Quantifiers

SOME & ANY:

 We usually use some in positive
sentences:
- There’s some tea.
- There are some towels.

 We usually use any in questions:

- Is there any sun cream?
- Are there any T-shirts?

 We also use any in negative sentences:

- There isn’t any coffee.
- There aren’t any jackets.
 We use some and any with uncountable
nouns (soap, chewing gum, shampoo, etc)
and countable nouns (cameras,
suitcases, razors, etc).

 We often use some in questions with

Would you like...?:
- Would you like some tea?

 We can use no to mean ‘not any’:

- There’s no coffee.
Other Quantifiers:

countable nouns uncount. nouns both

A few a bit of a lot of/
not many a little lots of
not much some
any
 With countable nouns we use a few and
not many to mean a small quantity:
- There are a few CDs.
- There aren’t many CDs.

 With uncountable nouns we use a bit of, a

little and not much to mean a small
quantity:
- There’s a bit of toothpaste.
- There isn’t much toothpaste.
 With both countable and uncountable
nouns we use a lot of/ lots of to mean a
large quantity:
- There are a lot of T-shirts.
- There’s lots of make-up.

 We don’t use much and many in positive

sentences:
- I’ve got lots of free time.
(not I’ve got much free time).
- There are a lot of chairs.
(not There are many chairs).
 We use How much…? to ask about
uncountable nouns and How many…? to
ask about countable nouns:

- How much soap have we got?

- How many towels are there?