Given below are four sentences.Choose the one which is grammatically correct:-
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → I gave him the few coins I had.
Few, a few and the few:
- Few = hardly any (a negative idea): Few people came.
- A few = some, a small number (a positive idea): A few people came.
- The few = all of the small number there is, a definite group: The few people who came enjoyed it.
- Deciding clue: "I had" points to a definite small number, all the coins the speaker had, so the few is correct.
Example: She sold the few books she owned.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: I gave him a few coins I had. — Incorrect. "A few" means some, not all; the definite group "the coins I had" needs "the few".
Option 2: I gave him few coins I had. — Incorrect. "Few" means hardly any; it cannot point to the definite set of coins described by "I had".
Option 4: I gave him the fewer coins I had. — Incorrect. "Fewer" is a comparative and needs a comparison ("fewer coins than you"); there is none here.