QUANTIFIERS

LIC. MELINA ALEJANDRA SORIA ARNEZ

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.
QUANTIFIERS WITH COUNT AND UNCOUNT NOUNS

We can use these quantifiers with both count and uncount nouns:

all some more a lot of enough

no any most lots of less

 We have lots of time.
 Joe has lots of friends.
 I can't go out. I've got no money.
 There was a lot of food but no drinks
These more colloquyial forms are also used with both count and uncount nouns:

plenty of heaps of  a load of  loads of  tons of

We have loads of time.
Joe has plenty of friends.
There was heaps of food.
SOME - ANY

We do not normally use the quantifier some in negative and interrogative

 sentences. We normally use any:

Do you have any children?
Did you see any friends?
We don't have any children.
I didn't see any friends.
We saw some lions at the zoo, but we didn't see any tigers.

But we can use some for offers and requests:

Would you like some tea?
I want some apples, please.
QUANTIFIERS WITH COUNT NOUS

Some quantifiers can be used only with count nouns:

(not) many each either (a) few

several both neither fewer 
QUANTIFIERS WITH UNCOUNT NOUS

Some quantifiers can be used only with uncount nouns:

(not) much a bit of a little

Would you like a little wine?

Could I have a bit of butter, please?
EVERY - EACH

We use the quantifiers every and each with singular nouns 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.
FEW - A FEW

The quantifiers few and a few, and little and a little seem nearly identical but

they are actually quite distinct. These expressions show the speaker's attitude
towards the quantity he is referring to as either positive or negative.
EXAMPLE

Positive attitude
A few (for countable nouns) and a little (for uncountable nouns) describe the
quantity in a positive way, implying that although the speaker may not have much,
he has enough.

I've got a few friends. = I have enough friends.

I have a few flowers in my garden. = I have enough flowers.
I've got a little money. = I have enough money.
I have a little free time on Thursdays. = I have enough free time.
Negative attitude

Few (for countable nouns) and little (for uncountable nouns) describe the quantity in a

negative way. They may actually indicate a total lack of the noun, but are more polite than
saying so directly.
Few people visited him in hospital. = he had almost no visitors, or perhaps no visitors at all.
I've seen few birds around here. = there are almost no birds, or perhaps not a single bird
He had little money for treats. = almost no money, or perhaps no money at all.
I have little time for TV = almost no time, or perhaps no time at all
 MOST

We use the quantifier most to talk about quantities, amounts and degree. We

can use it with a noun (as a determiner) or without a noun (as a pronoun).

We can also use it with adjectives and adverbs to form the superlative.
MOST WITH A NOUN

We use most with nouns to mean ‘the majority of’:

She plays tennis most mornings.

Most tap water is drinkable.
The food at the party was delicious. He’d made most of the desserts
himself.
Most of the information was useful. Some of it wasn’t relevant.
Most of England and Wales should be dry throughout the day.
MOST WITHOUT A NOUN

We can leave out the noun with most when the noun is obvious:

[talking about school lunches]

Some children brought a packed lunch but most had a cooked meal in the
canteen. (most children)