Quantifiers
Quantifiers
are a type of determiner which denote imprecise quantity. They differ from
numbers or numerals which indicate precise quantity.
The
most common examples:
the most common quantifiers used in English are:
some / any , much, many, a lot, a
few, several, enough.
There
are three types of quantifier;
1. neutral quantifiers,
2. quantifiers of large quantity, and
3. quantifiers of small quantity
1. Neutral
quantifiers:
Some and any: several,
a number of, etc.
Some
and
any are both quantifiers and articles. In many contexts, some is the
plural indefinite article, the plural of "a" or "an"; but
more often, some implies a limited quantity, and for this reason has the value
of a quantifier.
Some is used in
affirmative statements; it is replaced with any in negative and
interrogative contexts.
Examples:
I've got some apples
in my basket and some water in my bottle.
I haven't got any apples
in my basket, nor any water in my
bottle.
Have you got any
apples in your basket? Have you got any
water in
your bottle?
We had some visitors
last weekend, but we didn't have any this
Weekend
Have you got any rooms free for the night of September 30th
?
Several and a number of imply
"more than one, but less than a lot". They are not
usually used in negative or interrogative structures, only in affirmative
statements. For example
There
are several books / a number of books by J.Z.Plummerman in our library.
Several people / A number of people said that they'd seen
the missing child.
Enough
Enough
implies a sufficient quantity; it is used in affirmations, negations and
questions.
We can get tickets for the concert,
I've got enough money now.
Have you got enough money for the tickets?
NOTE:
Do not confuse enough as a quantifier preceeding
a noun, with enough as an intensifier following an adjective, as in:
That's good enough for me.
2. Large quantity
quantifiers:
much, many, lots
of, plenty of, numerous, a large number of, etc.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Much and many are not often
used, in modern spoken English, in affirmative statements; but they are
very commonly used in interrogative and negative contexts.
Examples:
I have many reasons for thinking that this man is innocent is
acceptable, but rather formal; most English speakers would more naturally say:
I have plenty of / a lot of / a large number of reasons for
thinking .....
Much whisky is of very good quality. This sentence is technically
acceptable, but not probable in modern English. Most people would say (and
write):
A lot of whisky / A good proportion of whisky / Plenty of
whisky ......
Remember this principle: don't use much
or many in affirmative statements.
►
Lots of, a lot of, plenty of, a large number of, numerous .
These expressions all mean more or less exactly the same. In the list
above, they are arranged in order of formality, going from the most informal (lots
of) to the most formal (numerous). Informal language is more
appropriate in dialogue, formal language in written documents.
3. Small quantity
quantifiers:
► few, a few,
little, a little, not many, not much, a small number of, etc.
These
quantifiers are normally only used in affirmative statements, to which
they give a negative colouring.
►
Little, a little, not much are used with non count nouns (always
in the singular)
Few, a few, not many are used with count
nouns in the plural.
Examples:
Few people can speak more than three languages
A few (of the) paintings in this gallery are really good.
There's little point in trying to mend it. You'll never succeed!
I've got a little money left; let's go and have a drink.
4 Recapitulation: table of usage for common English
quantifiers
|
Affirmative
|
Negative
|
Interrogative
|
|
Neutral
|
some,
several, a number of, enough
|
any,
enough
|
any,
enough
|
|
Large
quantity
|
numerous,
plenty of, a lot of, lots of, too many
|
much,
many, too many
|
much,
many, too many
|
|
Small
quantity
|
few / a
few, Little / a little
|
|
|
5. Few or a few, little or a
little ?
The
difference between the two expressions in each phrase is purely one of meaning,
not of usage.
Without the article, few and little (used respectively with count
nouns and non-count nouns) have the meaning of "not much/ not many, and
possibly less than one might hope for or expect". These
expressions have a negative value to them.
With the article, a few and a little have the meaning
of "at least some, perhaps more than one might expect" .
These expressions have a positive value.
Examples:
Few of my friends were there, so I was disappointed.
A few of my friends were there, so I was quite happy.
Hurry up; there's little time left !
We have a little time to spare, so let's stop and have a cup of coffee.
What are quantifiers?
A
quantifier is a word or phrase which is used before a noun to indicate the
amount or quantity:
'Some', 'many', 'a lot of' and 'a few' are examples of quantifiers.
Examples:
There
are some books on the desk
He's got only a few dollars.
How much money have you got?
There is a large quantity of fish in this river.
He's got more friends than his sister.
Examples of quantifiers
With Uncountable Nouns
·
much
·
a
little/little/very little *
·
a
bit (of)
·
a
great deal of
·
a
large amount of
·
a
large quantity of
With Both
·
all
·
enough
·
more/most
·
less/least
·
no/none
·
not
any
·
some
·
any
·
a
lot of
·
lots
of
·
plenty
of
With Countable Nouns
·
many
·
a
few/few/very few **
·
a
number (of)
·
several
·
a
large number of
·
a
great number of
·
a
majority of
*
NOTE
few,
very few
mean that there is not enough of something.
a few means that there is not a lot of something, but there is
enough.
**
NOTE
little,
very little mean
that there is not enough of something.
a little means that there is not a lot of something, but there is
enough.
A
few and few, a little and little
These
expressions show the speaker’s attitude towards the quantity he/she is
referring to.
A
few
(for countable nouns) and a little (for uncountable nouns) describe the
quantity in a positive way:
- “I’ve
got a few friends” (= maybe not many, but enough)
- “I’ve
got a little money” (= I’ve got enough to live on)
Few and little
describe the quantity in a negative way:
- Few
people visited him in hospital (= he had almost no visitors)
- He
had little money (= almost no money)
They
are like comparatives and hold a relative position on a scale of increase
or decrease.
|
INCREASE
(0% to 100%)
|
|
With
plural countable nouns:
|
|
many
|
more
|
most
|
|
With
uncountable nouns:
|
|
much
|
more
|
most
|
|
|
|
|
|
DECREASE
(100% to 0%)
|
|
With
plural countable nouns:
|
|
few
|
fewer
|
fewest
|
|
With
uncountable nouns:
|
|
little
|
less
|
least
|
Examples:
·
There are many people in Poland, more in India, but the most
people live in China.
· Much time and money is spent on education, more on health
services but the most is spent on national defense.
· Few rivers in Europe aren’t polluted.
· Fewer people die young now than in the nineteenth century.
· The country with the fewest people per square kilometre must be
Australia.
· Scientists have little hope of finding a complete cure for cancer
before 2010.
· She had less time to study than I did but had better results.
· Give that dog the least opportunity and it will bite you.
Quantifiers
with countable and uncountable nouns
Some
adjectives and adjectival phrases can only go with uncountable nouns
(salt, rice, money, advice), and some can only go with countable nouns
(friends, bags, people). The words in the middle column can be used with both
countable and uncountable nouns.
|
With
Uncountable Nouns
|
With
Both
|
With
Countable Nouns
|
|
How
much?
|
How
much? or How many?
|
How
many?
|
|
a
little
|
no/none
|
a
few
|
|
a
bit (of)
|
not
any
|
a
number (of)
|
|
|
some
(any)
|
several
|
|
a
great deal of
|
a
lot of
|
a
large number of
|
|
a
large amount of
|
plenty
of
|
a
great number of
|
|
a
large quantity of
|
lots
of
|
a
majority of
|
Note: much and many
are used in negative and question forms.
Example:
How
much
money have you got?
How many cigarettes have you smoked?
·
There’s not much sugar in the cupboard.
· There weren’t many people at the party.
They
are also used with too, (not) so, and (not) as
There
were too many people at the party.
It’s a problem when there are so many people.
There’s not so much work to do this week.
In positive statements, we use a lot of:
·
I’ve got a lot of work this week.
· There were a lot of people at the concert.
|
Some
|
In positive statements.
|
I gave him some money. We bought some food.
|
|
Any
|
In negative statements.
|
She didn’t have any money. I couldn’t find any
books.
|
Some
and any are used with countable and uncountable nouns, to describe
an indefinite or incomplete amount.
Some
is used in positive statements.
It
is also used in questions where we are sure about the answer.
“Did
he give you some tea?” (= I’m sure he did.)
“Is there some fruit juice in the fridge?” (= I think there is)
Some
is used where the question is not a request for information, but a way of
making a request, encouraging or giving an invitation.
“Could
I have some books, please?”
“Why don’t you take some books home with you?”
“Would you like some books?”
Any
is used in questions and with not in negative statements.
“Have
you got any tea?”
“He didn’t give me any tea.”
“I don’t think we’ve got any tea left.”
Something,
Anything, Someone, Anyone etc.
Compound
nouns with some- and any- are used in the same way as some and any.
Positive
statements:
“Someone is
sleeping in my bed.”
“He saw something
in the garden.”
“I left my glasses somewhere
in the house.”
Questions:
“Are
you looking for someone?”
(= I’m sure you are)
“Have you lost something?”
(= I’m sure you have)
“Is there anything
to eat?” (a real question)
“Did you go anywhere
last night?”
Negative
statements:
“She
didn’t go anywhere
last night.”
“He doesn’t know anybody
here.”
There
is a difference in emphasis between nothing, nobody etc. and not … anything,
not … anybody:
“I
don’t know anything
about it.” (= neutral, no emphasis)
“I know nothing
about it.” (= more emphatic, maybe defensive)
“ Is there anybody
who speaks English here?”
“There is nobody
in the house at the moment.”
“Does anybody
have the time?”
“When I arrived there was nobody
to meet me.”
ANY
can also be used in positive statements to mean ‘no matter which’, ‘no matter
who’, ‘no matter what’:
“You
can borrow any
of my books.”
“They can choose anything
from the menu.”
“You may invite anybody
to dinner, I don’t mind who comes.”
Enough
Enough
is placed before the noun, to indicate the quantity required or
necessary:
“There
is enough bread for lunch.”
“She has enough money.”
Enough
is also used with adjectives and adverbs:
“We
didn’t have enough time to visit London Bridge.”
“Is there enough milk for breakfast?”
“She has enough talent to become an international singing star.”
What
are quantifiers?
Quantifiers
are words that are used to state quantity or amount of something without
stating the actually number.
Quantifiers
answer the questions "How many?" and "How much?"
Quantifiers
must agree with the noun. There are 3 main types of quantifiers.
|
|
Countable Nouns
|
Uncountable Nouns
|
-
|
|
much
|
|
x
|
I
don't have much money.
|
|
many
|
x
|
-
|
I
don't have many apples.
|
|
few*
|
x
|
-
|
We
know few people in the area. I would like to get to know more.
|
|
a few**
|
x
|
-
|
We
know a few people in the area. I know enough people to keep me happy.
|
|
little*
|
-
|
x
|
I
know little English. I am going to have a problem getting around England.
|
|
a little**
|
-
|
x
|
I
know a little English, at least enough to get England.
|
|
enough
|
x
|
x
|
I
have enough money.
|
|
plenty
|
x
|
x
|
I
have plenty of money.
|
**
a few/a little - means that there are not a lot of something, but there is
enough.
- There
are a few apples. There are enough apples.
- There
are a people at the meeting. There are enough people to hold a meeting.
There are not a lot people, at the meeting, but there are enough
- I
know a little English. He know enough English to manage.
- I
have a little money.
*few/little
- means that is not enough of something.
- There
are few apples. There are not enough apples.
- There
are few people. There are not enough people at the meeting. We can't hold
a meeting, because there are not enough people.
- There
is little money. We can't buy a lot of expensive food.
- If
things for the holiday. I don't have enough money, then we will stay home
and have a great time.
- They
know little English. They can't get around very well. They don't know
enough English to manage.
