{"id":24153,"date":"2015-03-18T22:48:08","date_gmt":"2015-03-18T22:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.eoisabi.org\/?p=24153"},"modified":"2020-05-27T15:33:03","modified_gmt":"2020-05-27T15:33:03","slug":"quantifiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/englishroam.com\/?p=24153","title":{"rendered":"Quantifiers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2234<\/p>\n

A\u00a0\u2192quantifier<\/b><\/a>\u00a0\u2190\u00a0is a type of determiner, such as\u00a0all<\/i>\u00a0or\u00a0many<\/i>, that indicates quantity.<\/p>\n

These items have been argued to correspond to logical quantifiers at the semantic level.<\/p>\n

Some Notes on Quantifiers \u00a0\u21d3 \u00a0 [http:\/\/grammar.ccc.commnet.edu]<\/h6>\n

Like articles,\u00a0quantifiers<\/b>\u00a0are words that precede and modify nouns. They tell us how many or how much. Selecting the correct quantifier depends on your understanding the distinction between\u00a0Count and Non-Count Nouns<\/b><\/a>. For our purposes, we will choose the plural\u00a0noun ‘trees’<\/span>\u00a0and the non-count noun ‘wood’<\/span>:<\/p>\n

\"#\"The following quantifiers will work with\u00a0count<\/strong> nouns<\/span>:<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>many\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0trees<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>a large number of\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0trees<\/span>
\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0a\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>few<\/b>\u00a0trees<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0few<\/b>(er<\/b>)\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0trees<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>several<\/b>\u00a0 trees<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>a couple of<\/b>\u00a0 trees<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>none of the<\/b>\u00a0 trees<\/span><\/span>

\"#\"The following quantifiers will work with\u00a0non-count<\/strong> nouns<\/span>:<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>not much<\/b>\u00a0wood<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>a little<\/b>\u00a0wood<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>little<\/b>\u00a0wood<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>a bit of<\/b>\u00a0wood<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>a good\/great deal of<\/b>\u00a0wood<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>a large amount\u00a0of<\/b>\u00a0wood<\/span>
\u00a0<\/span>
\"#\"The following quantifiers will work with\u00a0both count<\/strong> and non-count<\/strong> nouns<\/span>:<\/span>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 all (of the)<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0trees\/wood<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>most of the \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0trees\/wood<\/span>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>a lot\/ lots of \u00a0<\/b>\u00a0trees\/wood<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0plenty of<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0trees\/wood<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0enough<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0trees\/wood<\/span><\/span>
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 more\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0trees\/wood<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0some <\/strong><\/span><\/strong>\u00a0trees \/ wood<\/span>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a lack of<\/b>\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/strong>trees\/wood<\/span>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 no<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/strong>trees\/wood<\/span>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 not any \u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/strong>trees\/wood<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

In formal academic writing, it is usually better to use\u00a0many<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0much<\/i>\u00a0rather than phrases such as\u00a0a lot of, lots of<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0plenty of<\/i>.<\/p>\n

There is an important difference between\u00a0\u00aba little\u00bb<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0\u00ablittle\u00bb<\/b>\u00a0(used with non-count words) and between\u00a0\u00aba few\u00bb<\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0\u00abfew\u00bb<\/b>\u00a0(used with count words). If I say that Tashonda has\u00a0a little experience<\/span>\u00a0in management that means that although Tashonda is no great expert she does have some experience and that experience might well be enough for our purposes. If I say that Tashonda has\u00a0little experience<\/span>\u00a0in management that means that she doesn’t have enough experience. If I say that Charlie owns\u00a0a few books<\/span>\u00a0on Latin American literature that means that he has some some books \u2014 not a lot of books, but probably enough for our purposes. If I say that Charlie owns\u00a0few books<\/span>\u00a0on Latin American literature, that means he doesn’t have enough for our purposes and we’d better go to the library.<\/p>\n

Unless it is combined with\u00a0of<\/i>, the quantifier\u00a0\u00abmuch\u00bb<\/b>\u00a0is reserved for questions and negative statements:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Much of<\/span>\u00a0the snow has already melted.<\/li>\n
  • How much snow fell yesterday?<\/li>\n
  • Not much.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Note that the quantifier\u00a0\u00abmost <\/b>of the\u00ab<\/b>\u00a0must include the definite article\u00a0the<\/i>\u00a0when it modifies a specific noun, whether it’s a count or a non-count noun: \u00abmost of\u00a0the<\/span>\u00a0instructors at this college have a doctorate\u00bb; \u00abmost of\u00a0the<\/span>\u00a0water has evaporated.\u00bb<\/p>\n

    With a general plural noun, however (when you are\u00a0not<\/i>\u00a0referring to a specific entity), the \u00abof the\u00bb<\/em> is dropped:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Most colleges<\/span>\u00a0have their own admissions policy.<\/li>\n
    • Most students<\/span>\u00a0apply to several colleges.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      An indefinite article is sometimes used in conjunction with the quantifier\u00a0many<\/b>, thus joining a plural quantifier with a singular noun (which then takes a singular verb):<\/p>\n

        \n
      • Many a young man<\/span>\u00a0has fallen in love with her golden hair.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        This construction lends itself to a somewhat literary or archaic effect.<\/p>\n

        \u2022 \u00a0Loads of \u00a0exercises on quantifiers<\/strong> …\u00a0\u2192[o1]\u2190<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0\u2192[o2]\u2190<\/a>\u00a0\/<\/strong>\u00a0\u2192[o3]\u2190<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0\u00a0\u2192[o4]\u2190<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

        \u2022 \u00a0Determiners & quantifiers<\/strong>:\u00a0\u2192[o1]\u2190<\/a> \/\u00a0\u2192[o2]\u2190<\/a>\u00a0\/\u00a0\u2192[o3]<\/a>\u00a0 \u21d4 \u00a0<\/strong>[quiz]\u2190\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

        \u25ca . . .\u00a0OF . . . \u00a0\u2193<\/strong><\/p>\n