Question

Given below are four sentences. Choose the one which is grammatically correct:

• A. I gave him a few coins I had.
• B. I gave him few coins I had.
• C. I gave him the few coins I had.
• D. I gave him the fewer coins I had.

Hint:

Few = almost none.
A few = some.
The few = all the small number available.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Concept: The determiners few, a few, and the few have different meanings and usages.
• Few = almost none; emphasizes scarcity.
• A few = some; a small number but enough.
• The few = the small number that exist; all of them.

Step 1: Analyse Option (A).
I gave him a few coins I had. This means that only some of the coins were given, not necessarily all. The sentence is grammatically acceptable but does not convey the intended meaning of giving all the coins possessed.

Step 2: Analyse Option (B).
I gave him few coins I had. The expression is awkward and incomplete in this context. It incorrectly uses few without the appropriate sense required by the sentence.

Step 3: Analyse Option (C).
I gave him the few coins I had. Here, the few coins I had means all the small number of coins that I possessed. This is grammatically correct and conveys a complete and meaningful idea.

Step 4: Analyse Option (D).
I gave him the fewer coins I had. The word fewer is comparative and requires comparison between two quantities. No comparison is present here, making the sentence incorrect. Therefore, \[ \boxed{\text{I gave him the few coins I had.}} \] Hence, \[ \boxed{\text{Option (C)}} \]