student asking question

Would it sound awkward if I say "few" instead of "several" in this context?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

In terms of amount/volume, "several" implies "more" than "few" does. You can consider this to be the order, from fewest to most: a couple (2), few (~3-4), several (5+), many. Thus, "few" cannot be used here as the meaning of the sentence would change (it would imply less time went by). Ex: I have several coworkers who live near me. Ex: I only have a few cousins and no siblings.

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