Determiners - Quantifiers

Quantifiers
 Words that describe quantity or extent are grammatically classified as quantifiers: some, all,
many, each, few, much, little, most…
 Quantifiers can function as determiners or (with the exception of every and no) as pronouns,
some of them can function as adverbs: e.g. I don’t like coffee very much.
 They can appear alone before a noun, with of + pronoun or with of + definite article. Quantifier
can also be found with of + demonstrative determiner, or with of + possessive determiner. (for
more explanation, see Patterns of Quantifiers Use below)

Examples: Many passengers arrived early.

Many of them travel by train.
Some of the money was recovered.
I would like a little of that.
Several of our friends were at the party.
1. The Use of Quantifiers
A. Quantifiers with Singular Countable Nouns
Any, each, and every are used with sing. count. n.
E.g. any computer there will do.
E.g. each book was by a different author.
B. Quantifiers with Plural Countable Nouns
Many, not many, (only) a few, (very) few, any, both, all, most, more, some, several, a large number
of are used with plur. count. n.
E.g. there are too many mistakes here.
E.g. we have had very few complaints.
E.g. I reminded him several times but he forgot.
C. Quantifiers with Uncountable Nouns
(too/not) much, (only)a little, ( very) little, less, all, most, more, some, a bit of, a great deal of are
used with uncount. n.
E.g. I have not got much time left.
E.g. there is only a little milk left.
E.g. there is a great deal of work to be done.
D. Quantifiers with Plural Countable Nouns and Uncountable Nouns
Some, any, no, a lot of, lots of, most, more, all, enough and plenty of are used with plur. count. n
and uncount. n.
E.g. there is hardly any milk. There are hardly any seats.
E.g. do you have lots of luggage? I eat a lot of vegetables and fruit.
E.g. we have not got enough time. We have not got enough chairs.
E.g. there is no time to lose! There are no updates available.

1
 Determiners - Quantifiers

Note:
 In positive sentences, quantifiers are common with comparatives:
E.g. Bahrain was much better than I’d expected.
E.g. There were as many as two hundred at the meeting.

2. Quantifiers Meaning

Quantifier Meaning
many/much -much and many are mainly used in questions and negatives.
-they are more formal than lots/a lot of.
-many Can be used as an intensifier with hundreds of/ thousands etc.
(E.g. many thousands of people took part in the demonstration).
-‘A good many’ is a colloquial way of describing a large number.
-‘too many’ and ‘too much’ mean more than we need.
-‘As many as’ used to indicate the highest number or equal number and
‘as much as’ used to indicate the highest amount or equal amount.
few/a few -few (=almost none/not many) has a negative meaning.
-a few (=some) has a positive meaning.
E.g. I have got a few minutes if you want to talk to me.
Few people remembered what happened.
little/ a little -little (=almost none/not many) has a negative meaning.
-a little (=some) has a positive meaning.
E.g. I speak a little German.
We have little money.
-a little= a bit of (informal).
Some -it is used in affirmative sentences, requests and offers.
-it means not much/many.
-it can also either mean a certain amount/number of or a large
number/amount.
E.g. some money was recovered. (=large amount)
The burglars took some money. (=certain amount)
Any -it is used in negative sentences and questions. (E.g. I don’t have any
time= I have no time).
-it means ‘it doesn’t matter which one’ in affirmative sentences.
a lot of/lots of -they refer to large quantities.
-generally, they are used in affirmative sentences.
-they are informal.
-they mean the same as ‘loads of’ and ‘dozens of’. (E.g. she has got
lots of/loads of/ dozens of DVDs).
-‘quite a lot’ means a fairly large number, but not large one or a
number more than we expected. (E.g. there were quite a lot of people
waiting outside).
-‘rather a lot’ means a greater number or amount than ‘quite a lot’.
-‘a lot of’= ‘a great deal of’, however, ‘a great deal of’ is formal.
Most -means ‘nearly all.’
- We use most as an intensifier meaning ‘very’: e.g. you’re most kind/
that’s most interesting.
Whole -means ‘all of something.’
All -Generally contrasted with some.
-it is used as a quantifier before a plural noun.
-it can also be used as a pronoun. E.g. all I could see was hundreds of
bats.

2
 Determiners - Quantifiers

Each -means ‘separate members of the group.’ E.g. we put 50cc of water in
each test tube.
-it can be used after a subject or at the end of a sentence. E.g. the
members of the team each received a medal.
Subject
Every -means ‘all the members of a group together.’
Enough -means ‘as much as we need’.
-can be used in affirmative, negative sentences and questions.
- After adjectives and adverbs, enough expresses a meaning ‘of
adequate degree.’ Compare:
E.g. Is there enough hot water for me to take a bath? (quantity)
E.g. Is the water hot enough for me to take a bath? (degree)
-‘hardly enough’ means ‘almost not enough’.
-‘just enough’ means ‘the right amount or number’.
-‘more than enough’ means the same as ‘plenty’= ‘more than is
needed.’
Several -means (more than few but not a lot’.
a large number/amount of -they are formal.
-they are used to describe how many/how much.
-they are used with singular and plural verb.
No -we use no with a noun to describe zero quantity or mass. E.g. no
animal can live for long without water.
None of -means ‘not one of the group.’ E.g. none of the students had done the
work.
-‘None of’ is used with nouns, either with a singular or a plural verb.
E.g. none of the passengers was/were saved.
Both -refers to ‘two things.’ It can be used in the following combinations:
-plural n+ plural verb. E.g. both books were written in 1996.
-after be, e.g. you are both wrong.
-between auxiliary and participle, e.g. you have both made a mistake.
-between modal and verb, e.g. you must both be careful.
-both of + the/any other determiner+ plural noun, e.g. both of the/my
teachers were here.
-both of +pronoun, e.g. both of you are wrong.
Either (of)/neither (of) -‘either (of)’ means ‘this or the other’ and ‘neither (of)’ means ‘not this
or the other.’ They can be used with a sing. n and verb. [neither…nor,
either…or can be used a sing. or a plur. V]
-they can also be used with ‘the +plural noun.’
-‘either of’ and ‘neither of’ are considered as pronoun form.

Other Quantifiers
Dozens/hundreds/thousands Measurement words can be used with of + plural noun as quantifiers:
E.g. millions of litres of water are wasted every day.

More/ fewer/less ‘More’ can be used with countable and uncountable nouns to mean a
larger number or amount. (E.g. bring more chairs/milk).
‘Fewer’ is used with countable nouns to mean a smaller number, while
‘less’ is used with uncountable nouns to mean a smaller amount. (E.g.
there have been fewer storms this year and less rain).
Note: in everyday speech, people often use ‘less’ with countable
nouns.

3
 Determiners - Quantifiers

Note:
 a lot, lots can stand alone as pronouns: e.g. How many complaints have you had? Lots/a lot.
 None is always a pronoun: e.g. there are none left.
 Some, any, enough and plenty can also be pronouns: e.g. would you like some?
I haven’t got any. Have you had enough to eat? Yes, plenty.

3. Particular Quantifiers and their Uses

Numbers Exact indications of quantity can be conveyed by means of numbers:

 Cardinal numbers (Num.)
Cardinal numbers can be used as quantifiers (two apples) or pronouns (I
bought two).
The number one will combine with a singular countable noun. All other
numbers combine with plural countable nouns: e.g. we have got one micro
and two electric typewriters in our office
 Note also ordinals (Ord.) followed by cardinals (the first three, the second
two, the next last two etc.): The first three runners won medals.
 next, last, other and another are included in the category ordinal numbers
because they often have the same function of these numerical ordinals; that is,
they designate a place in an ordered sequence (e.g. first, second, next,
last…etc.):
 Approximate number and quantity
Numbers can be modified by about, almost, exactly, fewer than, at least, less
than, more than, nearly, over, under.
E.g. there were over seventy people at the party. (= more than)
E.g. you can’t vote if you’re under eighteen. (= less than)

Fractions (half, Fraction can occur with singular and plural countable nouns and with
one-third, three-
uncountable nouns as well.
fourths, two
fifths…etc.) E.g. Two-third of the players were late for practice.
E.g. Three-fifths of the audience was made up of young people.
E.g. I have finished one-third of my homework.
 Note: fractions normally appear before a noun. They appear in the following
combination: fraction+ (of =optional) + an article/possessive determiner.
E.g. I am willing to pay half (of) the amount. But never say: I am willing to
pay half amount.
Multipliers Multipliers, such as double, triple, and four times, occur with singular and
(double, twice, plural countable nouns as well as with uncountable nouns.
three times…etc.) E.g. she bought double the amount we need.
E.g. she is earning three times our salaries.

 Multipliers must always be followed by some other determiners.

E.g. he received an offer that was double the amount that she got.

4
 Determiners - Quantifiers

Partitives (glass of, A word or phrase that shows a part of quantity of something (expression
loaf of, bit of,
containing a count. n+ of) is called partitive.
bottle of, acre
of…etc.) E.g. I drink a glass of water.
 Partitives like Gallon, litre of are used for liquids; ton, gram, pound of
quantifying anything that is measured by weight; Loaf of is only used with
bread whereas pizza, cake, pie are used with slice of.
-Groups of human being and animals are used with such partitives as: a band
of (robbers…), a bunch of (teenagers and sailors…), platoon of (soldiers),
herd of (large four-footed animals), and flock of (birds).
4. Patterns of Quantifiers Use

a. Quantifier + noun
every system, both decks, most music
b. Quantifier + determiner + noun
all the systems, both these decks, half my tapes
c. Quantifier + of+ determiner + noun
all of the systems, both of these decks, most of my tapes
d. Quantifier + of+ pronoun
all of them, both of these
e. Quantifier + one
each one, either one, any one
f. Quantifier without a noun (except every and no)
Most have two decks.
g. Object pronoun + quantifier
I've heard it all before. We tested them both.
h. Quantifier in mid position
We all agreed. They were both tested.
Note: Speaking about the position of quantifiers: all, both, each can be placed in the position of the
subject NP, or between the subject and the main verb, or between the modal verb/auxiliary verb and
the participle.
E.g. All of my relatives are farmers.
E.g. The kids all go to school on the same bus.
Subject main verb
E.g. My relatives all are farmers.
E.g. My relatives are all farmers. [If the verb is the finite form (verb that shows agreement with a subject and marked
for tense) of be, these quantifiers can be placed after it.]
E.g. These items could all have been bought cheaper on the Internet.
modal v participle