Questions tagged [quantifiers]
For questions about words that give information about the quantity or amount of something.
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tell me any of his secrets
a. I can't make him tell me any of his secrets.
Can't this mean two things:
I can't make him tell me even a single one of his secrets.
I can only make him tell me some of his secrets, but not just ...
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Is it correct to use "preposition + not many"? — E.g.: "a simple man with not many interests" and "I agree with not many your arguments"
I wonder in what cases the construction "preposition + not many" is correct and in what cases not.
For this purpose, I found some examples on the internet.
"The Darkness and the Light: ...
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What does the word exception mean in this phrase?
I was reading an article on Burmese pythons in Florida and came across this sentence:
“Because of their large size, adult Burmese pythons have few predators, with humans being the exception”
What ...
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sings here only on Saturdays
a. He sings here only on Saturdays.
Does that mean that he sings here every Saturday?
b. He only doesn't practice on Sundays.
Does that mean that he never practices on Sundays?
Many thanks
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In the sentence "She says she has no friends," the number of friends is zero, why is "friends" still plural?
In the sentence
"She says she has no friends"
even though the number of friends is zero (less than two), why is "friends" still plural?
I learnt the rule that if a countable noun ...
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you both talked to him during many a dinner party
a. You have both talked to him during many a party.
b. They have all talked to him during many a party.
c. You have both talked to him during many parties.
d. They have all talked to him during many ...
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"The few houses she owns": does it imply too small a number?
a. The few houses she owns are big.
b. Those few houses she has renovated are very expensive.
c. The small number of houses she owns are big.
Do these sentences imply that she has few houses? In other ...
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"Only a few people" or "only few people"?
Can you help me with this question pleas?
The concert wasn't popular. Only ____ people came.
How should I complete the sentence, with a few or few?
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the key to all the doors of knowledge
a. He has a key to all doors of knowledge.
b. He has a key to every door of knowledge.
c. He has a key to each door of knowledge.
d. He has a key to all the doors of knowledge.
============
a1. He has ...
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Is the definite article 'the' necessary in phrases like 'neither of the cats'?
When I want to say
neither of the cats
either of the cats
none of the cats
half the cats
a lot of the cats
most of the cats
each of the cats
every one of the cats
all the cats
That 'the' is ...
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Rank quantifiers based on intensity [closed]
Is there any ranking for quantifiers based on intensity (pretty, quite, very, etc..) in English?
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where he could find any cigarettes
a. He wanted to know where he could find any cigarettes.
b. He wanted to know where there were any cigarettes.
Would you say that the sentences sort of imply scarcity and he'd be happy if he could ...
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About the use of other quantifiers instead of ‘much’ , ‘many’, ‘few’, ‘little’, etc [closed]
I was always told that the use of many/few/fewer is for countable nouns and the use of much/little/less is for uncountable nouns. But what happens if I want to use other words to specify quantity? Can ...
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the whereabouts of any given employee
a. I don't know the whereabouts of any given employee at any given time.
Does that mean
I am not suppose to know the whereabouts of any given employee at any given time.
or
I have no idea where any ...
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I'd risk my life for any of you
a. I risked my life for Jeff, and I want you to know that I'd risk my life for every one of you.
b. I risked my life for Jeff, and I want you to know that I'd risk my life for each of you.
c. I risked ...
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most of them entered the building
a. Most of the students entered the building but Tom, Pete and Hank didn't.
b. Some of the students entered the building but Tom, Pete and Hank didn't.
Would you say that Tom, Pete and Hank were the ...
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We both vs both of us
The book "Practical English Usage" by Michael Swan, page 155, contains the following guidance:
I wonder if instead of an object pronoun we had a subject pronoun, would be possible to use to ...
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4
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Which one is correct: "one more book than" or "one more books than"?
Prerequisite：Mr.Smith has 30 books and Ms.Smith has 31 books.
Which is correct?
A. Ms.Smith has one more book than Mr.Smith.
B. Ms.Smith has one more books than Mr.Smith.
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doing [determiner] grocery shopping
Pedagogical materials commonly advise adding a determiner or quantity word to "do [the/one's/some] Ving." However, in the following passage, "doing grocery shopping" does not have ...
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Quantifier + proper name
How should I use QUANTIFIERS with PROPER NOUNS? What's the proper form?
e.G:
Each of Johnson's cars has one different color.
Some of Carl's cattle heads have no pedigree.
All of Ryder's companies ...
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Whole VS Whole of with common nouns
What is the difference between "the whole of + noun" and "the whole + noun"?
They pretty much mean the same to me.
E.G.:
Original:
But, on St. Thomas’ view, my typing of this ...
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All vs Whole with singular nouns: Which should I choose?
Which should I choose when there's a singular countable noun?
e.G.:
My whole youtube channel was made thinking about recording Snes gameplays.
All my youtube channel was made thinking about ...
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thought little of them
Take note of the following sentence:
Paul Newman himself thought little of them. [1]
In this sentence, is "little" modifying the verb " thought" as an adverb or there's something ...
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4
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The usage of "little" versus "a little"
I was taught that "little" is the negative form of "a little" [1] [2] [3]. So why don't we use "little" in these sentences? :
I'm a little confused.
I'm a little ...
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they send invitations to
a. I got an invitation from their company and thought they really liked me. Then I found out that they send invitations to anyone.
b. The fact that you received samples of their chocolates doesn't ...
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The most time VS Most time
Please, read the following sentences:
Mary's father spends most (of the) time in the mill, where he works with his brother, Mario.
Mary's father spends the most time in the mill, where he works with ...
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Some advice vs. advice vs. a piece of advice vs. any advice
What are the differences, in terms of the amount of advice asked for, between the following questions:
Can you give me advice?
Can you give me some advice?
Can you give me a piece of advice?
Can you ...
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"too heavily" vs "heavily enough"
It had been snowing too heavily for me to leave the house.
Use enough:
It had been snowing heavily enough for me to stay indoors.
Source: The Communicative Grammar of English Workbook - Page 14
Why ...
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anyone here works hard
a. Anyone here works hard to make a living.
b. Anyone here uses his brains to make a living.
c. Anyone here makes a living by using their intelligence.
Are the above sentences grammatically correct ...
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anyone with a criminal record
a. Anyone with a criminal record cannot apply for this job.
b. Anybody who is Tom's friend cannot be trusted.
Are the above sentences grammatical and meaningful?
I tend to use 'nobody who... can...' ...
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(...) and neither are/is they?
Although it is widely disseminated that "neither", as well as "either" is singular, I bring you the following sentence:
I'm not a good person, and neither is they.
I don't know ...
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Each have or Have each
Good day, people.
The question aims to elucidate the correct position of "EACH" in relation to the following sentences:
What is the correct order?
They have each won University Challenge on ...
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No; not any; not a;
Good morning, people. I know there are some related posts, but they don't answer my many questions. All ELL and other forum links are purple. Believe me, hahaha.
1 - In questions/negative questions, ...
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None, none of: usage
Today I come with some new doubts about the more specific use of "none", ahaha.
1- Is none of also a pronoun or just a determiner?
E.g:
I had many cars while young. But none of my brothers ...
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None meaning nobody
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, we do not use "none" with the meaning of "no one/nobody".
I have a lot of sporty friends. Some of them play football, but none ...
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Is it possible to use quantifiers with proper nouns?
As far as I know, we always use quantifiers before nouns. From this I would like to know if the following constructions, with PROPER NOUNS, sound grammatically correct. If not, an explanation is most ...
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"they'd"/"there'd" be too much of "a distraction"/"distraction"?
What sentence is correct?
1
They'd be too much of a distraction.
2
They'd be too much of distraction.
3
There'd be too much of a distraction.
4
There'd be too much of distraction.
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each of us might get fired [closed]
a. Each of us might get fired tomorrow.
b. We might each get fired tomorrow.
================
c. All of us might get fired tomorrow.
d. We might all get fired tomorrow.
===================
e. Every ...
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there was/were a number of
All examples are mine.
They arose as a result of my interest: whether we must always use verbs in the plural form when these verbs agree with "a (...) number of + noun".
My first example:
(...
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Is "There is lots of..." wrong?
I'm aware of these phrases that people usually use:
A lot of...
Lots of...
A load of...
Loads of...
And I would think those phrases are interchangeably used without changing the meaning or something,...
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take some pictures or take few pictures
hello english community
I am a new English learner and new user of stack exchange too. I am confused in the following sentence :-
Jane wanted a camera to take _________ pictures of her friends on ...
Guru Aniket
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do [the/some] online banking vs. do [the/some] grocery shopping
In the following phrases, is it optional to include the bracketed part?
do [the/some] online banking
do [the/some] grocery shopping
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Plural quantifying expression + "of" + uncountable noun – which verb form?
Consider the following NPs:
500 years of history
100 liters of milk
300 grams of apple pie
When used as subjects in full clauses, which verb form do these NPs take – singular or plural verb? Am I ...
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a ban on going to these places
a. You say there is a ban on going to some of the countries on this list. I think there's a ban on going to any of the countries on this list.
b. You say there is a ban on going to some of the ...
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'some respect for myself': What does it mean?
I have recently heard of the sentence 'I have some respect for myself'. What is the difference between this sentence and another one 'I respect myself'? Is it a matter of degree of respect? Thanks for ...
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such little amount of sleep
a. You won't be able to perform well with that little sleep.
a1. You won't be able to perform well with such little sleep.
(that small amount of sleep)
b. You want to sleep five hours a night. That ...
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Which quantifier should I use? [duplicate]
Are these two sentences equivalent? Are they both correct?
"There are a little more than 1,000 inhabitants."
"There are a few more than 1,000 inhabitants."
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'a few too many' and Quantifiers before Adverbs
I have a few too many cloves of garlic in the tomato sauce.
1. I can't understand the meaning as how can something be 'a few' and 'too many' at the same time?
2. And, I found this sentence on a ...
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Can I modify a quantifier with “not”?
There’s a 2/3 apple.
There’s a not whole (=incomplete) apple.
There’s a not half apple.
Are these two sentences acceptable?
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half goat and half sheep
a.) This animal is half goat and half sheep.
b.) This animal looks half like a goat and half like a sheep.
In sentence a, half does not need to be followed by an indefinite article, does it? But why?...
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