Re: Few vs. a few

caeruleancentaur wrote:
>
> I notice a difference in connotation in these two
> expressions.  "A few people attended the meeting,"
> means simply that there was a small number in
> attendance.  "Few people attended the meeting"
> connotes a certain disappointment: "There were not
> as many people in attendance as we had expected."

This is one of the constructions which often trips up
non-native speakers of English. Even on this list, one
often sees, e.g., "I'm not worried about ambiguity. In
a conlang, few ambiguities are good," when in context,
"a few ambiguities" was intended.

--Ph. D.