In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 39 in the category of DETERMINERS is defined as:
wide range of quantifying determiners with plural nouns (‘several’, ‘millions of’, ‘a few of’).
*Note that if ‘millions of’ is used as hyperbole, then it is a C1 point.
TLC, Speaking test examples:
There are very few sports cars in Sri Lanka. We don’t really take those out on the roads.
Just park it at home, show it to a few of our friends who come.
Male, Sri Lanka, B2
There are several rules in the school like no playing in the corridor.
Male, Marwari, B1
Every week, millions of people go to the cinema or watch films on TV.
Female, Italy, B1
A search in iWeb for:
several _NN
1 SEVERAL YEARS 253457
2 SEVERAL TIMES 212633
3 SEVERAL MONTHS 93809
4 SEVERAL DAYS 75351
5 SEVERAL WEEKS 61815
6 SEVERAL HOURS 55311
7 SEVERAL HUNDRED 46139
8 SEVERAL WAYS 43403
9 SEVERAL PEOPLE 36803
10 SEVERAL REASONS 32742
11 SEVERAL THINGS 25180
12 SEVERAL FACTORS 25013
13 SEVERAL MINUTES 24697
14 SEVERAL THOUSAND 23694
15 SEVERAL TYPES 22162
16 SEVERAL DECADES 21831
17 SEVERAL OPTIONS 20952
18 SEVERAL OCCASIONS 19843
19 SEVERAL OTHERS 17994
20 SEVERAL STUDIES 13708
21 SEVERAL BOOKS 13087
22 SEVERAL AREAS 12253
23 SEVERAL PLACES 12182
24 SEVERAL STATES 12080
25 SEVERAL COMPANIES 10438
26 SEVERAL COUNTRIES 10076
27 SEVERAL MEMBERS 9914
28 SEVERAL STEPS 9043
29 SEVERAL DOZEN 8091
30 SEVERAL MILES 7726
31 SEVERAL PIECES 7664
32 SEVERAL SECONDS 7615
33 SEVERAL LOCATIONS 7317
34 SEVERAL METHODS 7198
35 SEVERAL LAYERS 7110
36 SEVERAL QUESTIONS 6972
37 SEVERAL ADVANTAGES 6929
38 SEVERAL INCHES 6854
39 SEVERAL GENERATIONS 6843
40 SEVERAL POINTS 6777
41 SEVERAL PROJECTS 6713
42 SEVERAL MILLION 6611
43 SEVERAL ITEMS 6598
44 SEVERAL ATTEMPTS 6529
45 SEVERAL SOURCES 6476
46 SEVERAL ISSUES 6468
47 SEVERAL FEET 6442
48 SEVERAL EXAMPLES 6356
49 SEVERAL CASES 6352
50 SEVERAL SPECIES 6226
a few of * _NN
1 A FEW OF THE THINGS 3417
2 A FEW OF MY FAVORITES 2205
3 A FEW OF MY FRIENDS 1742
4 A FEW OF THE REASONS 1665
5 A FEW OF THE WAYS 1637
6 A FEW OF OUR FAVORITES 1601
7 A FEW OF THE BENEFITS 1052
8 A FEW OF THE HIGHLIGHTS 986
9 A FEW OF THE FEATURES 933
10 A FEW OF THE QUESTIONS 881
11 A FEW OF THE ITEMS 849
12 A FEW OF THE PEOPLE 641
13 A FEW OF OUR FAVOURITES 524
14 A FEW OF THE OPTIONS 519
15 A FEW OF THE TOPICS 455
16 A FEW OF THE GUYS 446
17 A FEW OF THE ISSUES 400
18 A FEW OF MY FAVORITE 374
19 A FEW OF HIS FRIENDS 353
20 A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE 348
21 A FEW OF THE ACTIVITIES 346
22 A FEW OF THE PROBLEMS 344
23 A FEW OF THE WORDS 330
24 A FEW OF THE PLACES 329
25 A FEW OF THE NAMES 323
26 A FEW OF THE ONES 323
27 A FEW OF MY FAVOURITES 315
28 A FEW OF THE COMMENTS 293
29 A FEW OF THE OTHERS 293
30 A FEW OF THE PLAYERS 290
31 A FEW OF THESE THINGS 286
32 A FEW OF THE SONGS 281
33 A FEW OF THE FACTORS 279
34 A FEW OF THESE TIPS 277
35 A FEW OF THE AREAS 268
36 A FEW OF THE HUNDREDS 260
37 A FEW OF THE IDEAS 260
38 A FEW OF THE PHOTOS 244
39 A FEW OF MY THOUGHTS 243
40 A FEW OF THE PRODUCTS 241
41 A FEW OF THE BASICS 234
42 A FEW OF THESE IDEAS 232
43 A FEW OF THE BOYS 231
44 A FEW OF YOUR FRIENDS 231
45 A FEW OF THE DETAILS 226
46 A FEW OF THE GIRLS 221
47 A FEW OF THE TOOLS 220
48 A FEW OF THE BOOKS 211
49 A FEW OF THE COMPANIES 210
50 A FEW OF THE CHANGES 203
A2 Vocabulary:
activities, areas, cases, companies, details, few, guys, hundred, ideas,
members, million, pieces, points, projects, reasons, seconds, several, songs, thousand, types, ways
B1:
advantages, attempts, benefits, comments, dozen, favourites, generations, inches, issues, items,
locations, methods, miles, occasions, options, products, steps, thoughts, tips, topics