Group conversations #1: Irregular verbs: arise – blow
Quantifiers
We use quantifiers when we want to give someone information about the number of something: how much or how many.
Count vs. non-count nouns:
Count nouns can be separated into individual units and counted. They usually have both a singular and a plural form. Most English nouns are count nouns.
Non-count (or uncountable) nouns exist as masses or abstract quantities that cannot be counted. They have no plural form. Here are some common categories of non-count nouns.
An activity (in the –ing form): swimming, dancing, reading, smoking, drinking, studying
A mass: work, equipment, homework, money, transportation, clothing, luggage, jewelry, traffic
A natural substance: air, ice, water, fire, wood, blood, hair, gold, silver
Some kinds of food: milk, rice, coffee, bread, sugar, meat, water
An abstract concept: advice, happiness, health, education, research, knowledge, information, time
A subject of study: economics, physics, astronomy, biology, history, statistics
A language: Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, English
A game: soccer, tennis, basketball, hockey, football, chess, checkers
A disease: diabetes, measles, polio, influenza, malaria, hypothyroidism, arthritis
Some nouns can be both count and non-count. When they change from a count to a non-count noun, the meaning changes slightly. In the non-count form, the noun refers to the whole idea or quantity. In the count form, the noun refers to a specific example or type. For example, if you want to eat the meat of a chicken, you ask for “chicken,” but if you want to talk about the animal, you say “a chicken.”
List of quantifiers:
• Sometimes we use a quantifier in the place of a determiner:
Most children start school at the age of five.
We ate some bread and butter.
We saw lots of birds.
• We use these quantifiers with both count and non-count nouns:
|all |more |enough |no |a lot of |some |
|any |less |most |none (of) |lots of | |
• …and some more informal forms for “a lot of”:
|plenty of |heaps of |a load of |loads of |tons of | etc. |
• Some quantifiers can be used only with count nouns:
|both |each / every |either / neither |(a) few |fewer |(not) many |several |
• …and some more informal forms:
|a couple of |hundreds of |thousands of |etc. |
• Some quantifiers can be used only with non-count nouns:
|(a) little |(not) much |a bit of |
• And, particularly with abstract nouns such as time, money, trouble, etc:, we often use:
|a great deal of |a good deal of |
Members of groups:
• You can put a noun after a quantifier when you are talking about members of a group in general…
Few snakes are dangerous.
Both brothers work with their father.
I never have enough money.
Several dog breeds are hunting breeds.
Most Canadians are polite.
• …but if you are talking about a specific group of people or things, use of the … as well
Few of the snakes are dangerous.
All of the children live at home.
He has spent all of his money.
Several of the dogs he owns are of a hunting breed.
Most of the Canadians in Montreal are polite.
• Note that, if we are talking about two people or things we use the quantifiers both, either and neither:
|One supermarket |Two supermarkets* |More than two supermarkets |
|The supermarket was closed. |Both the supermarkets were closed. |All the supermarkets were closed. |
|The supermarket wasn't open. |Neither of the supermarkets was open. |None of the supermarkets were open. |
|I don’t think the supermarket was open. |I don’t think either of the supermarkets was open. |I don't think any of the supermarkets were open. |
*Nouns with either and neither have a singular verb.
Singular quantifiers for groups of the same object:
• We use every or each with a singular noun to mean all:
There was a party in every street. = There were parties in all the streets.
Every shop was decorated with flowers. = All the shops were decorated with flowers.
Each child was given a prize. = All the children were given a prize.
There was a prize in each competition. = There were prizes in all the competitions.
• We often use every to talk about times like days, weeks and years:
When we were children we had holidays at our grandmother’s every year.
When we stayed at my grandmother’s house we went to the beach every day.
We visit our daughter every Christmas.
• BUT: We do not use a determiner with every and each. We do not say:
The every shop was decorated with flowers.
The each child was given a prize.
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