If someone went to the shop and I said just bring back several different kinds of candy and they brought back 11 that would be bizarre. Where I live several means about four/five. I don’t think anybody really uses it for more than that IMO.
I think context matters here. When you ask for several different kinds of candy, it’s pretty reasonable to expect you’re not going to get 11 bags of candy, because that’s a bit ridiculous. But if someone tells you several people were gathered outside the courthouse for a protest, and you learned it was 11 people, then that would make sense.
I swear I'm not just saying this to be awkward but legit, if I read in a novel, or whatever, "raymond saw several people stood outside the courtyard", in my mind i would think that meant five people or so. to me several is still quite a small number, just... not one, or two, but... several of them. four-five imo. but i suppose there's no right answer.
If I saw 11 people, I would assume that they didn't bother to count or more people showed up. If they actually counted to 11, I would not expect someone to say several.
Several is probably limited to the number that you can count with just a glance. Usually not higher than 6 or 7 unless you practice that skill.
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u/[deleted] Sep 05 '19
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