Learn English – the reason for putting an article before “few” even-though it talks about plural

articlesindefinite-articleplural-formssingularsingular-vs-plural

What is the reason for putting an article before "few" (a few) even-though it talks about plural?

Generally the word "few" is always supposed to talk about more than one, then why does it get an article before.

Example:

  • Just a few people wake-up so early at the morning.
  • I've got a few fruits and vegetables.
  • A few minutes later he came and brought the good news.

Best Answer

"Few" and "a few" are significantly different in grammar and meaning.

"A few" is neutral: it simply refers to a small number of whatever, without suggesting any expectations.

"Few" triggers negative polarity expressions (such as "any" and "yet"), and emphasises the smallness of the number, and suggests that a larger number might have been expected.

A few people have registered.

A few people have an idea what's going on.

Contrast this with:

Few people have registered yet.

Few people have any idea what's going on.

both of which are emphasising that the number of people is small.

A few with negative polarity items is not grammatical:

*A few people have registered yet.

*A few people have any idea what's going on.

There is no real answer to your question: like most "why" or "what is the reason" questions about language, the only answer is "because that's the way it is".