a couple of 及类似数量表达
含义：几个、两三个——字面是"一对"，口语中泛指少量几个
You can just skip a couple of steps if the condition isn’t satisfied. 条件不满足时你可以跳过几个步骤。
数量从小到大排列
| 表达 | 大致数量 | 语气 |
|---|---|---|
a / an | 1 | 一个 |
a couple of | 2-3 | 口语，少量 |
a few | 3-5 | 几个，偏少 |
several | 3-7 | 好几个，比 a few 多 |
a number of | 若干 | 不确定，偏多 |
many / a lot of | 很多 | 大量 |
例句对比
I have a couple of ideas. 我有两三个想法。（很少）
I have a few questions. 我有几个问题。（不多但有一些）
Several people complained. 好几个人投诉了。（比 a few 多）
A number of bugs were found. 发现了若干 bug。（不少）
注意
a couple of口语中经常不严格等于 2，泛指"少量"a couple不带of时指"一对情侣"：They are a cute couple.couple作动词 = 连接：The train cars are coupled together.