Grammar
Quantifiers: Countable and uncountable
1st Part
Countable VS Uncountable
2nd Part
“Each” and “Every”
3rd Part
“Some” and “Any”
Grammar in use
- Topic : Countable VS Uncountable
- Skills : Grammar
Use
What is a quantifier?
A quantifier is a word that expresses a quantity.
many birds
Little water
Some quantifiers are used with countable nouns:
| small quantity | big quantity |
|---|---|
| few apples a few apples a couple of apples | several apples many apples most apples |
Some quantifiers are used with uncountable nouns:
| small quantity | big quantity |
|---|---|
| little water a little water = a bit of water | much water |
Some quantifiers work with countable and uncountable nouns:
(See the lesson on countable and uncountable nouns for details)
Enough apples/water
a lack of apples/water (= not enough)
a lot of apples/water = lots of apples/water = plenty of apples/water
most of the apples/water
all (of) the apples/water
Language Tips on Quantifiers
In formal English, it is better to use “many‟ and “much‟ rather than phrases such as “a lot of‟, „”lots of‟ and “plenty of‟.
There is a difference between “few‟ and “a few‟:
Examples:
Few flowers= not many flowers
a few flowers = some flowers
There is the same difference between “little‟ and “a little‟:
Examples:
little time = not a lot of time
a little time = some time