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Understanding Quantifiers in English

Quantifiers are words that express quantity and usually precede nouns. There are quantifiers for large quantities like "a lot" and "much", small quantities like "a little" and "a few", and undefined quantities like "some" and "any". Quantifiers can also express sufficient amounts like "enough" and "plenty". Some quantifiers differ based on whether they are used with countable or uncountable nouns. The document then provides examples of using quantifiers like "a little", "a few", "very little", "very few", "too", "too many", and "enough".

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54 views10 pages

Understanding Quantifiers in English

Quantifiers are words that express quantity and usually precede nouns. There are quantifiers for large quantities like "a lot" and "much", small quantities like "a little" and "a few", and undefined quantities like "some" and "any". Quantifiers can also express sufficient amounts like "enough" and "plenty". Some quantifiers differ based on whether they are used with countable or uncountable nouns. The document then provides examples of using quantifiers like "a little", "a few", "very little", "very few", "too", "too many", and "enough".

Uploaded by

JcgRiveraOrtiz
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

quantifiers

Quantifiers are very important words because


they let us express the quantity of something.A
quantifier is a word that usually goes before a
noun to express the quantity of the object; for
example, a little milk.
There are quantifiers to describe large quantities (a lot,
much, many), small quantities (a little, a bit, a few) and
undefined quantities (some, any). There are also
quantifiers that express the idea of a sufficient amount
(enough, plenty).

There are some quantifiers that have a similar meaning


but differ because one is used with countable nouns and
the other is used with uncountable nouns. Countable
nouns are things that we can count; for example, a
table, two chairs. Uncountable nouns are things that we
cannot count and only have a singular form; for
example, some furniture, some fruit.
A little, a few
We use a little with singular uncountable nouns.

E.g

Mary said nothing, but she drank some tea and ate a little
bread.

We use a few with plural countable nouns:

E.g

We stayed a few days in Florence and visited the museums.


When we say 'a little' or 'a few', we mean a small
amount, but it's enough:

E.g

-There’s still a little soup in the oven.

-We have a few oranges on the basket.


very little, very few
'very little' or 'very few' usually give us a different
impression. These also mean a small amount, but this
time the amount is almost nothing, using 'very little'
or 'very few' means that we don't have enough:

I can't cook dinner, there are very few ingredients.

I have very little coffee, would you like some tea?


too, too
much, too
many
We use these
describe big
words to
amounts.
They usually mean more
than what we want or
need.
We use too much
with uncountable We use too many
nouns with countable nouns
There is too much sugar in There are too many
the coffee. vegetables in the fridge.

That’s too much flour, we The plate has too many


need to follow the recipe. onions.
We use too with adjectives
The coffee is too hot.

The soup is too salty.

He eats too fast.

That watermelon is too big.

These sodas are too sweet.


Enough
enough means 'as much as necessary'. It can be used with an
adjective, an adverb, a verb or a noun.

I'm not tall enough to reach the top shelf.

Your marks are good enough to study engineering at


university.

I couldn't write quickly enough and I ran out of time.

I've helped at conferences often enough to know what can go


wrong.

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