In the exercise quelques livres is translated as a couple of books as well as some books.

Question

In English I was always taught that strictly "couple" means two and it's a misuse to use it otherwise.  Can you explain why quelques therefore translates as some and two?  Thank you.

Cécile Janty-Davies · Accepted Answer

Hi K,
In my experience, a couple of, in English is used for 2 or thereabouts.
We don't have such an expression for very small approximate quantities in French as they start with the number 10:
Une dizaine, une vingtaine, une trentaine etc.. which mean about 10, 20, 30 ...
so Quelques, meaning a few, ( an indeterminate small quantity) can be some, a few or a couple of depending on the context.
Some will often be 'des'.
Hope this helps!

Robert Berg · Answer

I agree with Karen.  I too was taught that "couple" means only two, while the more vague word "few" means a small number of two or more. "Few" includes 2, but "couple" cannot include 3. Yes, many Americans use "couple" to mean "few", but the possible Kwiziq answer that includes "couple" should be removed. Otherwise it's a trick question.

Robert Berg · Answer

I agree with Karen.  I too was taught that "couple" means only two, while the more vague word "few" means a small number of two or more. "Few" includes 2, but "couple" cannot include 3. Yes, many Americans use "couple" to mean "few", but the possible Kwiziq answer that includes "couple" should be removed. Otherwise it's a trick question.

Christine Arlett · Answer

I agree with the above comments - a couple means only two so it is not the right translation for quelques