[ed note: several=4 here]. Verdict: in common use, several is often more than a couple and a few, though it is sometimes the same as both and occasionally more than a few.

A “few” typically refers to the vicinity of 3 to 7 of something. A few days would be longer than a couple (two) but shorter than a week (seven). So the time duration could range from three to six days and still be classified as a few.

2 days

two

Two is a “couple” and more than two or three is several. If you eat four donuts you can say you had several but you may have had too many — especially if you get a stomach-ache.

Several minutes is 8 to 12 minutes in my book. It means 6 minutes and 38 sec. But sometimes it takes 6 minutes and 39 sec.

The nice thing about “some” is that the definition is clear: always at least one, but maybe all. Other terms, such as “few,” “several,” and “many,” are more relative.

Several months means many months.. may be 5-6 or more months. Some months can be 2-3 months.. A few months can be 1-2months…

Both the terms indicate a large, indefinite amount of something. ‘Many’ is mainly used with countable nouns, such as person, apple, spoon, day, etc. ‘Several’, on the other hand, generally refers to an unspecified number of things. These can be more than two but has no upper limit.

By definition, several means three or more (but often less than many, which we will cover next.) So, if several party-goers out of a group of nine were intoxicated, several could correctly be translated as three or four.

Some insisted “a few” meant three and only three. Some said it meant three or four. Or maybe more. The answer is that there is no hard-and-fast answer.

A couple is usually two (a married couple), or sometimes ‘about two’ if you are being vague (a couple of dozen, a couple of inches). A few is more than a couple, but not as many as several.

What is another word for more than a few?

A couple is generally around two, a few is more than that, but usually less than five, and several is around five or more, a number that can be severed into smaller groups.

“A few days” means more than one, more than “a couple” (two) and “at least three” but not too many more. “My sister came to visit for a day.” “My sister came to visit for a couple of days.” “My sister came to visit for a few days.” “My sister came to visit for a week.”

In its adjective form, past means “just gone” or “having taken place before now.” I regret many of my past deeds. In the past few days, I have watched seventeen horror movies. Passed is in the past tense.

A minute is just one minute. A few minutes is usually less than 5 minutes but more than one. “A few” meaning changes with each person. a minute is 60 seconds, soon.

If being specific, “a couple of hours” means two hours. However, when said people often refer to “about two hours, more or less”.

2/3 of an hour means 2 out of three parts of an hour.

Few hours means that there are not many hours. example: I will only be gone a few hours! ( I will be gone for more than one hour, but back before many hours)

Q: Is it grammatically incorrect to say “a couple hours” instead of “a couple of hours”? A: Both expressions are standard, though “a couple hours” is considered to be more informal. As such, couple is entered in the dictionary as both a noun and an adjective.

As so many other answers have said, it is a non-specific number. But the term usually means higher than two (that would often be “a couple of hours”), but less than five or six. However, to some people it might mean anything from two to twelve.

A couple is one thing, not two things. So couple is singular. The plural form is couples.

A couple of hours connotes a time period of about two hours, maybe one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half hours. A few hours is more vague; its meaning depends on context.

a couple of weeks meaning two weeks, give or take a few days.

Literally speaking a couple of minutes is 2 minutes, and few minutes is anything more than one minute. (Back in a minute means one minute to be exact!). So “a minute” < “couple of minutes” <= “few minutes”.

a phrase announcing one’s need to depart. (See also (I) have to shove off for other possible variations.) Andy: Bye, I’ve got to go.

Noun. Aide. adjutant. aide.

The plural form of go-to is go-tos.

A: “Go-to” is another American combo, meaning a person or thing that is a reliable source. You could say our weekly Q&A chats are your go-to source of grammar knowledge.