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Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2013 March 6

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March 6

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Using the correct words

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"A few years back" and "Few years back" is there any diference in thir meaning? When "A few" should be used and when only "Few" should be used?- - - - 66.8.185.224 (talk) 06:41, 6 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

In US English, I'd use the first, except in some rather casual speech, like texting. British English tends to omit "the" in places where it's required in US English, though, so they might be OK with omitting "A", too. The meaning is the same, in either case. StuRat (talk) 07:03, 6 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]
I moved your signature out of the title and into the body. StuRat (talk) 07:05, 6 March 2013 (UTC) [reply]
The A is necessary in British English. It could perhaps be left out in fast speech but even that's not usual. Itsmejudith (talk) 07:07, 6 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

There's a case you may know about, involving the word "few", where the meaning varies considerably depending on whether the "a" is there or not. For example:

  • "Few people believe this". This is saying that, while there are some people who believe this, their numbers are few (and maybe we can ignore them)
  • "A few people believe this". This is saying that, while their numbers may be few, there are nevertheless some people who believe this (and maybe we should listen to them).

Just a difference in stress when it comes down to it, but it can change the whole meaning of the sentence. Your original question was not like this, however. The "A" has to be there, and it means only one thing. -- Jack of Oz [Talk] 07:31, 6 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

In any case, the correct way of expression should be "[a] few years ago". I dare say a few years back is slang and should not be used for Written English. ☯ Bonkers The Clown \(^_^)/ Nonsensical Babble ☯ 14:24, 6 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]
It's entirely clear. By what law ought it not be used for Written (Capitalised) English? AlexTiefling (talk) 19:07, 6 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]
This page shows that "years back" is much less used than "years ago" in British English and not used at all in British academic texts. It certainly sounds colloquial to me. Alansplodge (talk) 19:45, 6 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

There can be a tendency in conversation to leave off small understood words at the beginning of a sentence. If someone walks in the door and says "Dammit! Left the keys in the car." You can be sure they are not saying "Who left the keys in the car" or "You left the keys in the car". "Few years back" seems exactly like this, the initial "a" has been dropped as understood. I would never expect to hear it in the middle: *"When my cat got sick few years back I had to euthanize him". That would just be abnormal. μηδείς (talk) 18:38, 6 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

"Left the keys in the car" sounds natural to my BrEng ears but "Few years ago" doesn't. Itsmejudith (talk) 08:56, 7 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]
"Few" and "a few" are English quantifier expressions with the same denotation (a small number) and entirely different pragmatics. "Few" is somewhat literary, and is used only in order to emphasise how small the number is. It is also restricted to counting discrete objects, so "few years" would be used only when talking about a collection of particular years, as in "Few years last century were as momentous as ...", as opposed to delineated the length of a period. --ColinFine (talk) 15:56, 7 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]
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