Quelques/ des and un peu de

Question

The lesson says quelques can translate as "some" and I’d be interested to know the situation in which you’d use it rather than "des"?  Does it emphasise the quantity more?

Accepted Answer

Hi Anne,
You are correct that it is a question of quantity. In both cases the exact amount is unknown but -

quelques = a few ( a small quantity) 
des = some ( unknown quantity)

J'ai quelques courses à faire en ville = I have a few errands to do in town
J'ai des courses à faire avec mon mari = I have some shopping to do with my husband
Nous avons des amis en France = We have (some) friends in France 
J'ai quelques amis en Angleterre qui parlent français = I have a few friends in England who speak French

Hope this helps!

Answer

Hi Anne,Indefinite article "des" versus the adverb "un peu de" or "quelque" as an adjective?"des" would appear before plural nouns masculine or feminine and express "some" in that context.The three parts of grammar above are used in situations depending on context.Hope this helps?Bonne journéeJim

Answer

Quelques is most often translated as "several" or "a few". You can only ever use it with countable nouns. You could NOT use it say "some water", for example.