Quantifiers and its Application

Quantifiers are the adjectives and adjectival phrases that describe the quantity of the nouns. It is added with both countable and uncountable nouns. Some of the quantifiers can go with the countable nouns and some of them can be fitted with the uncountable nouns. However, some quantifiers such as ‘not any’ and ‘a lot of’ are suitable for both types of noun.

Some Examples of Quantifiers:

A little (goes with the uncountable nouns) — Having food alone is a little weird for me.
A large amount of (goes with the uncountable nouns) — A large amount of cash was collected during the investigation.
A great deal of (applicable with the uncountable nouns) — This research work is a great deal of valuable materials.
A few (only with the countable nouns) — A few years later, he realized his mistakes.
A large number of (only with the countable nouns) — A large number of birds come to this place every winter.

A lot of (used with the countable and uncountable nouns) — I saw a lot of wounded people were asking for help.
However, ‘a lot of’ is used in the positive statements.
Example: I have got a lot of work for this month.
Plenty of (used with the countable and uncountable nouns) — There are plenty of healthy recipes available online.
None (used with the countable and uncountable nouns) — There are a good number of instructions, but none of them have read these before.

However, ‘Much’ and ‘Many’ are used in the sentences either in questions or negative statements.
Examples: There are not much money left in the box.
There were not many people at the library.
How much money you need to start this project?
How many chocolates you have in a day?

A few (for countable nouns) — I have a few friends at my native place.
A little (for uncountable nouns) — I have collected a little money till date.

‘A few’ and ‘A little’ are used in a positive way in the sentences.
On the other hand, ‘Few’ and ‘Little’ are used in the sentences in a negative way.

Examples: Few people came to the hospital after his operation.
I get little money at the end of the day.

‘Some’ and ‘Any’ are quantifiers and these are used with the countable as well as uncountable nouns.

Examples:I have some vegetables for lunch.
Is there some fruits in the fridge? (‘Some’ is used in the questions when the answers are known.)
Would you like to take some books during the journey? (‘Some’ is used in the sentences while giving an invitation or encouraging people.)

‘Any’ is used in questions and in the negative sentences, as well.

Examples: Have you got any letter?
He didn’t give me any paper.

‘Any’ is used in the negative as well as interrogative sentences.

Examples: She doesn’t want any learning material.
Do you have any friend in Delhi?

‘Some’, ‘Any’ and ‘No’ are usually joined with ‘thing’, ‘one’, ‘body’ and ‘where’ and make the compound nouns. These compound nouns are used in the positive as well as negative statements.

Examples: Someone is using my old clothes.
Are you looking for someone?
Did you go anywhere last weekend?
I do not have anything to give you.
She knows somebody in Delhi.
Did you take any of my books?

Graded Quantifiers:

Many, More and Most are used for plural countable nouns.
Example: I need many people to organize this drama.
Much, More and Most are used for uncountable nouns.
Example: I need much attention from the students.

On the other hand, few, fewer and fewest are used for plural countable nouns.

Example: Few people take this participation seriously.

Little, less and least are used for uncountable nouns.

Example: John has less time to focus on study.

However, ‘Enough’ is also used as a quantifier.

Examples: I do not have enough money. (Enough+ noun)
Radha has enough talent to become famous.