Question

Fill in the blank with the appropriate adjective:
He was abandoned by _______ friends he had.

• A. few
• B. a few
• C. the few
• D. a little

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

the few

Firstly we cannot use ‘a little’ because it is generally used to denote an uncountable noun. Since ‘friends’ is a countable noun option D is incorrect. The given sentence conveys a negative meaning. Thus ‘a few’ cannot be used since ‘a few’ means some, it has a positive meaning. On the other hand, ‘few’ means hardly any, which couldn’t be apt here because the person cannot be abandoned by ‘hardly anyone’. ‘The few’ means not many, but all of them in a given group, which is apt here because all the friends the person possessed have abandoned him. Thus option C is correct, while options A and B are incorrect.