QUANTIFIERS

QUANTIFIERS

1. NOUNS

   • SINGULAR NON-COUNTS
     • one, each, every
       • Each student in the class has a computer.
       • I was able to solve everyproblemon the exam.
   • PLURAL COUNT
     • two, both, a couple of, a dozen, several, a few, few, many, a great many, a number of
       • Many students earned scholarships.
       • A number of students in the class come from other countries
   • NON-COUNT NOUNS
     • a little, little, much, a great deal of, amount of, a bit of
       • I had a great deal of difculty getting to class today.
       • The amount of traffic on the roads was amazing
   • BOTH PLURAL AND NON-COUNT NOUNS
     • no, any, some, enough, a lot of, lots of, plenty of, most, all
       • He had no friends before he came here.
       • He had no money either
       • All students have to pay tuition.
       • All work is potentially worthwhile.

2. can be

   • single words
     • There are forty people in my calculus class.
   • phrases
     • I’m spending a great deal of time studying.
   • used with
     • nouns
       • I’m taking six classes this semester.
     • pronouns
       • All of the mare challenging.
     • used alone if
       • noun or pronoun has just been mentioned
         • A: Have you made many friends here at school?
           • B:Yes, I’ve made a lot.

3. AMOUNT OF

   • NON- COUNT NOUNS
     • The amount of stress in people’s lives seems to be growing.

4. NUMBER OF

   • COUNT NOUNS
     • The number of mistakes I made on the exam was incredible.

5. count nouns

   • A FEW
     • +
       • I have a few investments.
     • ONLY A FEW
       • -
         • I have only a few friends. (I would like more.)
   • FEW
     • -
       • Hank has few friends.

6. non-count nouns

   • A LITTLE
     • +
       • We have a little food at home.
     • ONLY A LITTLE
       • -
         • I have only a little money. (I would like more.)
   • LITTLE
     • -
       • He also has little self-conFIdence

7. COMPARISIONS

   • +
     • MORE
       • count nouns
         • I have more friends now than I used to.
       • non-count nouns
         • I also have more self-confidence
   • -
     • FEWER
       • count nouns
         • I have fewer problems than I used to.
     • LESS
       • non-count nouns
         • I earn less money, though.

8. A LITTLE (+) = A BIT

   • A BIT OF + NOUNS
     • Ellen had a little trouble with the exam.
     • I had a bit of difficulty myself
     • Our team had a little bit of luck and won the game.

9. AS MANY + COUNT NOUN

   • Helen doesn’t have as many health issues now.

10. LARGE AMOUNTS OF THINGS

    • MUCH
      • non-count nouns
      • +
        • TOO MUCH
          • I ate TOO MUCH for dinner
      • -
        • She doesn’t watch MUCH TV.
      • ?
        • Did they spend MUCH money?
    • A GREAT DEAL (formal)
      • non-count nouns
        • I don’t have MUCH free time
        • Presidents are under A GREAT DEAL of stress
    • MANY
    • A GREAT MANY (formal)
      • count nouns
        • There are MANY job opportunities for college graduates
        • The government employs A GREAT MANY workers
    • A LOT OF
      • count nouns and
        • There are A LOT OF books for this class
        • The professor gives LOTS OF quizzes
    • LOTS OF
      • non-count nouns
        • We spend A LOT OF money on rent.
        • There’s lots of construction going on.
    • SOME
      • count nouns and
        • ?
          • Did you buy SOME clothes?
          • Did you see ANY good movies?
      • +
        • Bill bought SOME new textbooks
        • He borrowed SOME money from me
      • OFFERS
        • Would you like SOME soda?
    • ANY
      • non-count nouns
      • - ?
        • Didn’t you send ANY postcards?
      • +
        • not expected/not very likely
          • If you still have ANY questions, we can talk about them after the review is finished.
            • (The speaker thinks it’s not very likely that the students will still have questions.)
        • = meaning every (for emphasis)
          • I would recommend ANY professorin the history department.
            • (Every proFessor in the department is good.)