quantifiers
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 | lots of |
| more | most | no | none of | some |
and some more colloquial forms:
| plenty of | heaps of | a load of | loads of | tons of | etc. |
Some quantifiers can be used only with count nouns:
| 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 | Two supermarkets* | More than two supermarkets |
|---|---|---|
|
The supermarket was closed The supermarket wasn't open I don’t think the supermarket was open. |
Both the supermarkets were closed. Neither of the supermarkets was open. I don’t think either of the supermarkets was open. |
All the supermarkets were closed None of the supermarkets were open I don't think any of the supermarkets were 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 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.
Activities
| Decide if sentences are correct or incorrect |
| Choose the correct quantifier |
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Comments
Respected sir,
There is a big confusion to use each and every with children please help me to clear in these sentences.
Every child in the world deserves affection
We want each children to succeed.
team
Hello missarshmah!
Can I ask what your confusion is? Both each and every mean all. Both of your example sentences are good uses of each or every, but remember that we use the singular with each and every, so the second sentence should read:
We want each child to succeed.
If you have any more questions, feel free to ask!
Regards
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team
Have done
Hi.
Could you please tell me why "Neither house is really what I want." is correct?
As I got from your lesson, we have to use plural nouns after "neither", but we don`t have it here.
team
Hello pachvak!
When we use neither on its own, it is always followed by a singular noun. When we use neither of, as we do in the examples above, we use plural nouns.
Hope that helps!
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team
thanks!
you help me so much, I did the activity again and see the difference, I need put more attention to my reading.
hi, I don´t understand why the sentences: The president shook hands with each players.And We don't have enough of information. Are incorrect according to the first activity. Please somebody tell me what I don´t understand.
team
Hello dayanb!
If you look at the page, you'll see that it tells you we use every with the singular noun. The president shook hands with every players is wrong because it should be player (no s).
For your second question, if you look at the first table of quantifiers, you'll see that is only enough with no of. We do use the phrase 'enough of', but not in a sentence like the one in the exercise.
Hope that helps!
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello
I don't understand why in the example:
"Both brothers work..."
there is no article before the noun, but "the" appears before the noun in:
"Both the supermarkets were closed"
Thanks
Quinito
team
Hello Quinito!
That's a good question, and I agree it looks confusing. However, we often drop 'the' after both, especially when we are speaking. Both sentences are grammatically correct, and the meaning of both is the same.
Hope that helps,
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team