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ADJECTIVES.

An adjective is a word used to describe or give more information about a noun, that is, a word
that qualifies a noun.

ADJECTIVES CAN BE USED ATTRIBUTIVELY OR PREDICATIVELY.

ATTRIBUTIVELY: WHEN THEY QUALIFY ANOUN.

e.g. He is an honest man.
Susan has bought a new car.
They are honest, hardworking teachers.

PREDICATIVELY: WHEN THEY FORM THE PREDICATE WITH THE VERB TO

BE or OTHER VERBS OF INCOMPLETE PREDICATION.
e.g. Richard is very tired.
The dog was hungry.
Mary dyed her hair brown.
I thought him very intelligent.
That boiler makes the water hot.
He has fallen asleep.

IN INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES THE ADJECTIVES COME AFTER THE SUBJECT.

e.g. Is the house new?.
Was the car expensive?.
Isn’t Miss Jackson pretty?.

ADJECTIVES THAT BEGIN WITH A-, CAN ONLY BE USED PREDICATIVELY.

ASLEEP AFLOAT
AFRAID ASHAMED
AWAKE CONTENT
ALONE EXEMPT
AWARE UNABLE
ALIVE

A FEW, FORMER, LATTER, INNER, OUTER CAN ONLY BE USED

ATTRIBUTIVELY. ADJECTIVES, WHETHER PREDICATIVE OR ATTRIBUTIVE,
ARE INVARIABLE FOR NUMBER, GENDER, PERSDON or CASE.

ADJECTIVES FUNCTION AS A NOUN.

Many English words can belong to more than one part of speech. Thus, words that are usually
adjectives may function as nouns. In this case they are always preceded by the definite article and
If they refer to people, are plural in meaning and take a plural verb:
e.g. The blind are taught trades at St. Dunstand’s to fit them for work in the world
Nurses are required to look after the sick and wounded, the old and infirm.
Fortune favours the brave.
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Similarly, we can speak of THE ENGLISH, THE IRISH, THE FRENCH, THE ITALIANS,
THE AMERICANS, THE INDIANS, ETC.
Occasionally the adjective is used as a noun and takes the definite article and a singular verb. In
these cases it stands not for people but for an abstract quality.
e.g. The good in him outweighs the bad.
He thought that the aim of philosophy was to discover the good.
The beautiful and the true.
The long and short of it is……., for better or worse.

NOUNS FUNCTIONING AS ADJECTIVES.

A STONE WALL A CORNER SEAT

A LEATHER BELT A GARDEN TABLE
A GOLD WATCH RUBBER GLOVE
A SILVER WEDDING A COTTON FROCK
A TURKEY CARPET LAWN TENNIS
THE UNIVERSITY FOOTBAL A LONDON POLICEMAN
MATCH
SPRING ONIONS A SHAKESPEARE PLAY
RICE PUDDING THE LOCH NESS MONSTER
In interrogative sentences, the predicative adjective comes after the subject.
e.g. IS THE HOUSE NEW?.

ADJECTIVES THAT BEGIN WITH A- CAN ONLY BE USED PREDICATIVELY.

e.g.

ASLEEP ALONE ASHAMED

AWARE ALIVE CONTENT
AFRAID AFLOAT EXEMPT
AWAKE AWARE UNABLE

FORMER -- LATER
CAN ONLY BE USED ATTRIBUTIVELY
INNER -- OUTER

ADJECTIVES ARE INVARIABLE FOR NUMBER, GENDER, PERSON OR CASE.

ADJECTIVES FUNCTIONING AS NOUNS.

Many English words can belong to more than one part of speech, and the deliberate use of a
word that is normally one part of speech to do the work of a different part of speech is a
characteristic feature of English. Thus, words that are usually adjectives may function as
nouns. In this case they are always preceded by the definite article and, if they refer to
people, are plural in meaning and take a plural verb.
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CONSTRUCTIONS WITH COMPARISONS.

ALL PREDICATIVE OR ATTRIBUTIVE ADJECTIVES ARE IN POSITIVE DEGREE.

COMPARISON
A. EQUALITY
AS ……………….. AS
NOT ………………. AS
NOT SO………………..AS

e.g. Henry is as old as William

It is just as hot as it was yesterday
Mary is as careful as Margaret.

A grape is not so big as an orange.

as

He is not so fat as you

as

B. SUPERIORITY.
…………. -ER THAN
COMPARATIVE DEGREE

MORE.................... THAN

e.g. George is older than William.

Jane is more careful than Elizabeth.
A mountain is higher than a hill.

C. INFERIORITY.
LESS …………….. THAN

e.g. A car is less expensive than a plane.

ONE-SYLLABLE ADJECTIVES FORM THEIR COMPARATIVES AND

ONE-SYLLABLE
SUPERLATIVES BYADJECTIVES FORM
ADDING --ER THEIR
and --EST TOCOMPARATIVES AND
THE POSITIVE FORM
SUPERLATIVES BY ADDING --ER and --EST TO THE POSITIVE FORM
BRIGHT…………. BRIGHTER………………BRIGHTES
BRIGHT………….
NEW BRIGHTER………………BRIGHTES
……………... NEWER ………………….NEWEST
NEW ……………... NEWER ………………….NEWEST
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ADJECTIVES OF THREE OR MORE SYLLABLES FORM THEIR COMPARATIVE

AND SUPERLATIVE BY PUTTING MORE and MOST BEFORE THE OSITIVE.

INTERESTING ………… MORE INTERESTING ………… MOST INTERESTING

FRIGHTENING………….MORE FRIGHTENING………….MOST FRIGHTENING
INTELLIGENT…………..MORE INTELLIGENT ………….MOST INTELLIGEST
EXPENSIVE …………….. MORE EXPENSIVE ……………..MOST EXPENSIVE

ADJECTIVES OF TWO SYLLABLES FOLLOW ONE OR OTHER OF THE ABOVE

RULES. BUT THOSE ENDING IN --FULL or --RE USUALLY TAKE MORE and
MOST.
DOUBTFULL………..MORE DOUBTFULL………….MOST DOUBTFULL
CAREFULL………….MORE CAREFULL……………MOST CAREFULL
OBSCURE……………MORE OBSCURE……………...MOST OBSCURE

TOSE ADJECTIVES ENDING IN --ER, --Y, or --LY ADD --ER, --EST TO FORM
THEIR COMPARATIVE OR SUPERLAIVE DEGREE.
PRETTY……………. PRETTIER …………………PRETTIEST
HOLY ………………. HOLIER ……………………HOLIEST
CLEVER …………… CLEVERER………………...CLEVEREST

CERTAIN ORTHOGRAPHIC POINTS TO BE NOTED:

1. WORDS ENDING IN -Y PRECEDED BY A CONSONANT LETTER, CHANGE

THE -Y TO -I IN COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE.

PRETTY ………………. PRETTIER ………………… PRETTIEST

HAPPY ………………… HAPPIER ………………….. HAPPIEST

BUT THIS DOES NOT HAPPEN IF THE -Y IS PRECEDED BY A VOWEL.

e.g. GREY………………. GREYER ………………...GREYEST
GAY………………… GAYER …………………. GAYEST

2. THE FINAL CONSONANT LETTER OF THE WORD IS DOUBLED IN THE

CASE OF WORDS OF ONE SYLLABLE CONATINING ONE VOWEL LETTER
PRECEDED BY A CONCONANT LETTER.
BIG ……………….. BIGGER ………………… BIGGEST
FAT ………………. FATTER ………………… FATTEST
THIN ……………... THINNER ……………….. THINNEST

BUT NOTICE: THERE IS NO DOUBLING IN: THICK // THICKER //

THICKEST
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3. A FINAL MUTE -E DISAPPERAS.

e.g. RIPE .......................... RIPER ………………… RIPEST
FINE ………………. FINNER ………………... FINNEST

4. THE SOUND / g / IS ADDED AFTER / ì / IN

STRONG ………………… STRONGER …………………. STRONGEST

5. SYLLABIC / l / BECOMES NON-SYLLABIC

e.g. ABLE ---------- ABLER --------- ABLEST

6. AN -r WHICH WAS NOT SOUNDED IN THE POSITIVE, IS SOUNDED IN THE

COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE.

e.g. NEAR …………………. NEARER ……………… NEAREST

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF IRREGULAR COMPARISONS.

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

GOOD || BETTER BEST
WELL
BAD || WORSE WORST
ILL
LITTLE LESS || LEAST
LESSER
NEAR NEARER NEAREST ||
NEXT
MUCH || MORE MOST
MANY
FAR FARTHER || FARTHEST ||
FURTHER FURTHEST
LATE LATER || LATEST ||
LATTER LAST
OLD OLDER || OLDEST //
ELDER ELDEST
OUT OUTER // OUTMOST //
UTTER UTMOST
UP UPPER UPPERMOST
IN INNER INNERMOST //
INMOST
FORE FORMER FOREMOST //
FIRST
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THAN IS USED TO EXPRESS SUPERIORITY OR INFERIORITY.

e.g. GEORGE IS TALLER THAN HENRY.
THIS CAR IS LESS EXPENSIVE THAN THAT ONE.

THAN IS ALSO USED AFTER RATHER AND SOONER.

e.g. HE WOULD RATHER PLAY THAN WORK.
SOONER

IT IS ALSO USED, BUT LESS FREQUENTLY, AFTER OTHER AND ANOTHER.

e.g. THE RESULT WAS QUITE OTHER THAN WE EXPECTED.
THIS WAS QUITE ANOTHER RESULT THAN WE EXPECTED.

THE MORE USUAL CONSTRUCTION WOULD BE..

e.g. THE RESULT WAS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE EXPECTED.
(DIFFERENT THAN IS SOMETIMES HEARD BUT IT IS BETTER BE AVOIDED).

THE COMPARATIVE WITHOUT THAN MAY BE USED.

COMPARATIVE WITHOUT THAN.

a) WITH A NOUN OR ONE
GIVE ME A LARGER PIECE OF PAPER.
I WANT A BETTER JOB.
BRING ME A SMALLER ONE

IT IS USED WITHOUT THAN IN A PREDICATIVE CONSTRUCTION.

e.g. HE IS A BETTER NOW.
IT IS WARNER THIS MORNING.
THE APPLES WILL GET REDDER IN THE AUTUM.

C) AFTER A NOUN OR PROPOUN IN SUCH CONSTRUCTIONS AS..

e.g. THEY HAVE MADE THE HOUSE BIGGER.
YOU MUST KEEP YOUR WORK CLEANER.
HE WANTS THE WORK DONE BETTER.
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IN THE CASES THE COMPARISON IS IMPLIED THOUGH NOT EXPRESSED.

D) AFTER THE FOLLOWING COMPARATIVES WHICH ARE ONLY USED
ATTRIBTIVELY.
INNER………….OUTER UPPER………….FORMER
FORMER……………LATTER UTTER……….ELDER

E) AFTER:
SENIOR
JUNIORIORO SUPERIOR
INFERIOR
POSTERIOR
ANTERIOR

WHEN THE ABOVE ADJECTIVES ARE USED IN COMPARISONS THEY ARE

FOLLOWED BY TO:
e.g. THIS IS SUPERIOR TO THAT.
I AM JUNIOR TO HIM.

NOTES ON THE COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES:

1. MAJOR and MINOR are used attributively and not predicatively.

2. The forms GOOD (WELL), BAD (ILL), LITTLE, MUCH, FAR are not really
corresponding forms to the superlative and comparative. They have a semantic
connection but are from different roots. WELL is generally an adverb. It is a
predicative adjective in such expressions as “I am very WELL” , “He looks/fells
WELL . ILL is an adjective in such expressions as TO BE// FEEL// LOOK//
FALL ILL , and in ILL HEALTH // NEWS // LUCK (but BAD would be more
usual).
3. The comparatives OUTER, UPPER, INNER and the corresponding superlatives are
derived from adverbs; the positive forms are adverbs, the comparative and
superlative forms are adjectives .
The words UTTER, UTMOST, UTTERMOST, are historically comparatives and
Superlatives of OUT, but their modern meaning has little connection with OUT.

4. LESSER is archaic or poetic and is used only in a few phrases:

To choose the LESSER of the two evils.
Cibber is one of the LESSER poets of the eighteenth century.
The LESSER spotted woodpecker.
The LESSER light to rule the night.
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5. NEAREST refers to distance, NEXT to order.

Where is the NEAREST post office?.
The NEXT station is Oxford Circus.

6. FARTHER generally refers to distance.

I cannot walk any FARTHER.
Manchester is FARTHER from London than Oxford

FURTHER, though it can replace FARTHER in all contexts, has the specialized
meaning of ADDITIONAL:
….. I will give you FUTHER details later.
….. I need FURTHER help with this.

7. OLDER and oldest can be used of people or things:

Henry is OLDER THAN David.
That is the OLDEST house in the city.

ELDER and ELDEST can be used of persons only, and only for members of the
same family. Moreover, they can only be used attributively:
e.g. My ELDER brother is three years OLDER THAN me
Henry is David’s ELDER brother.
Mary is my ELDEST sister.

ELDERS can, however, be used as a noun meaning “those of an earlier generation”

(implying they are wiser than we Are).
e.g. You should respect your elders and betters.

In one phrase “an elder statesman”, i.e. means “a statesman deserving respect for
His age and wisdom, elder is used as an adjective.

8. LESS is used with uncountable nouns, FEWER with countable ones.

He has spent LESS time on his work than he ought to have done.
There are FEWER boys than girls in my classroom.

9. LATTER means the second of two and is contrasted with FORMER.

e.g. He studied French and German; the FORMER language he speaks very well,
but the LATTER one only imperfectly.
LATEST means the most recent, the last up to the present.
e.g. Have you read John Scribbler’s LATEST book?.
LAST has the meaning “final”.
e.g. The Tempest was probably the LAST play that Shakespeare wrote.

… It (LAST) also has the meaning “previous”

e.g. I think the recent book is better than the LAST one.
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10. Notice that before an attributive adjective in the superlative degree, THE should be
used.
e.g. This is THE best advice I can give you.

ADJECTIVES NOT ADMITING OF COMPARISON.

There are some adjectives that, on account of their meaning, do not really admit of
comparison at all:

PERFECT EMPTY TRIANGULAR

UNIQUE SQUARE WOODEN
MATCHLESS ROUND MONTHLY
FULL CIRCULAR DAILY

BUT COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE FORMS OF SOME OF THESE WORDS

ARE USED BECAUSE WE ARE NOT CONSIDERING THEM IN THEIR LITERAL
SENSE: PERFECT. …… FULL.
e.g. This is a more PERFECT specimen than that one.
(we really mean: This is nearer to perfection than that one).
- My glass is FULLER than yours.
1. He says he has given me FULL details, but I want him to give me FULLER
Particulars.

THE POSITION OF ADJECTIVES.

1. where the adjectives are used attributively they generally come before the noun they
qualify…
e.g. a BROWN horse, a NEW car, etc. but there are certain occasions, especially in
literary English, when they come after the noun that they qualify. These are:
a) when accompanied by a phrase expressing measurement.
e.g. – a river two hundred miles long
- a road fifty feet wide
- a man eighty-five years old
- a building ten- storeys high

b) when more adjectives than one are used with the noun.
e.g. He is a writer both WITTY and WISE.
He climbed the mountain by a route UNCHARTED, STEEP and
DANGEROUS.
He has a face THIN and WORN, but EAGER and RESOLUTE.

c) When the adjective is followed by a prepositional phrase.

e.g. He is a man GREEDY for money
Alfred was a King ANXIOUS for his people’s welfare.
All these are matters WORTHY of attention.
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d) in a few fixed expressions (mainly from French) such as:

… The Theatre Royal
… Knight errant
… Court martial
…by all means possible
… letters patent

The words NEXT and LAST may follow, though they generally precede.
e.g. LAST Friday. ……………… Friday LAST
NEXT Monday. …………….. Monday NEXT

e) when used with SOMETHING / SOMEONE / ANYTHING / EVERYTHING /

NOTHING.
e.g. I’ll tell you SOMETHING very IMPORTANT.
That’s NOTHING NEW.
He’ll provide EVERYTHING NECESSARY.
There is SOMEONE HURT .

f) Adjectives preceded by THE may also follow a proper noun.

e.g. Alfred THE GREAT.
William THE SILENT.
Ivan THE TERRIBLE.

g) Participles that are predominantly verbal in meaning follow the noun.

e.g. I have answered all the letters received.
After the accident the policeman took the names of the people involved.
We went through a door opening on the garden.
A penny SAVED is a penny GAINED. (proverb)
The words mentioned bellow.

But participle that are predominantly adjectival in meaning precede the noun.
e.g. a BROKEN bottle
a PAINTED table
a CRYING child

2. ALL and BOTH precede a noun, a possessive adjective, and a demonstrative

adjective
or pronoun ) and the definite article.
e.g. ALL (BOTH) friends are gone.
ALL (BOTH) these statements should be quite clear.
ALL (BOTH) the boys have gone home.

BUT: THEY FOLLOW A PERSONAL PRONOUN.

e.g. When they saw the policeman they all (both) ran away.
We all (both) hope you will be successful.
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3. HALF and DOUBLE PRECEDE THE NOUN WHEN THEY ARE USED IN A
DESCRIPTIVE SENSE.
e.g. He drank a HALF bottle of wine. He drank HALF a bottle of wine.
He is my HALF-brother.
He gave HALF-a-crown for a HALF-crown book.
The stocking were sold at HALF price (= half the original).
He drank a DOUBLE whisky.
I want a DOUBLE room.

BUT: HALF, DOUBLE (AND TWICE) ARE OFTEN FOLLOWED BY THE DEFINITE
ARTICLE OR A POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE.
2. I bought the stockings at HALF THE (that) price (=half the price you mentioned).
3. That will cost HALF / DOUBLE / TWICE THE money.
4. HALF HIS time he does no work.
5. That would cost DOUBLE / TWICE HIS capital.

4. WHEN AN ADJECTIVE IS QUALIFIED BY RATHER or QUITE THESE WORDS

SOMETIMES FOLLOW AND SOMETIMES PRECEDE THE INDEFINITE
ARTICLE WITHOUT ANY DIFFERENCE OF MEANING.
e.g. He played QUITE A good game.
He played A QUITE good game.
That is RATHER A valuable picture.
That is A RATHER valuable picture.

5. ENOUGH normally comes before the noun but can come after it with no difference
of meaning.
e.g. We haven’t ENOUGH time. We haven’t time ENOUGH.

IT CAN BE USED WITH SINGULAR NOUNS OR PLURAL ONES.

e.g. We have done ENOUGH work.
There are ENOUGH chairs to seat everybody.

EITHER and NEITHER. (PRONOUN & ADJECTIVE)

EITHER means any of the two persons or things.

e.g. I will take EITHER . It doesn't matter which.
Do you like EITHER of these?.
6. No, I don't like EITHER.

NEITHER = NOT EITHER.

In the negative we can use NEITHER with an affirmative verb or EITHER with a negative
verb.
e.g. I like NEITHER. or I don't like EITHER.

NEITHER is preferred at the beginning of a sentence and can also be used alone as a
negative answer to a question:
e.g. NEITHER of them was any good.
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Which did you buy?. NEITHER.

ALL can be used as pronoun or as adjective in the singular or the plural.

1) AS A PRONOUN WITH THE MEANING OF EVERYTHING.
e.g. When he saw his troops retreat, the General cried, "ALL is lost."
"All's well that ends well".
"ALL is not gold that glitters."

2) AS AN ADJECTIVE WITH THE MEANING, "THE WHOLE OF."

e.g. ALL the money is spent.
ALL the world has heard of his name.
He has worked hard ALL the time he was here.
He has spent ALL last week in London.
ALL the pupils were present. ( adjective ).
ALL are welcome. (pronoun).
I don't like to speak before ALL these people. (adjective).
He has written six novels and ALL of them are good. (pronoun).

----When the subject is a noun, ALL can precede it or follow it.

e.g. ALL the students agreed that the concert was good.
The students ALL agreed that the concert was good.
e.g. That's the sort of job that ALL boys like doing.

----If the subject is a pronoun, ALL generally follows it.

e.g. They ALL agreed that the concert was good.

ALL and EVERY.

ALL often has the meaning of EVERY. The constructions are:
ALL + PLURAL VERB.

EVERY + SINGULAR VERB.

EVERY boy likes doing.

The explosion broke ALL the windows in the street.

EVERY
ALL the people were cheering loudly.
EVERYBODY was cheering loudly.

The distinction between ALL and EVERY IS that in a sentence like: "ALL THE BOYS
WERE PRESENT" , we consider the BOYS as a mass; in the sentence: "EVERY BOY was
present", we are thinking of the many individual boys that make up the mass.
In addition to being a pronoun and an adjective, ALL is used ADVERBIALLY in such
expressions as:
 His face was ALL covered with blood.
 If you can finish the work by Wednesday instead of Thursday, that will be ALL the
better.
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 Did you catch the train ALL right.

 It is ALL the same to you, I'd rather go by car than by train.

EACH AND EVERY.

EACH and EVERY also express totality.
EACH can be a pronoun or an adjective.
EVERY can only be an adjective. To be a pronoun: EVERYONE, EVERYBODY,
EVERYTHING.
EACH can be used when the total number referred to is two or more.
EVERY can be used only when the total number exceeds two.

EACH AS A PRONOUN.
 EACH must do his best
 They EACH signed the paper.
 Mr. Brown came to the school with a bag of apples, and gave the boys two EACH.
 EACH of the boys has done his work.

EACH AS AN ADJECTIVE.
1 EACH man must do his best.
1 EACH person signed the paper.
1 Before choosing a pen, she looked at EACH orre in turn.

EVERY AS AN ADJECTIVE.
EVERY man must do his best.
EVERY person signed the paper.
EVERY one of the boys has done his work.
EVERY CLOUD HAS A SILVER LINING. (proverb).

THERE ARE SOME DIFFERENCES IN MEANING AND USAGE BETWEEN EACH

AND EVERY AS ADJECTIVES.

The feeling of "distribution" is stronger in EACH than in EVERY. EVERY

tends to gather the separate items into a whole; EACH focuses attention on
them individually and so tends to disperse the unity.
e.g. I visited him EVERY day while he was in hospital. ………... . AND…….
I visited him EACH day while he was in hospital.

EACH could not be used in such phrases as:

 EVERY OTHER DAY"
 "EVERY TWO DAYS"
 EVERY NOW AND THEN"
NOTE the two meanings of the phrase "EVRY OTHER DAY."
a) I go there every other day. ( means I go there on alternate days. E.g. On Monday,
Wednesday, Friday , Sunday).
b) We have a lesson on Monday, but on every other day there are no lessons.
(means there are no lessons on all the other days)
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BOTH: it indicates totallity, but is applied to only two persons or things. It is only used
only with plural nouns and take a plural verb.

e.g. BOTH his legs were broken in the accident.

There are houses on BOTH sides of the stree.
BOTH men were found guilty.

QUANTITATIVE ADJECTIVES.
A, ONE, SOME, ANY, NO, MUCH, MANY, LITTLE, FEW, and NUMERALS.

NUMERALS.
e.g. I have SIX pencils.
The adjective ONE is not always interchangeable with A.
e.g. A handkerchief ... means any handkerchief ( no particular ).
ONE handkerchief ... means no more than 1.

SOME. Used in affirmative sentences.

e.g. I have SOME butter.
He has SOME friends.

ANY is used in negative senetences:

e.g. I have not ANY pencil. I haven’t ANY sugar.

2. After HARDLY, SCARCELY, and BARELY ( which are almost negative).

e.g. I have HARDLY ANY money.
There are SCARCELY ANY flowers in the garden.
3. After interrogatives.
e.g. Have you ANY money?.
Did you see ANY cats?.
BUT: when the question is really an invitation or a request SOME is used.
e.g. Will you take SOME tea?. Would you like SOME wine?.
Will you carry SOME of these bottles for me, please?.

SOME can also be used when the answer “YES” is expected.

e.g. I heard a knock, is there SOMEONE at the door?.
Did he see SOME tall men with black beards?. ( I know that they were there, so
feel sure that he saw them.)

4. After IF and in expressions of doubt.

e.g. I don’t think that there is ANY milk in the house.
If I find ANY of your books I’ll send them to you.
If you have ANY difficulty, ask me for help.

5. To mean “particularly every” “no particular one”.

e.g. ANY book about medicine will tell you how diseases should be treated.
ANYBODY will show you the way. (everybody knows the way).
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MUCH AND MANY.

MUCH MEANS "A LARGE QUANTITY."
MANY MEANS “ A LARGE NUMBER OF.”
MUCH IS USED BEFORE UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS.
MANY IS USED BEFORE PLURAL COUNTABLE NOUNS.

In practice, however, MUCH and MANY are usually replaced in the affirmative, and sometimes in the interrogative, by such e
A LOT OF = replaces MUCH and MANY.

A GREAT DEAL OF = replaces MUCH only.

e.g. I have A LOT OF bread; but I haven’t MUCH butter.
Have you MUCH (or A LOT OF) land round your house?.
She has A LOT OF time to waste; I haven’t MUCH.
Do you meet MANY (or A LOT OF) nice people in your job?.

LITTLE and FEW

LITTLE= “SMALL QUANTITY OF”

FEW= “A SMALL NUMBER OF”

LITTLE: USED BEFORE UNCOUNABLE NOUNS.

FEW: USED BEFORE COUNTABLE NOUNS.
e.g. LITTLE MILK.
FEW BOTTLES.
A FEW (USED FOR UNCOUNTABLE) = “A SMALL NUMBER OF”
A LITTLE (USED FOR UNCOUNTABLE)= “A SMALL AMOUNT”

FEW and LITTLE = DENOTES “SCARCITY” or “LACK”.

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LITTLE and FEW; except when preceded by VERY are seldom used in the affirmative.
Instead we use “NOT MUCH” and “NOT MANY”.

INSTEAD OF SAYING WE USUALLY SAY

I HAVE LITTLE TIME. I HAVEN’T MUCH TIME.

HE ATE FEW APPLES. HE DIDN’T EAT MANY APPLES.

LITTLE and FEW = when preceded by VERY, TOO, etc are used in the affirmative.
e.g. I have VERY LITTLE time.
We have TOO FEW holidays.
VERY FEW (people) know about this.

SOME.
1. As an adjective or a pronoun it is used before, or to refer to, uncountable nouns, to express an
indefinite quantity or number.
e.g. He wants SOME money. (ADJECTIVE)
I have spilt SOME ink on the table. (ADJECTIVE)
There are SOME cows in the field. (ADJECTIVE)
I hadn’t any cigarettes, so I went out to buy SOME. (PRONOUN)
If you have no money I will lend you SOME. (PRONOUN)
2. It is used before, or to refer to, uncountable nouns and plural nouns to suggest contrast.
e.g. SOME people hates cats; others dislike dogs. (ADJECTIVE)
I enjoy SOME music, but much of it bores me. (ADJECTIVE)
SOME of us agree with that statement; SOME disagree. (PRONOUN)
Not all your answers were correct; SOME were, SOME were not. (PRONOUN)
“SOME are born great, SOME achieve greatness and SOME have greatness thrust
upon them.” (SHAKESPEARE) …. (PRONOUN)
3. As AN ADJECTIVE only it is used before singular countable nouns with the meaning
“a particular, but unidentified person or thing” (often with derogatory meaning).
e.g. SOME fool had left the lawn-mower on the garden path, and in the dark I fell over it.
He arrived with SOME old books that he had picked up at the second-hand book shop.

SOME with a numeral have the meaning “APPROXIMATELY.”

e.g. It happened SOME twenty years ago.
It will take SOME three or four thousand pounds to rebuild the house.

MUCH is used with uncountable singular nouns.

e.g. You haven’t MUCH time if you want to catch that train.
He hasn’t MUCH money.
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MANY is used with plural countable nouns.

e.g. You haven’t MANY minutes to spare if you want to catch that train.
How MANY cigarettes a day do you smoke?

THE ONLY occasion when MANY is used with a singular noun is in the phrase “MANY A”
e.g. MANY A ship has (=MANY ships have) been wrecked on those rocks.
MANY A man would be glad of your job.
I have been there MANY A time

MUCH and MANY are most frequently used in negative or interrogative sentences, MUCH with
singular uncountable nouns, MANY with plural nouns.
e.g. I haven’t MUCH time.
Did you have MUCH rain in your holidays?
There is not MUCH sugar in the sugar bowl.
Do you know MANY people in London?
There are not MANY mistakes in your exercise.

In colloquial use in affirmative in affirmative sentences/statements they are frequently replaced

by A LOT OF, LOTS OF, A LARGE QUANTITY OF, PLENTY OF, A GOOD DEAL OF,
e.g.
...He will have A LOT OF time to spare when he has finished the book he is working on.
...She knows LOTS OF people in London.
...He has done A GOOD DEAL OF research on that subject.

NOTE: with A LOT OF, and A PLENTY OF the verb is in singular with uncountable nouns,
plural with countable nouns.
e.g. There is PLENTY OF sugar in the sugar bowl.
There are PLENTY OF chairs for everyone.

MUCH and MANY are usually preferred even in affirmative constructions.

a) IN INDIRECT QUESTIONS introduced by WEATHER or IF.
- I doubt WATHER there’ll be MUCH time for seeing the sights of London; your train leaves
at six ó clock.
- I wonder IF MANY people will be at the party.

b) When preceded by SO, TOO, AS, NOW.

e.g. He has SO MUCH money and I have SO LITTLE.
There are TOO MANY mistakes in your exercise.
He has drunk TOO MUCH wine and ought not to drive his car home.
You can have AS MUCH wine (AS MANY bottles of wine) as you want.
I know HOW MUCH money (HOW MANY pounds) that ring cost.

c) When they qualify the subject of the sentence.

e.g. – MANY Englishmen like to spend their spare time working in their gardens.
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-“ MANY hands make light work.” (Proverb).

- MUCH time would be saved if you planned your work properly.

d) In the case of MUCH, when it stands alone, i.e. with no noun:

e.g. MUCH.
- MUCH depends on what answer the Prime Minister gives to that question.
- I would give MUCH to know what he is thinking now.
- MUCH of what he says is true.
- MUCH as I should like to come. I'm afraid I must refuse.

e) In the case of MUCH, when it is followed by an abstract noun, especially when the noun is
preceded by an adjective,
e.g. The book is the fruit of MUCH PATIENT research.