a few of ..

I came upon this sentence yesterday which reads:-

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Here's a few steps of ...

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Is this grammatically correct ? Or should I say "Here are a few steps.." ?

Thanks

[quote="xanana"]I came upon this sentence yesterday which reads:-

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Here's a few steps of ...

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Is this grammatically correct?

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No, but it is a form which is becoming increasingly more common. People who would never say "Here is a few steps of..." will say "Here's a few steps of...." It is not really a contraction for anything, although it appears to be. It is something that, in my opinion, comes from laziness. :(

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Or should I say "Here are a few steps.."?

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Yes. Please do. :)

8)

RonBee,

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It is not really a contraction for anything, although it appears to be.

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OK. So it's grammatically incorrect. When you say that it's now commonly acceptable; would I be penalized in an academic setting ?

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Or should I say "Here are a few steps.."?

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So the fact that this is legit is because "a few steps" should be the thing that's being quantified rather than "a few" which is singular ?

Thanks

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Originally Posted by xanana

RonBee,

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It is not really a contraction for anything, although it appears to be.

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OK. So it's grammatically incorrect. When you say that it's now commonly acceptable; would I be penalized in an academic setting ?

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I'm not really sure what you mean by that. In any case, I don't think I would be qualified to comment on that.

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So the fact that this is legit is because "a few steps" should be the thing that's being quantified rather than "a few" which is singular ?

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I am not really sure what you mean. You can quantify steps but not a few steps. Also, you can't quantify a few, because it is not a noun. Instead, it is an adjective indicating an indefinite quantity of something.

I hope that helps.

8)

RonBee,

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You can quantify steps but not a few steps. Also, you can't quantify a few, because it is not a noun. Instead, it is an adjective indicating an indefinite quantity of something

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Thus, a few books is similar to some books. There is definitely more than one book (although the exact quantity is unknown); which then implies that Here are a few books is recommended over Here is a few books. I think I get it now.

Thanks

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Originally Posted by RonBee

You can quantify steps but not a few steps. Also, you can't quantify a few, because it is not a noun. Instead, it is an adjective indicating an indefinite quantity of something

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Originally Posted by xanana

Thus, a few books is similar to some books. There is definitely more than one book (although the exact quantity is unknown); which then implies that Here are a few books is recommended over Here is a few books. I think I get it now

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In response to your first sentence: yes! :) In response to your last sentence: I think you're right. :)

8)

Regards,
RonBee

'Here's a few' is colloquial and should definitely not be used in an academic context. I would say that it's OK in spoken language (it is very common in London, where I live), but I wouldn't recommend its use in written language. :D