Kaunisto
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many, several, a few
We have 100 eggs. You're told many/several/a few of them are broken.
What number do you assume each word to mean?
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Feb/10/2017, 16:39
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Morwen Oronor
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Re:
Many = more than aren't broken (more than 50%)
Several = a lot but not as many as "many" (fewer than 50%)
A few = more than 1.
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Feb/12/2017, 14:27
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Kaunisto
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Re: many, several, a few
I would take "many" to be in 20-40 range. I'd expect to be told "half" are broken if it was 40-60 or "most" if more.
For me "several" would mean somewhere around 10.
"A few" is harder, I'm hitting bit of a language barrier because I don't think there's a very accurate Finnish equivalent. Plus I've never really gotten over "few"/"a few" confusion.
Anyway, I'd expect something between 5-10. 2, 3 or even 4 I'd assume to be called "couple" or "pair".
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Feb/12/2017, 15:40
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Morwen Oronor
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Re:
Yes, you're right on the "most" if more than half are broken. So "many" would be fewer than 50.
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Feb/13/2017, 11:06
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