Hi again Danyel, Ok, that's a very good one. First of all, interesting to note that you can't quantify "a few" nor "several" precisely. So there is no way for the person you are speaking to to know how many months you mean. Put it simply, "several" does not necessary mean more than "a few". Both mean more than 1. Does it mean they are synonyms? Well, once again it's all about context. Also, if you were to speak the sentence out loud, your tone would also convey additional meaning. For example, a tentative "a few" will probably imply a shorter time than an assertive and loud "several". Hope this helps and keep 'em coming! :-) Micha.

Hi Danyel, Both "several" and "a few" have the same meaning of a small number (more than two but not many) of a countable noun. Therefore, both sentences can be used interchangeably without any confusion. As a side discussion, "Several" is also used to describe separate and distinct things existing together. Example: "We've been staying here for years. Several months were spent moving from place to place before we finally settled down in this house." Here, "Several" separates a couple of months from "years". Hope this helps.

A few months = just one or two, for examples. Just a small number of months. Several months = A big number of months. Various.

I am not a native speaker but I would differenciate the usage by your intention or the expectation of your listener(s). Using "a few" might imply less then expected and using "several" might imply the opposite.