very fewer

USAGE SUMMARY

'very fewer' is not correct and not usable in written English.
The correct form of this phrase is 'very few.' For example, "There were very few seats available in the theater."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

10 human-written examples

Peer-assessors showed very fewer bias interactions than that of self-assessors and teacher-assessors.

Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education

However, literatures about the clinical trials were rarely to be found, and very fewer patients were involved in the most of the available clinical trials.

Natural Products and Bioprospecting

Other environmental variables were also divided into seven or eight classes manually, slope gradient was first broken at 15° because very fewer landsides were probable on shallower slopes.

Geoenvironmental Disasters

Sparse reconstruction can accurately reconstruct a sparse scene with very fewer Fourier samples, provided that the restricted isometry property (RIP) is satisfied [12, 13].

EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing

Very fewer papers in the literature have discussed the broad conceptual issues involved in the integration of GIS with hydrological modeling.

Applied Water Science

Sometimes CBS can find many small regions with very fewer altered SNPs, but the SDs of these regions may be much larger than what we expected, which results in a high number of false positives.

Plosone

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

49 human-written examples

"Very few".

The New York Times

Or very, very few.

The New Yorker

Very, very few.

The New York Times - Food

Very few people came.

Independent

Very few people divorced.

The New York Times

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Always use "very few" instead of "very fewer" when referring to a small quantity of countable items. "Fewer" is only correct when comparing quantities (e.g., "fewer errors than before").

Common error

Avoid using "fewer" to describe a general small quantity. "Fewer" is for comparisons. For a simple statement about quantity, "few" is usually correct when modified by "very."

Linguistic Context

The phrase "very fewer" attempts to quantify a small amount, but it is grammatically incorrect. Ludwig AI flags this as an error, advising the correct form is "very few." The intended function is to indicate a scarce quantity.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Science

60%

News & Media

40%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "very fewer" is grammatically incorrect. As Ludwig AI clearly states, the correct form is "very few". While examples of "very fewer" appear in scientific and news sources, these instances do not validate the usage. To maintain grammatical accuracy and clarity, always opt for "very few" or other alternatives to express a small quantity. Avoid using "fewer" unless you are making a direct comparison.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

very few

Corrects the grammatical error by using "few" instead of "fewer", which is appropriate for countable nouns.

extremely few

Emphasizes the small quantity more strongly than "very few".

a very small number

Rephrases the concept to highlight the numerical aspect of the small quantity.

hardly any

Indicates that there is almost none of something.

scarcely any

Similar to "hardly any", suggesting a minimal amount.

a minimal number

Highlights the quantity aspect and emphasizes that the number is at a minimum.

precious few

Emphasizes that an already small quantity is also highly valued or rare.

a tiny amount

Focuses on the small size of the amount, rather than the number of items.

only a handful

Implies that the number can be counted on one hand, suggesting a very small number.

virtually none

Indicates that the quantity is so small it's almost nonexistent.

FAQs

What is the correct way to say "very fewer"?

The grammatically correct way to express a small quantity is to use "very few". The word "fewer" is used for comparisons, while "few" is used to describe a small number of countable items.

When should I use "few" versus "fewer"?

"Few" describes a small number of something (e.g., "few opportunities"). "Fewer" is used to compare quantities (e.g., "fewer problems than last year"). It's similar to using "less" vs. "least", where "less" is used for quantities that are not countable (e.g. water), and "few" for ones that are.

Are there any synonyms for "very few"?

Yes, you can use phrases like "extremely few", "a very small number", or "hardly any" to convey a similar meaning.

Is "very fewer" ever correct in English?

No, "very fewer" is not considered correct in standard English. It's a grammatical error. You should always use "very few".