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Quantifiers
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Quantifiers
We use quantifiers to describe the number of things around us. The correct use of quantifiers can depend on the kind of noun that you want to describe. Nouns in English can be countable nouns like chair, man or banana which are either singular (meaning there is one) or plural (meaning there are many. Bananas, for example.) There are also uncountable nouns like water, hair or bread. Uncountable nouns are often singular in form. Quantifiers can be used to describe large or small numbers as well as negative or bad numbers.
Quantifiers (some/any/many/much): the basics
|
Use |
Example |
Explanation |
|
When we want to describe more than one thing but not a large amount we can use some. Some can be used with countable and uncountable nouns and questions
|
I have some pens |
The speaker is describing a quantity of pens (a countable plural noun) |
|
He has some hair |
The speaker is describing a quantity of hair |
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| We can also use any to describe a number of countable or uncountable nouns. Any is more flexible and can be used in negative sentences and questions |
The city doesn't have any parks |
Here we are describing the lack of car parks in a city in this case the number is zero |
| She hasn't any water in her kitchen | The speaker is describing the lack of water in a woman's kitchen | |
| Do you have some/any plans? | The speaker would like to know if their friend has plans or not | |
| If we want to learn a more exact quantity. We could use a How- question. They can be used to describe both countable or uncountable nouns but the questions take slightly different forms | How many friends went to your party? | The speaker would like to know the exact number of friends at a party. Many is used with countable nouns |
| How much time do you have? | The speaker would like to know how much time is available to them. Much is used with uncountable nouns |
Some cannot be used in the negative. I don't have any cheese NOT I don't have some cheese
Quantifiers (all of/a lot of/lots of/plenty of/a few/too much/too many)
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Use |
Example |
Explanation |
|
When we want to describe every item in a group of items, we can use all of to describe with accuracy both countable and uncountable nouns. |
All of the cats are hungry |
The speaker has cats and they are hungry. We know that every cat is hungry |
| All of my bread is old |
The speaker has a quantity of bread and we know that every part of the bread is old |
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| When we want to describe a larger number (but not everything) of countable or uncountable things we can use a lot of |
A lot of my friends listen to classical music |
The speaker has many friends who listen to classical music but not 100% of them |
| A lot of money is good | Money is being described as good but not all money as this is not possible | |
| A synonym of a lot of is lots of. Again, we are describing a large number of things but not every single one | Lots of people are bored by classical music | The speaker believes that a large quantity of people dislike classical music but not all |
| Lots of time is wasted in life | This speaker believes that a large quantity of time is wasted in life. Fortunately not all! | |
| When we want to describe a ‘healthy' amount of things that are either countable or uncountable we can use plenty of | Plenty of apples are sold at the market | In this situation there are probably enough apples for the speaker |
| I have plenty of time so I don't need to run | This person has more than enough time so the situation is relaxed. | |
| Another way of describing a number of things is to use a few. This quantifier can only be used with countable plural nouns | There are a few things I want to talk to you about | As usual, the context of the sentence is very important. In this case the speaker has a number (more than two probably) of things that he or she would like to talk about. |
| If we want to describe the quantity of things in a negative way because we more than we need, we can use much for uncountable nouns and many for countable plural nouns | I have too much stuff in my apartment | This speakers apartment is full because of the amount of stuff in it |
| There are too many places to choose from | This speaker cannot make a decision because of the confusing amount of choices available |
Describing negative numbers
|
Use |
Example |
Explanation |
|
When we want to describe the quantity zero in a situation we can use none. It is often used as reply |
None of them know anything |
The speaking is describing the fact that zero people know anything |
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Q: Is there any pizza? |
In response to a question, the speaker describes the amount of pizza. |
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| Another way of describing the amount, zero is to use the quantifier no. It can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns |
There is no time for that |
In both examples we can see that the speaker is describing an approximate quantity, zero. |
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There are no messages for me |
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| If we want to describe a small quantity of something then we can use the quantifier a little | I would like a little milk in tea | The speaker doesn't want too much milk in his or her tea, only a small amount |
Quantifiers: Asking questions
Many of the quantifying expressions can be used with following question structures:
|
Question structure |
Quantifiers that can be used |
|
Any, some, a lot of, lots of, plenty of, a few, a little |
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