India is one of 'the few', 'a few' or 'few'....

[Banglardon]

Hello teachers, what is the difference between a few, the few and few in the following sentence?


- India is one of a few/the few/few countries that support democracy.

 

[teechar]

Where did you find that sentence?

 

[Banglardon]

Where did you find that sentence?

Sorry! I have corrected my sentence. It's my own sentence.

 

[probus]

1. India is one of a few countries ...
2. India is one of the few ...
3. India is one of few ...

To me, 3 is unnatural and should not be used, while 1 and 2 are rather similar in meaning. 2 would tend to be used when one wants to emphasize that there are only a few such countries.

 

[Tdol]

And there are plenty of democracies.