VOA · Everyday Grammar
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01For VOA Learning English, this is Everyday Grammar.
02Today, we are going to talk about different ways of expressing quantity in English.
03A quantifier is a word or number that shows an amount or number.
04You probably already know how to use common quantifiers like much and many.
05For example...
06How many apples?
07Would you like?
08How much fruit?
09Would you like?
10The quantifier many is used before apples, which is a count noun.
11Much is used before fruit, a non-count noun.
12Make sure you understand the difference between count nouns and non-count nouns before you study quantifiers.
13You can learn about count and non-count nouns in last week's episode of Everyday Grammar.
14Quantifiers are adjectives and adjective phrases that go before nouns.
15They give information about how much or how many of an item you are talking about.
16Some quantifiers, like many, go only before count nouns.
17Others, like much, go only before non-count nouns.
18And a few quantifiers can go before count or non-count nouns.
19One, each, and every are examples of count noun quantifiers.
20Here are some examples.
21One movie that I enjoy is The Godfather.
22Each child is special.
23Every member of the country club is rich.
24With plural count nouns, just add of the between the quantifier and the noun it describes.
25One of the boys is from China.
26Each of the cars has air conditioning.
27Every one of the students is smart.
28Notice that boys, cars, and students are plural nouns.
29But the verbs that follow them are singular.
30In most situations, one, each, and every make the subject singular.
31Even if the subject contains a plural noun.
32This tricky rule confuses native speakers and English learners alike.
33There are a few quantifiers related to the number two.
34You can say, I have two shoes.
35I have a couple of shoes.
36I have both shoes.
37And I have a pair of shoes.
38If you have more than two countable items, you can use several, a few, many, and a number of.
39I have several assignments due this week.
40There are a few Thai restaurants in my town.
41There are many ways to practice English.
42A number of the cars are imported.
43Now, let's move on to quantifiers that only work with non-count nouns.
44A little, much, and a great deal of.
45Here are some examples.
46Could you loan me a little money?
47The old woman has much wisdom to share.
48There is a great deal of oil in Saudi Arabia.
49Little can go before a count noun if it is used as an adjective.
50For example, The little boy is playing.
51In this example, Little does not refer to a number or quantity.
52It refers to the size of the boy.
53There are several safe quantifiers that can go with both count and non-count nouns.
54Some is the most popular.
55Most, plenty of, all, and any are other options.
56Listen for the quantifiers in these examples.
57He cut some wood.
58Non-count noun.
59Most Americans speak English.
60Count noun.
61I have plenty of money.
62Non-count noun.
63All children are special.
64Count noun.
65Do you have any coffee?
66Non-count noun.
67To refer to the absence or lack of something, simply use no before a count or non-count noun.
68There was no rice left.
69Non-count noun.
70There were no books in the library.
71Count noun.
72Count noun.
73She had no love for her ex-husband.
74Non-count noun.
75No, when used as a quantifier, has the same meaning as zero.
76Lots and a lot of are very popular quantifiers.
77Maybe too popular.
78Maybe too popular.
79Some English teachers do not like them.
80They think that lots and a lot of are overused and unsophisticated.
81You should avoid lots and a lot of.
82Lots and a lot of are very popular.
83You should avoid lots and a lot of informal writing.
84Native speakers usually shorten a lot of to a lotta in casual speech.
85Listen carefully to these two sentences.
86I have a few friends.
87I have few friends.
88I have few friends.
89What is the difference?
90The first sentence contains the article A.
91This little word makes a big difference in meaning.
92I have a few friends.
93focuses on a positive idea.
94The speaker is satisfied with the number of friends he has.
95The second sentence, I have few friends, focuses on a negative idea, his lack of friends.
96The speaker wishes he had more friends.
97It might help to think of few as a half-empty glass of water.
98A few is like a half-filled glass of water.
99The amount of water is the same, but the speaker's attitude about the amount of water is different.
100Few and a few are only used before count nouns.
101The same positive-negative distinction applies to a little and little.
102Use little and a little before non-count nouns.
103I have a little money means the speaker has some money.
104I have little money means the speaker does not have enough money.
105Speaking of little, we have little time left for today's program.
106We hope you learned a few tips about how to use quantifiers.
107I'm Jill Robbins.
108And I'm John Russell.
109I'm John Russell.
110I'm John Russell.
111I'm John Russell.
112I'm John Russell.
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