quantifiers

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We use quantifiers when we want to give someone information about the number of something:
how much or how many.
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 uncount nouns:

all

any

enough

less

a lot of

more

most

no

none of

some

lots of

and some more colloquial forms:

plenty of

heaps of

a load of

loads of

Some quantifiers can be used only with count nouns:

tons of

etc.

both

each

either

(a) few

fewer

neither

several

and some more colloquial forms:

a couple of

hundreds of

thousands of

etc.

Some quantifiers can be used only with uncount 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.
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.
Note that, if we are talking about two people or things we use the
quantifiers both, either and neither:

One supermarket

The supermarket
was closed
The supermarket
wasn't open
I dont think the
supermarket was
open.

Two supermarkets*

More than two supermarkets

Both the supermarkets All the supermarkets

were closed.
were closed
Neither of the
supermarkets was
open.

None of the
supermarkets were
open

I dont think either of I don't think any of the

the supermarkets was supermarkets were
open.
open

*Nouns with either and neither have a singular verb.

Singular quantifiers:
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 grandmothers every year.
When we stayed at my grandmothers 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.

See more at: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/english-grammar/determiners-andquantifiers/quantifiers#sthash.vonalWVS.dpuf

Quantifiers

In English grammar, a quantifier is a word (or phrase) which

indicates the number or amount being referred to. It generally
comes before the noun (or noun phrase). The chart below
shows which type of noun goes with which quantifier.
However, note that some of the examples in the chart can take
on several different roles within a sentence. For example, 'any'
can be used as a quantifier, a pronoun or an adverb:

any as a quantifier: Have you got any tomatoes?

any as a pronoun: I don't want any of you making a noise.
any as an adverb: Can't this car go any faster?

In these notes, we are only considering these words/phrases

as quantifiers.
Plural
n
o
Singular
u Uncountable
noun
n
nouns
Quantifier
s (C)
s
(U)
(
C
)
all

Yes

Yes

any

No, but see

Yes
note.

Yes

both

Yes

each

Yes

enough

Yes

Yes

every

Yes

few/a
few/fewer

Yes

little/a
little/less

Yes

lots of / a
lot of

Yes

Yes

many

Yes

more

Yes

Yes

no

Yes

Yes

Yes

several

Yes

some

Yes

Yes

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 quantifiersall and 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:

a little less noise

a few more questions
every few minutes

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 andmuch 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 witha 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 negativesentences:

Are you bringing any friends with you?

Do you have any coffee?
I can't remember any songs.
He isn't taking any chances.

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.

I'm bringing some friends with me.

I have some coffee.

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!)

What are quantifiers?

A quantifier is a word or phrase which is used before a noun to indicate the amount or quantity:
'Some', 'many', 'a lot of' and 'a few' are examples of quantifiers.
Quantifiers can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
Examples:
There are some books on the desk
He's got only a few dollars.
How much money have you got?
There is a large quantity of fish in this river.
He's got more friends than his sister.

Examples of quantifiers
With Uncountable Nouns

much
a little/little/very little *
a bit (of)
a great deal of
a large amount of
a large quantity of

With Both

all

enough
more/most
less/least
no/none
not any
some
any
a lot of
lots of
plenty of

With Countable Nouns

many
a few/few/very few **
a number (of)
several
a large number of
a great number of
a majority of

* NOTE
few, very few mean that there is not enough of something.
a few means that there is not a lot of something, but there is enough.
** NOTE
little, very little mean that there is not enough of something.
a little means that there is not a lot of something, but there is enough.
Exercise on quantifiers.

Definition
Articles,determiners,andquantifiersarethoselittlewordsthat
precedeandmodifynouns:

Jump to
Articles

the teacher, a college, a bit

of honey, that person, those people, whatever purpose, either way, your c
hoice

Sometimesthesewordswilltellthereaderorlistenerwhetherwe're
referringtoaspecificorgeneralthing(thegarageoutback;Ahorse!Ahorse!
Mykingdomforahorse!);sometimestheytellhowmuchorhowmany(lots

oftrees,severalbooks,agreatdealofconfusion).Thechoiceoftheproper
articleordeterminertoprecedeanounornounphraseisusuallynotaproblem
forwriterswhohavegrownupspeakingEnglish,norisitaseriousproblemfor
nonnativewriterswhosefirstlanguageisaromancelanguagesuchasSpanish.
Forotherwriters,though,thiscanbeaconsiderableobstacleonthewayto
theirmasteryofEnglish.Infact,somestudentsfromeasternEuropean
countrieswheretheirnativelanguagehaseithernoarticlesoranaltogether
differentsystemofchoosingarticlesanddeterminersfindthatthese"little
words"cancreateproblemslongaftereveryotheraspectofEnglishhasbeen
mastered.
Determinersaresaidto"mark"nouns.Thatistosay,youknowa
determinerwillbefollowedbyanoun.Somecategoriesofdeterminersare
limited(thereareonlythreearticles,ahandfulofpossessivepronouns,etc.),
butthepossessivenounsareaslimitlessasnounsthemselves.Thislimited
natureofmostdeterminercategories,however,explainswhydeterminersare
groupedapartfromadjectiveseventhoughbothserveamodifyingfunction.
Wecanimaginethatthelanguagewillnevertireofinventingnewadjectives;
thedeterminers(exceptforthosepossessivenouns),ontheotherhand,arewell
established,andthisclassofwordsisnotgoingtogrowinnumber.These
categoriesofdeterminersareasfollows:thearticles(an,a,theseebelow;
possessivenouns(Joe's,thepriest's,mymother's);possessivepronouns,(his,
your,their,whose,etc.);numbers(one,two,etc.);indefinitepronouns(few,
more,each,every,either,all,both,some,any,etc.);anddemonstrative
pronouns.Thedemonstratives(this,that,these,those,such)arediscussedin
thesectiononDemonstrativePronouns.Noticethatthepossessivenouns
differfromtheotherdeterminersinthatthey,themselves,areoften
accompaniedbyotherdeterminers:"mymother'srug,""thepriests'scollar,"
"adog'slife."
This categorization of determiners is based on Understanding English Grammar by Martha Kolln. 4rth
Edition. MacMillan Publishing Company: New York. 1994.

Some Notes on Quantifiers

Likearticles,quantifiersarewordsthatprecedeandmodifynouns.They
tellushowmanyorhowmuch.Selectingthecorrectquantifierdependson
yourunderstandingthedistinctionbetweenCountandNonCountNouns.For
ourpurposes,wewillchoosethecountnountreesandthenoncount
noundancing:

The following quantifiers will work with count nouns:

many trees
a few trees
few trees
several trees
a couple of trees
none of the trees
The following quantifiers will work with non-count nouns:

not much dancing

a little dancing
little dancing
a bit of dancing
a good deal of dancing
a great deal of dancing
no dancing
The following quantifiers will work with both count and non-count nouns:

all of the trees/dancing

some trees/dancing
most of the trees/dancing
enough trees/dancing
a lot of trees/dancing
lots of trees/dancing
plenty of trees/dancing
a lack of trees/dancing
Informalacademicwriting,itisusuallybettertousemanyandmuchrather
thanphrasessuchasalotof,lotsofandplentyof.
Thereisanimportantdifferencebetween"alittle"and"little"(usedwith
noncountwords)andbetween"afew"and"few"(usedwithcountwords).If
IsaythatTashondahasalittleexperienceinmanagementthatmeansthat
althoughTashondaisnogreatexpertshedoeshavesomeexperienceandthat
experiencemightwellbeenoughforourpurposes.IfIsaythatTashonda
haslittleexperienceinmanagementthatmeansthatshedoesn'thaveenough
experience.IfIsaythatCharlieownsafewbooksonLatinAmericanliterature
thatmeansthathehassomesomebooksnotalotofbooks,butprobably
enoughforourpurposes.IfIsaythatCharlieownsfewbooksonLatin

Americanliterature,thatmeanshedoesn'thaveenoughforourpurposesand
we'dbettergotothelibrary.
Unlessitiscombinedwithof,thequantifier"much"isreservedfor
questionsandnegativestatements:

Muchofthesnowhasalreadymelted.
Howmuchsnowfellyesterday?
Notmuch.

Notethatthequantifier"mostofthe"mustincludethedefinite
articlethewhenitmodifiesaspecificnoun,whetherit'sacountoranoncount
noun:"mostoftheinstructorsatthiscollegehaveadoctorate";"most
ofthewaterhasevaporated."Withageneralpluralnoun,however(whenyou
arenotreferringtoaspecificentity),the"ofthe"isdropped:

Mostcollegeshavetheirownadmissionspolicy.
Moststudentsapplytoseveralcolleges.

Authority for this last paragraph: The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers by Maxine Hairston and John J.
Ruszkiewicz. 4th ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1996. Examples our own.

Anindefinitearticleissometimesusedinconjunctionwiththe
quantifiermany,thusjoiningapluralquantifierwithasingularnoun(which
thentakesasingularverb):

Manyayoungmanhasfalleninlovewithhergoldenhair.
ManyanapplehasfallenbyOctober.

Thisconstructionlendsitselftoasomewhatliteraryeffect(somewouldsaya
stuffyorarchaiceffect)andisbestusedsparingly,ifatall.
Definition
Quantifiers are a type of determiner which denote imprecise quantity. They modify nouns or
pronouns. They differ from numbers or numerals which indicate precise quantity.
The
most
The most common quantifiers used in English are:

common

some / any , much, many, a lot, a few, several, enough.

There are three main types of quantifier;

1.

quantifiers of large quantity

examples:

2.
3.

quantifiers of small quantity

neutral quantifiers - some, any etc ,

1. Large quantity quantifiers:

much, many, lots of, plenty of, numerous, a large number of, etc.
Much and many :
Muchis used with non-count nouns (always in the singular); many is used with count nouns in the plural.
(Click here for the difference between count nouns and non-count nouns).
IMPORTANT NOTE: in modern spoken English, Much, and to a lesser extent manyare not often used as
quantifiers in affirmative statements; but they are very commonly used in interrogative and negative
contexts.
Examples:
I have many reasons for thinking that this man is innocent is acceptable, but rather formal; most English
speakers
would
more
naturally
say:
I
have
plenty
of
/
a
lot
of
/
ample
/
reasons
for
thinking
.....
Much whisky is of very good quality. This sentence is technically acceptable, but not probable in modern
spoken
English.
Most
people
would
say
(and
write):
A lot of whisky / A good proportion of whisky / Plenty of whisky ......
Remember : don't use much or many in affirmative statements, if you can avoid it. Though their use may
be possible, it often sounds very formal, old-fashioned or strange in modern English. On the other
hand, much of / many of are sometimes used in affirmative contexts; and so much / so many and too
much / too many are quite acceptable.
Examples:
He has much money is not normal English. Speakers would more naturally say:
He
has
a
lot
of
money
/
He
has
loads
of
money.
Much of what you have written is very good. The expression "much of" is acceptable in the affirmative; but
except in a formal context, most English-speakers would say (and write) something like :
A lot of what you have written......
A good deal of what you have written.....
With so and too
There is so much poverty in the world - There are too many people in here
Lots of, a lot of, plenty of, a large number of, numerous
These expressions are all more or less synonyms. In the list above, they are arranged in order of formality,
going from the most informal (lots of) to the most formal (numerous). Informal language is more
appropriate in dialogue, formal language in written documents.
For more on style, see styles of English .

Much / many or Much of / many of ?

As quantifiers, much and many are not followed by of when they quantify a noun directly. However
they must be followed by of if they come before a determiner such as an article, a possessive or a
demonstrative. The same principle applies to few / few of (see below),some / some of, etc..
Examples:
I

can't

Many
but

see

many

houses
Many

people.
were

of

the houses

but

I
destroyed
were

can't

see many
in

destroyed

in

of

my friends

the

war.
the

war.

They

didn't

drink

much

beer

but They didn't drink much of that beer we gave them.

Several and a number of
These imply "more than one, but less than a lot". They are not usually used in negative or interrogative
structures, only in affirmative statements. For example
There are several books / a number of books by J.K.Rowling
Several people / A number of people said that they'd seen the missing child.

in

our

library.

1.2. Quantifiers of relative quantity

There are a couple of common quantifiers that express relative or proportional quantity.
Most / most of
These imply more than half of, a majority of, or almost all . They do not mean the same asmany / many of.
Enough
Enough implies a sufficient quantity; it is used in affirmations, negations and questions.
Most
students
will
pass
their
exam.
The
man
lost
most
of
his
money
at
the
casino.
We
can
get
tickets
for
the
concert,
I've
got
enough
money
now.
Have
you
got
enough
money
for
the
tickets?
No, I haven't got enough.
NOTE: do not confuse enough as a quantifier adjective preceding a noun, with enough as an
intensifier following an adjective, as in:
That's good enough for me.
Click for more about enough :

2. Small quantity quantifiers:

few, a few, little, a little, not many, not much, a small number of, etc.

These quantifiers are normally only used in affirmative statements, to which they give a negative colouring.

Little, a little, not much are used with non-count

Few, a few, not many are used with count nouns in the plural.

nouns

(always

in

the

singular)

Examples:
Few
A
There's

people
few

(of
little

can

speak

the)
point

paintings
in

trying

more
in

this

to

mend

number

than
gallery
it.

three
are
You'll

languages
really

good.

never

succeed!

every,

etc.

I've got a little money left; let's go and have a drink.

3. Neutral quantifiers:
Some
and
any:
several,
These are treated separately: see

of,

each,

 : Some
: Each and every

and

any

and

neutral

quantifiers

4. Recapitulation: table of usage for common English quantifiers

Affirmative

Negative

Interrogative

Neutral

some, several, a number of,

enough

any, enough

any, enough

Large
quantity

numerous, plenty of, a lot of, lots

of, too many

much, many, too

many

much, many, too

many

Small
quantity

few / a few, Little / a little

4.1. QUANTIFIERS WITH OF... TAKE CARE:

Much of, many of, few of, a little of, plenty of, lots of, some of, a number of, none of, several of, etc.
When followed by of, some of these quantifiers MUST be followed by an article or other determiner; for
others there is a choice (article or no article)
The rule....

... applies to

MUST be followed by an article or other

determiner

all of, each of, some of, many of, much of, (a) few of, (a) little
of, none of, several of, enough of,

MAY or MAY NOT be followed by an

article or other determiner

plenty of, a lot of, lots of, a number of, a couple of,

Here are a few examples; most are right, some (in grey and barred out) are wrong.
Examples:
OK Some of the people are right some of the time, but all of the people cannot be right all of the time.
Not OK

Some of people are right some of time, but all of people cannot be right all of time.

OK Plenty
OK
OK

of
Plenty

OK

OK

OK

the

came
supporters

of

the

A
I'd
I'd

Several

of

came

to

of
a few
a

off.
off.

were

sent

off.

sent

off

were

these
of

match.

were

players
of

few

sent
sent

players
the

match

the

were

players

of

like
like

the

were

couple
couple

to

players

Several players

Not

OK

of

Several

OK

OK

supporters

your

sent
apples,
apples,

off.
please.
please

Not OK I'd like a few of apples, please.

5. Few or a few, little or a little ?

The difference between the two expressions in each phrase is purely one of meaning, not of usage.
Without the article, few and little (used respectively with count nouns and non-count nouns) have the
meaning of "not much/ not many, and possibly less than one might hope for or expect". These expressions
have a negative value to them.
With the article, a few and a little have the meaning of "at least some, perhaps more than one might expect"
. These expressions have a positive value.

Examples:
Few
of
my
friends
were
there,
so
A
few
of
my
friends
were
there,
so
Hurry
up;
there's
little
We have a little time to spare, so let's stop and have a cup of coffee.

I
I
time

was
was

disappointed.
quite
happy.
left
!