Is the word few an adjectives

Finally: I have read that:The few can be used as a noun phrase: Private schools are for the privileged few.

As a result I can say»The few» is a noun phrase or determiner modifies «people» in this example:

The few people

I have asked thought the same as I do.

It is a little difficult to know how many questions you are asking, but to take this one … I presume that you mean «Can I say that The few is a noun phrase …?» The answer is no, because if you did you would be wrong.

In the few people, few is an adjective. It is a distinctly different usage from few used as a noun.
The people, the tall people, the white people, the English people, the few people — all adjectives modifying people.

The few is not a noun phrase, it is a noun with a definite article.
The few, the many, the short, the tall, the English, the whites — all nouns which have related adjectives.

Hi,
In this example below «few» is an adjective:
Her few decent clothes were now dirty . «few» used as adjective
However I am quite confused when it is used as a determiner and adjective? Such as,
Very

few of the books

were new. determiner «very few» acting as noun-phrase, followed by complement «of the books»
I have got fewer problems than I used to have. inflected determinative «fewer» used as determiner
At the college reunions, there are

fewer of us

each year. «fewer» acting as noun-phrase, followed by complement «of us»

Finally: I have read that:The few can be used as a noun phrase: Private schools are for the privileged few. «few» acting as noun

As a result I can say»The few» is a noun phrase or determiner modifies «people» in this example:

The few people

I have asked thought the same as I do. «few» used as adjective

There are several different (and conflicting) grammatical explanations for these constructions. I have tried to use terms that you would be familiar with. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language, for example, would describe «fewer of us» as an explicit partitive fused determiner-head construction. I have used their analysis, but expressed it in different terms.

Hi,
In this example below «few» is an ddjective:

Few is always an adjective.

Her few decent clothes were now dirty . If «few» is used as adjective, what kind of adjective is the opposite of it here?

many.

OED sees it only as an adjective — despite there being examples dating back to c.900AD, there is no entry for few as a noun.

b. absol. = few persons. 1822 Shelley Hellas 11 «Few dare, and few who dare Win the desired communion.»
f. the few: a specified company small in number; often with qualifying adj. Now often = ‘the minority’; opposed to the many. 1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 183 «A life not for the many, but for the few.»

Your move…

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/few (Oxford) — a noble and unique acceptable exception when capitalised:

noun
… (the Few) British the RAF pilots who took part in the Battle of Britain. [alluding to a speech of Sir Winston Churchill (20 August, 1940)]

Dictionaries that don’t. OED.

Back in the 60s when I started French at school, much was made of the ability, in French, to take any adjective in the plural and stick a «le/la — un/une» in front of it and develop a class or adjectival. (le jeune, les jeunes) The adjective, thus produced, is declined; the same in German. At the time this construction was possible but not as universal in the UK but we have since accepted it.

Having seen your comment, I looked at few in the OED and was surprised that there was no noun entry, but the more I thought about it, the more justified it became. I assume that the logic is that few is always followed by a noun and even if it is unspoken, the audience will insert their own.

…Regarding the part you quoted, you coincidentally missed off the part above the RAF entry:
(as plural noun the few)
the minority of people; the elect:

Of course I did. I’m surprised you mention it. This use is covered in my post #6 in the similar quote (as an adjective) from OED (which you singularly failed to quote )

Let’s add the Cambridge Dictionary of English to the list that supports the noun/pronoun stance:

You puny efforts will not overcome the power of the OED.

No! Hint: See Paul’s answer in post #4!

But I am quite completely disagree with «Few is always an adjective.» However, it is determiner, prounoun or adjecitve in this example:»Her few decent clothes were now dirty»
Few can be used in the following ways:
as a determiner (followed by a plural noun): Few people live there now. ♦ There were a few animals in the barn.
as a pronoun: Many have tried, but few have succeeded. ♦ There were a few who refused to go. (followed by ‘of’): A few of the visitors left early. ♦ Few of the pictures are any good.
The few can be used as a noun phrase: Private schools are for the privileged few.
Few can be used as an adjective: Her few decent clothes were now dirty.

You didn’t read the second half — it has the answer to your specific question
Your question: His answer

Yes but you didn’t answer whether «few» is an adjective ot not.

If yes and «many» is the opposite of it, Could you possibly make that a little more obvious because whenenver my eyes have been seen the word «many» followed with a plural noun I thought it as a diterminer, for example, He said goodbye to his

many friends.

Dictionaries that don’t. OED.

Odd, given that the Concise Oxford English Dictionary does.

few
> determiner, pronoun, & adjective
1 (a few) a small number of.
2 not many.

> noun [as plural noun the few] a select minority. ->(the Few) British the RAF pilots who took part in the Battle of Britain.

Distinguishing clearly between the few and the Few.

I fail to understand how anybody can argue that few is always an adjective — the same applies to many, tall, angry and many other words that are usually adjectives but which may be used as nouns.

The tall often hit their heads on door frames.
The angry shout and curse.
The few travel by taxi, the many by bus. (NB, the many also features as a noun in the COED)
The poor starve, the rich wallow in luxury.

These are all plural nouns and there is no requirement for there to be an implicit «people» — for example, we could not write the few people travel by taxi — it would be few people travel by taxi, and would have a different meaning.

Odd, given that the Concise Oxford English Dictionary does.

few
> determiner, pronoun, & adjective
1 (a few) a small number of.
2 not many.

> noun [as plural noun the few] a select minority. ->(the Few) British the RAF pilots who took part in the Battle of Britain.

Distinguishing clearly between the few and the Few.

I fail to understand how anybody can argue that few is always an adjective — the same applies to many, tall, angry and many other words that are usually adjectives but which may be used as nouns.

The tall often hit their heads on door frames.
The angry shout and curse.
The few travel by taxi, the many by bus. (NB, the many also features as a noun in the COED)
The poor starve, the rich wallow in luxury.

I am quite awfully sorry because I sill haven’t been getting my answer:

I fail to understand how anybody can argue that few is always an adjective

The OED can be contacted and asked. This is how they argue.

Quick search resultsShowing 1-2 of 2 results in 1 entries
• Date
1. few, adj. c825
…Not many; amounting to a small number. Often preceded by but, †full, so, too, very, †well….
2. few in few, adj. view full entry a 1300
…with ellipsis of n. Often followed by of. Also absol. a few persons; occas. with an adj., as a faithful few, a select few,…

My emphasis

The OED can be contacted and asked. This is how they argue.My emphasis
2. few in few, adj. view full entry a 1300
…with ellipsis of n. Often followed by of. Also absol. a few persons; occas. with an adj., as a faithful few, a select few,…

Whereas I am specifically saying there is no ellipsis in examples such as the few travel by taxi, the many travel by bus. That cannot be written the few people travel by taxi, the many people travel by bus. There is no ellipsis in my example and the usage is exactly that described by the COED as few and many being nouns. This is quite different from few travel by taxi, where there is an ellipsis — few people travel by taxi — but a distinctly different meaning from the few travel by taxi.

By the way, I do not understand how the OED can be contacted and asked. Do you mean «if you happen to subscribe to the OED you can look up content on line»?

a cooperator said:

But I have read this sentence in the Oxford Dictionary: «

The few

people who I asked thought the same as I do.» I think here «the few» is noun phrase»

No the few here is not a noun phrase!! The noun is people, and the definite article belongs with it — the people — few is an adjective describing which people — the few people you asked not the many people you did not ask. It is no different from The young people who I asked … The old people who I asked … The angry people who I asked … etc.

By the way, I do not understand how the OED can be contacted and asked. Do you mean «if you happen to subscribe to the OED you can look up content on line»?

No, you don’t have to be a subscriber to ask questions about content. http://www.oed.com/public/contactus/loginpage In the past, I have queried entries and have always received a reply.

For my part, I can see the reasoning that they are using. Obviously, I see that other dictionaries do not agree. It is thus a matter of choice as to whose explanation one accepts.