Re: few/only a few Originally Posted by wowenglish1 I would like to know if there is any difference between "1" and "2". If no, which is more emphatic? 1. He has few friends. 2. He has only a few friends. They are almost equal in meaning but can have different usage. It depends on the situation. You should try to feel it. e.g He knows a few English words ( about 5-10 words) He knows few words to speak English fluently. ( about 500 words) Re: few/only a few we use 'few' as in 'few friends' to emphasize how small a number of people or things is. John has few friends. Paul has a few friends. It could well be that John has more friends than Paul! But as rj1948 says, 'few friends' has a negative connotation (=an idea or feeling that a word invokes in a person in addition to its primary meaning). It implies that he is not liked; there must be something wrong with him that he cannot attract friends. It has the suggestion that the 'few' friends that he does have must be a bit odd themselves, or that a few regular people have such a great capacity for tolerance that they will endure his company. With Paul, it is more a statement of fact. He might have just moved to a new town and still does not know many people. It is a neutral or positive statement, but not negative as with 'few friends'.