  Jim and Kate

b.    Either you or your cousin

c.    Neither she nor you

Every day or Everyday ?

Don't get confused .

" Every day " ( two words )  is a phrase that means  " each day ".

Read these sentences :

a. Every day , thousands of refugees cross international borders . 

b. My neighbor   never fails to piss me off every day. 

You can replace " every day " with " each day " , and the sentence remains grammatically correct.

On the other hand , "everyday" ( one word  )  is an adjective  that

  means  " common , normal or ordinary ".It comes before a noun. 

Take a look  at the sentences below. 

a.You should not wear everyday clothes to a business meeting.

b. Everyday  life has become monotonous to the old man. 

If you try to replace " everyday " with "each day" , the sentence becomes grammatically wrong .  

                            

Activity :  Write  " every day " or " everyday ".

1. ______________ work for him is answering phone calls  from angry and rude customers.

2. Since he laid eyes on her in that Italian cafe , he has been sending  her flowers __________________  for a month.

3. ________________ is a new day . Make the most out of it. 

4. We have to learn how to deal with _____________struggles. 

5. And she loved him , ____________ of her  remaining life. 

Speaking Practice : Talk About A Famous Person You Admire

Stationery or Stationary ?