Transcript Quantifiers

Chapter Three
Quantifiers
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Introduction
Kinds of quantifiers
There are two kinds of quantifiers which are
A. Quantifiers
B. Distribution
Quantifiers
Examples:
A lot of, plenty of, lots of, tons of, a little, little, some, hardly
any, a few, few, several
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Quantity
Some adjectives and adjectival phrases
are used for mass nouns only, some are
used for count nouns only and some are
applicable for both types of nouns.
Illustration
Mass nouns: They answer the question how
much? E.g. we can say:
There is no snow, a little snow, some snow, a bit of
snow
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Quantity
Or we can say: no snowballs, a few snowballs, a
number of snowballs, several snowballs, a lot of
snowballs, a great deal of snowballs, etc.
Expressions which can be used for
both count and mass nouns:
a lot of snow(balls), a great deal of snow(ball),
plenty of snow(balls), lots of snow(balls), tons of
snow(balls).
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Quantity
Quantifiers can singular or plural, so the verb
agrees with the noun. If the noun is a mass
noun, the verb is singular. If the nouns is
countable , the verb is plural.
E.g. A lot of towns are celebrating the centenary.
Lots of time is wasted in teabreaks.
Expressions like plenty of, lots of, tons of are
informal spoken forms. In writing, use a great
deal of, a large amount of, and a large number
of.
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Positive and negative ways of looking at
things
Optimist
The bottle of water is
half full
There is some water left
Pessimist
half empty
there is not much water left
There are three friends
I have a few friends
I have few friends
Scale
A little
no/none
some
a lot
a few
little
not much
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Positive and negative ways of
looking at things
I have got a little money= (some)
There are a few things that I want to see you about
=(several)
There is little point in going on now: it is too late.=(hardly
any)
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Meanings of some
The word some has two main meanings:
a) Sometimes to emphasize quantity
e.g. I have some good friends but not many
Some of my best friends are accountants.
b) As a sort of indefinite article= you are interested
in the object itself.
E.g. She bought me some records for my birthday,
but I would have preferred books.
Some means sometimes a particular one but I do
not know which one.
Form: some + NOUN
Some man called this morning, but he refused to
give his name
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Meanings of some
There is a difference between sometimes
which means occasionally; and at some
time, which means at an unspecified time
e.g. I would like to see you some time next
week. = one day next week
I will be there some time this evening. = I am
not sure exactly when I will be there.
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Distribution
All, every, and each are words which describe the group
of things or people in different ways:
E.g. Q: Will we go with you?
Yes, each one of you.
Yes, every one of you.
Yes, all of you.
• The same number of individuals is involved but the way
of looking at them is different:
All= the group seen as one
Every= the group seen as a series of x members
Each = the members of the group seen individually.
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Distribution
E.g.
He worked hard and saved all his money.
Every female rabbit in the place was in
love with him
He always brought a different present for
each child.
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All
Meaning of all
The word all contrasts with some and with no/none
All = all students are supposed to come early.
Some= Some students got A+ in the grammar course.
No = complaints were reported.
The word all occurs in these combinations.
All + ǿ mass noun\count noun in the plural
All+ the mass noun\count noun in the plural
All+ pronoun+ mass noun\count noun in the plural
All + this\that mass noun
All + these\those count noun in the plural
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All
1 Give up all hope of seeing them again.
All passengers are requested to remain seated.
2 Have you been here all the time? I didn’t notice you before.
You can tell all the people without tickets to wait outside.
3 Where have you been all my life?
All my friends have gone away for Christmas.
4 Who has made all this mess?
You will never get all that luggage into the car
5 All these books belong to me.
You will never get all those suitcases into the car.
Note
The words both and half can have the same combinations
Both my children are still at school.
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All
All + of
You must use all of with a following pronoun:
All of you, all of us, all of them
Similarly you ban use the words both and half with the
same pronouns.
You can use all of instead of all when it is in contrast to
some:
E.g. I do all (of) the work and you get all(of) the credit.
But you can not use all of in the following sentence:
All passengers are requested to remain seated.
Because there is no contrast with some.
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All
All + NOUN without the
Use all +ǿ + NOUN when you want to make a general
statement.
E.g. All passengers are requested to keep their seatbelts
fastened.
Not all snakes are poisonous.
The can be left out in time expressions:
All day, all afternoon, all evening, all night, all week, etc.
Exception: all the time.
All or the whole?
The whole is preferred to be used with count nouns in
the singular:
E.g. I read the whole book in one evening.
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All
A whole + noun
E.g. I was so thirsty that I drank the whole bottle of milk in one go.
This contrasts with (a) part of, half of, some of, etc.
The whole + of
I read the whole of the book\ I searched the whole of the building.
All or everything?
Generally all is not preferred to be used on its own without a noun.
Instead we use everything for things, and everybody/one for people:
Everybody in the office knows about them.\Give everyone a copy.
Note
All occurs on its own in expressions where it means the only thing as
in All I want is a quiet life, that will be all, thank you. , Is that all? , not
at all.
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Every
Meaning of every
It is a word which describes a series consisting of three or more
people or things.
The series may be complete or incomplete
E.g. Every player in the team is a first-class footballer. (every player
compares with all the players).
I go shopping every Saturday. ( you can not use all)
The word every occurs in the following combinations:
Every + count noun in the singular\ one ( pronoun)
Every is an adjective and must be always followed by a noun or a
pronoun(one).
E.g. I have read every book in the library
Have you checked all the invoices? Yes, I have checked every one.
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Every
Every in frequency expressions
A.
With plural nouns:, every week, every 20 minutes
B.
With the word other or with ordinals.
.
e.g. every other day\ my mother visits us every third week.
Every one of
When you are talking about a complete series, you can use the
combination:
Every one of + the + count noun in the plural
Every one of + these\those + count noun in the plural
Every one of + us, you, them
I have read every book in this library or I have read every one of the
books in this library.
This construction is particularly useful with possessives
I can remember every one of the children`s birthday parties.
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Each
When you add the word single to every one, the sentence becomes
more emphatic.
Normal
all of the books in this library= all of them
every book in this library = every one of them
every one of the book in this library = every one of them
emphatic
every single one of the books in this library= every single one
Meaning of each
The word each is used to point to the individuals in a group of two
or more, and to consider them one by one.
E.g. I have checked every book in the subject, and I find that each
one says something different.
Each is used in the following combinations:
Each + count noun in the singular\ one\ ǿ
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Each
E.g.
He gave each child a present
He picked up the letters and examined each one carefully
Each on its own
E.g. I like all of Mozart`s symphonies: each has its special charm
Here you can use each or each one but there are cases where you
use each only:
Prices: How much are these? 60 pence each.
With pronouns: he kissed the children and gave them each a
present.
Plural noun + each: the children each received sth different.
Reciprocal each other: they love each other very much.
Each of : each one of you\them\us (emphatic)
The meeting had begun. Each (one) of us stood up
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Distribution
All, every or each?
All and every are seen collectively but each is seen individually.
Either or neither
We can describe distribution between two things by using the word
either or its negative form neither
X or Y- either will do
Not X and not Y – neither will do
Both roads lead to the city. You can take either road.
Neither of them came to my office.
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