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Quantifiers. English Grammar. Infographic. Prepared by Olya Skhap, designed by Dasha Levchuk. Английский. Грамматика.

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Fri, 05/11/2012 - 07:49 - Chris McCarthy

Quantifiers are words that modify nouns. We use them to give more information about nouns; they tell us the amount or quantity of a noun.

To understand which quanifier to use, you need to know countable and uncountable nouns.

For example cars are countable so we can use many:
"How many cars are in that garage?"
Snow is uncountable so we can use much:
"We didn't get much snow here last winter."
Some quanifiers can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns, for example some:

"Some people I work with play golf."
"Do you have some time to check this report?"
Here's a quick quiz to revise quantifiers:

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Learn English. 1 FREE English lesson added every single day. Grammar, vocabulary, listening & reading

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English grammar exercises and quizzes online. Free exercises on the use of quantifiers

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Quantifiers | Much or Many? - Few or Little? | English Lesson

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Some & Any

"Some and any" are determiners and they express an indefinite quantity or number. "Some and Any" are used when it is not easy, necessary or important to say exactly how many / how much we want to mean. They are both used with countable and uncountable nouns.

"Some" is often used in affirmative statements.

1. SOME + COUNTABLE NOUNS : In this case, "some" means " a few".

There are some postcards in my bag.
There are some students in the class.
There are some cherries in the basket.
There are some mistakes in the list.

2. SOME + UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

There is some dust on the floor / There is some cheese in the fridge.

There is some fruit in the basket /There is some fish on the plate.

"Any" is often used in negative sentences and questions.

There aren't any people on the moon.
There aren't any skyscrapers in our town.
There are not any empty chairs for the guests.

Are there any doctors in your family?
Yes, there are some doctors in my family.
No, there aren't any doctors in my family.

4. ANY + UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

There isn't any milk in the bottle / There isn't any honey at home.

There isn't any cold water here / Is there any bread on the table?

Yes, there is some bread on the table.
No, there isn't any bread on the table.

NOTE:

In a negative sentence, we can use "no" in place of "not any"; However, "no" can also be used with countable singular nouns. When "no" is used, the verb is always positive.

There aren't any wild animals in the forest.
There are no wild animals in the forest.

There isn't any milk at home.
There is no milk at home.

Some is also used in offers and requests.

Would you like some cake?
Could you do some typing for me?

MUCH / MANY

Many and Much express a large quantity

Examples: (+)

I have many postcards.
She has got much influence on you.
There are many students in the class.
There is much orange juice in the glass.

Examples: (-)

There isn't much sugar in the kitchen.
There aren't many people in the streets.
He doesn't have much time.
There isn't much fun here.

Examples: (?)

Is there much rain in Istanbul?
Has Eric got much cash?
Are there many books in your bag?
Do you have many CDs?

"too much" and "too many" indicate an excess and are used in affirmative sentences.

There is too much noise in big cities.
There are too many people at the party.

HOW MUCH / HOW MANY

We use "How many" with plural nouns.
We use "How much" with uncountable nouns.

How many eggs?
How many sisters?
How many countries?
How many apples?
How much flour?
How much butter?
How much money?

A FEW / A LITTLE

Differences Between A FEW / FEW & A LITTLE / LITTLE

" A few" expresses a small quantity. " Few " implies that something is not many, not enough or almost none. It expresses a negative idea.

I have a few close friends in town, and we have a very good time together.

I have few friends in town, so I feel lonely from time to time.

" A little" expresses a small quantity. " Little " implies that something is not much, not enough or almost none. It expresses a negative idea.

We have a little milk. Let's make a cake.
We have little milk. We can't make a cake.

Let's go and have a drink. We've got a little time before the train leaves. (a little time = some time, enough time to have a drink)

'Do you speak English?' 'A little.' (So we can talk a bit)

There is little sugar in my coffee. Could I have some more?

A LOT OF

Quantifier "a lot of" is used in all forms.

Instead of A lot of, we can use lots of.
Lots of is an informal form of a lot of.

Example sentences:

There are a lot of bus stops in Bornova.
I have got lots of story books.
Are there a lot of people in the queue? Yes, there are.
There is a lot of milk in the jug.
There isn't a lot of honey in the hive.
Do you know a lot of people there?
She has lots of oxen on the farm.

More on Quantifiers

1-Quantifiers Used With Singular Count Nouns

Every: You make me laugh every time you lie.

Each: I will talk to each person individually.

Either: Shevchenko could shoot very well with his either foot.

Neither: He is lucky, neither foot showed anything wrong.

2-Quantifiers Used With Plural Count Nouns

A Few: I gave him a few candies.

Fewer: Fewer shops accept checks nowadays.

Many: They got married many years ago.

Great Many: Both sides had great many casualties in that war.

Several: Several buildings were damaged in the earthquake.

A Number of: A number of students failed the class.

plenty of: We have plenty of hot dogs, it should be enough.

a lot of / lots of: I've got a lot of candies.

enough: We have enough hot dogs but we need more buns.

any: Did you buy any hot dogs? Yes, five of them.

some: She needs to buy some books.

3-Quantifiers Used With Non-Count Nouns

plenty of: We have plenty of gas, it should be enough.

a lot of / lots of: I've got a lot of cash on me.

enough: We have enough gas, you don't have to worry.

any: Did you spend any cash? No, I didn't spend any.

some: She needs some fatherly advice.

a little: Give me a little money before you go.

less / more: You spend less time and lose more weight.

much: We don't have so much water in the tank.

a bit of: Can I have a bit of your chocolate?

GrammarBank Video Exercises

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Quantifiers of Nouns, a few vs a little vs a lot of, some vs any, much vs many, how much vs how many... See examples and exercises

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Quantifiers are used at the beginning of noun phrases:

before a noun on its own: fewer answers

before an adjective and noun: some useful phrases

before an adverb, adjective and noun: every really pleasant experience

Normally two quantifiers cannot be used together before the same noun. However, the quantifiers alland both are found immediately before the or a possessive pronoun: all my relatives, both the ministers. You will also see the following combinations of quantifiers:

Many, much, a lot of

These are all used to talk about a large quantity of something; many is used only with C nouns, much with U nouns and a lot of can be used with both.

Only many and much can be preceded by the words how, to form questions ( how many / how much ...?). The word too can be used to express a negative idea ( too hot, too cold) and so, to show the speaker's attitude to the quantity ( so many that ... /so much he couldn't ...). Many and much tend to be rather formal in use and are therefore often found in legal documents, academic papers and so on; in speech we often use phrases like a lot of, loads of, tons of, hundreds of.

Few, little

Again, the meaning of these two words is similar since they both refer to small quantities, except that few is found with C nouns and little with U nouns.

If they are used without the indefinite article, a, they have the sense of not enough and are negative in feeling ( few events, little interest) but these are quite formal and we would normally prefer not many events and not much interest.

When few and little are used with a they simply mean a small quantity with no extra negative overtones: a few events (i.e. three or four) and a little interest (i.e. some interest, but not a lot).

Any

Any can be used before countable and uncountable nouns usually in questions and negative sentences:

If we stress the word any heavily when speaking, we are suggesting an unlimited choice from a range of things or an unrestricted quantity; in this case its use is not confined to just questions and negatives:

Help yourself to any sandwiches. (the choice is yours)

Don't you like any Beatles song? (I can't believe you dislike them all)

I can't see any difference. (nothing at all)

Some

Some is usually thought of as the positive counterpart to any in many circumstances.

Like any it is used before both C and U nouns, and means an indefinite quantity but not a large amount. The general rule given above for the use of any in negative sentences and questions does not always hold in requests and offers where we often use some to mean a small amount of a known quantity:

Would you like some cake? (here is the cake, do you want a piece of it?)

Could I have some biscuits instead? (any would not be possible in this case)

If we stress the word some in positive and negative sentences and in questions, we are suggesting a limited quantity or number of something:

I like some Beatles songs. (But certainly not all!)

I can see some difference. (But not a lot!)

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Quantifiers in English grammar | TESOL Direct

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before a noun on its own: fewer answers before an adjective and noun: some useful phrases before an adverb, adjective and noun: every really pleasant experience Normally two quantifiers cannot be used together before the same noun. However, the quantifiers alland both are found immediately before the or a possessive pronoun: all my relatives, both the ministers.