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# few

«few» in Mova's judaism dictionary: **not many: few people came** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

adjective, determiner, pronoun (few, fewer, fewest; a few)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Few means not many: few people came. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#m1)

2) «A few» means a small number, some: I have a few sweets. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#m2)

3) Fewer means a smaller number than another; fewest means the smallest number of all. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

Interpretation: Moses prays that Reuben's men will not become few. Tradition notes Israel's small number as a sign that its strength comes from God and not from size. In the primary lessons: in «how many fewer … than» the difference between two amounts (subtract the smaller from the bigger); «4 fewer than 11» = 11 − 4; in everyday life «a few minutes», «quite a few» (many); in science «few animals live in the desert»

### examples

- Let Reuben live, and not die in that his men become few. (Torah DEU.33.6, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x1)
- and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away; (Torah GEN.27.44, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x2)
- And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. (Torah GEN.29.20, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x3)
- Yea, very few, and sojourners in it, (Writings PSA.105.12, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x4)
- When they were but a few men in number. (Writings PSA.105.12, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x5)
- Let his days be few; let another take his charge. (Writings PSA.109.8, JPS 1917) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x6)
- A box has 20 balloons and a bag has 19 balloons. How many fewer balloons are in the bag than in the box? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x7)
- Tom has 4 fewer pens than Lisa. Lisa has 11 pens. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x8)
- Ann has a few stamps. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x9)
- Wait a few minutes, please. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x10)
- Few people swim in the sea in winter. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x11)
- Our team scored fewer goals than theirs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x12)
- Which class has the fewest books? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x13)
- I have a few friends on my street. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x14)
- In a few minutes they were ready. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/#x15)

### note

«fewer … than» asks for a difference: subtract the smaller from the bigger. Trap: «Tom has 4 fewer than Lisa» with Lisa's amount given asks for Tom's: subtract 4 from Lisa's. «Few» goes with things you can count (few apples); «little» and «less» with things you cannot count (little water). «Few» sounds sad (not enough); «a few» sounds neutral (some).

### In the corpora

- [and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury turn away;](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.822/)
- [Let Reuben live, and not die in that his men become few.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/DEU.943/)
- [Then he said: 'Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/2KI.80/)
- [And the remnant of the trees of his forest shall be few, that a child may write them down.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/ISA.235/)
- [Thou shalt also take thereof a few by number, and bind them in thy skirts.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/neviim/jps/EZK.89/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «few» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/F/few/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.