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INSTITUTO TECNOLÓGICO DE AGUASCALIENTES

Name of the department

INGLES

Major:

INGENIERIA INDUSTRIAL

Name of the class:

QUANTIFIERS

UNIT number

Activity:

1.6

Professor name:

OSCAR FLORES GALVAN

ISRAEL ESPARZA LAREDO

Date

15/03/2019

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QUANTIFIERS
Quantifiers + nouns counts No-counts comments

Plenty of pubs X Large quantity qualifier,


mid formal

Many beaches X Large quantity qualifier,


plural

lot of crime X Large quantity qualifier,


formal

Plenty of time X Large quantity qualifier,


mid forma

Several systems X Large quantity qualifier

Lots of additional X Large quantity qualifier,


formal

a few segurity cameras X Small quantity qualifier,


plural

Much awareness X Large quantity qualifier,


singular

Too much focus X Large quantity qualifier,


singular
Many good things X Large quantity qualifier,
plural
A Little time X small quantity qualifier,
singular

2
Many different X Large quantity
cultures qualifier, plural

A few local X Small quantity


cultures qualifier, plural

Lot of foreing X Large quantity


national cultures qualifier, formal

Several african X Large quantity


qualifier

Some peolple X Neutral and


relative
quantifier
Lots of tourist X Large quantity
qualifier, formal

Much fun X Large quantity


qualifier, singular

Many fascinating X Large quantity


restaurants qualifier, plural

Knowing the difference between count and noncount nouns will help you do
the following:

Use the noun plural ending -s correctly


Use the appropriate type of article: definite (the) or indefinite (a or an)
Use words that express quantities, such as little, much, . . .
Count vs. Noncount

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The main difference between count and noncount nouns is whether or not
the things they refer to can be counted.
Count nouns refer to things that can be divided up into smaller units which
are separate and distinct from one another. They usually refer to what can
individually be seen or heard:
table
chair
word
remark
finger
bottle
award
candidate

Noncount nouns refer to things that cannot be counted because they are
regarded as wholes which cannot be divided into parts. They often refer to
abstractions and occasionally have a collective meaning:
anger
furniture
warmth
leisure
education
courage
progress
weather

Illustration: Think of the batter from which a cake is made. Before putting the
batter into the oven, you cannot divide it into its parts because it is a liquid
mix. Once it has been baked, however, it becomes solid enough to be cut
into pieces. Think of noncount nouns as the batter which forms a mass, and
think of the pieces of cake as the count nouns which may be numbered and
distributed.

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Pluralizing

The Rules

Count nouns can be pluralized by adding a final -s to the nouns.


Noncount nouns cannot be not pluralized at all.
This rule works for the nouns in the list of examples in the first section.
Exception: The rule needs to be slightly revised for a number of nouns.
Certain nouns in English belong to both classes: they have both a noncount
and a count meaning. Normally, the noncount meaning is abstract and
general, and the count meaning is concrete and specific.
Compare the changes in meaning of the following nouns if they work as
count or noncount nouns:

Count
Noncount
The researcher had to overcome some specific problems to collect the data.
The researcher had no problem finding studies that supported his
view.
The political arguments took the nation to a situation of political instability.
The author's argument was unsupported and stereotypical.
There were bright lights and harsh sounds. Light travels faster than sound.

Special Case: A special case is the use of the mass/count distinction for the
purpose of classification. The nouns which function both ways mainly
denote foods and beverages: food(s), drink(s), wine(s), bread(s), coffee(s),
and fruit(s).
Examples:
Units
Mass
Several types of French wines are grown in the French Riviera. The
crops of Columbia coffee are more resistant to dry climate than are the crops
of Brazilian coffee.

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A Revision of the RulesThe exceptions require that the rule for pluralizing be
revised: count nouns and nouns used in a count sense can be pluralized;
noncount nouns and nouns used in a noncount sense cannot.

Pluralizes with -s
Does not Pluralize
Count Noun
X
Count Use
X
Noncount Noun
X
Noncount Use
X

Articles
Nouns that Take Articles
Choosing which article to use with a noun is a complex matter because the
range of choices depends on whether the noun in question is count or
noncount, singular or plural.

The following chart shows which articles go together with which kinds of
nouns. The demonstratives (this, that, these, those) have been included
because they also mark the noun they modify as definite or specific.

A/An
The
This/That
These/Those
Count

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Singular
X
X
X
Plural
X
X
Noncount
Singular
X
X
Plural
Note: Noncount nouns are always singular.

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