Quantifier
A few and few, a little and little
These expressions show the speaker's attitude towards the quantity he/she is referring to.
A few (for countable nouns) and a little (for uncountable nouns) describe the quantity in a positive way:
- "I've got a few friends" (= maybe not many, but enough)
- "I've got a little money" (= I've got enough to live on)
Few and little describe the quantity in a negative way:
- Few people visited him in hospital (= he had almost no visitors)
- He had little money (= almost no money)
Some and Any
Some and any are used with countable and uncountable nouns, to describe an indefinite or incomplete quantity.
Some is used in positive statements:
- I had some rice for lunch
- He's got some books from the library.
It is also used in questions where we are sure about the answer:
- Did he give you some tea? (= I'm sure he did.)
- Is there some fruit juice in the fridge? (= I think there is)
Some is used in situations where the question is not a request for information, but a method of making a request, encouraging or giving an invitation:
- Could I have some books, please?
- Why don't you take some books home with you?
- Would you like some books?
Any is used in questions and with not in negative statements:
More examples:
- Have you got any tea?
- He didn't give me any tea.
- I don't think we've got any coffee left.
SOME in positive sentences.
a. I will have some news next week.
b. She has some valuable books in her house.
c. Philip wants some help with his exams.
d. There is some butter in the fridge.
e. We need some cheese if we want to make a fondue.SOME in questions:
a. Would you like some help?
b. Will you have some more roast beef?ANY in negative sentences
a. She doesn't want any kitchen appliances for Christmas.
b. They don't want any help moving to their new house.
c. No, thank you. I don't want any more cake.
d. There isn't any reason to complain.ANY in interrogative sentences
a. Do you have any friends in London?
b. Have they got any children?
c. Do you want any groceries from the shop?
d. Are there any problems with your work?
Compound nouns made with SOME, ANY and NO
Some + -thing -body -one -where Any + No + Compound nouns with some- and any- are used in the same way as some and any.
Positive statements:
- Someone is sleeping in my bed.
- He saw something in the garden.
- I left my glasses somewhere in the house.
Questions:
- Are you looking for someone? (= I'm sure you are)
- Have you lost something? (= I'm sure you have)
- Is there anything to eat? (real question)
- Did you go anywhere last night?
Negative statements:
- She didn't go anywhere last night.
- He doesn't know anybody here.
NOTICE that there is a difference in emphasis between nothing, nobody etc. and not ... anything, not ... anybody:
- I don't know anything about it. (= neutral, no emphasis)
- I know nothing about it (= more emphatic, maybe defensive)
More examples:
SOMETHING,
SOMEBODY, SOMEWHERE
a. I have something to
tell you.
b. There is something
to drink in the fridge.
c. He knows somebody in New York
d. Susie has somebody staying
with her.
e. They want to go somewhere hot
for their holidays.
f. Keith is looking for somewhere
to live.
ANYBODY,
ANYTHING, ANYWHERE
a. Is there anybody
who speaks English here?
b. Does anybody
have the time?
c. Is there anything
to eat?
d. Have you anything
to say?
e. He doesn't have
anything to stay tonight.
f. I wouldn't eat anything
except at Maxim's.
NOBODY,
NOTHING, NOWHERE
a. There is nobody
in the house at the moment
b. When I arrived there was nobody
to meet me.
c. I have learnt nothing since I
began the course.
d. There is nothing
to eat.
e. There is nowhere
as beautiful as Paris in the Spring.
f. Homeless people have nowhere
to go at night.
ANY can also be used in positive statements to mean 'no matter which', 'no matter who', 'no matter what':
Examples:
a. You can borrow any of my books.
b. They can choose anything from the menu.
c. You may invite anybody to dinner, I don't mind.
Graded Quantifiers
They function like comparatives and hold a relative position on a scale of increase or decrease.
INCREASE From 0% to 100% With plural countable nouns: many more most With uncountable nouns:
much more most DECREASE From 100% to 0% With plural countable nouns: few fewer fewest With uncountable nouns:
little less least Examples:
- There are many people in England, more in India, but the most people live in China.
- Much time and money is spent on education, more on health services but the most is spent on national defence.
- Few rivers in Europe are not polluted.
- Fewer people die young now than in the seventeenth century.
- The country with the fewest people per square kilometre must be Australia.
- Scientists have little hope of finding a complete cure for cancer before the year 2,000.
- She had less time to study than Paul but had better results.
- Give that dog the least opportunity and it will bite you.
Enough + Noun
Enough is placed before the noun, to indicate the quantity required or necessary:
- There is enough bread for lunch.
- She has enough money.
Enough is also used with adjectives and adverbs - see these sections.
- We didn't have enough time to visit London Bridge.
- Are there enough eggs to make an omelette?
- Richard has enough talent to become a singing star.
NUMBERS
The cardinal numbers (one, two, three, etc.) are adjectives referring to quantity, and the ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) refer to distribution.
Number Ordinal Cardinal 1 first one 2 two second 3 three third 4 four fourth 5 five fifth 6 six sixth 7 seven seventh 8 eight eighth 9 nine ninth 10 ten tenth 11 eleven eleventh 12 twelve twelfth 13 thirteen thirteenth 14 fourteen fourteenth 15 fifteen fifteenth 16 sixteen sixteenth 17 seventeen seventeenth 18 eighteen eighteenth 19 nineteen nineteenth 20 twenty twentieth 21 twenty-one twenty-first 22 twenty-two twenty-second 23 twenty-three twenty-third 24 twenty-four twenty-fourth 25 twenty-five twenty-fifth 26 twenty-six twenty-sixth 27 twenty-seven twenty-seventh 28 twenty-eight twenty-eighth 29 twenty-nine twenty-ninth 30 thirty thirtieth 31 thirty-one thirty-first 40 forty fortieth 50 fifty fiftieth 60 sixty sixtieth 70 seventy seventieth 80 eighty eightieth 90 ninety ninetieth 100 one hundred hundredth 500 five hundred five hundredth 1,000 one thousand thousandth 100,000 one hundred thousand hundred thousandth 1,000,000 one million millionth Examples:
- There are twenty-five people in the room.
- He was the fourteenth person to win the award since 1934.
- Six hundred thousand people were left homeless after the earthquake.
- I must have asked you twenty times to be quiet.
- He went to Israel for the third time this year.
Fractions and decimals
Said Written Said half 0.5 point five a quarter 0.25 point two five three quarters 0.75 point seven five Percentages
Written Said 25% twenty five percent 50% fifty percent 75% seventy five percent 100% a/one hundred percent Units
Written Said $1,200 one thousand two hundred dollars £16,486 sixteen thousand four hundred and eighty-six pounds 545kms five hundred and forty-five kilometres $25.35 twenty-five dollars thirty-five Years
Written Said 1988 Nineteen eighty-eight 1864 Eighteen sixty-four 1999 Nineteen ninety-nine How to say '0'
nought
used in mathematical expressions and decimals:
'nought times three equals nought'
0.3 = 'nought point three' (or 'point three')
0.03 = 'point nought three'zero used in scientific expressions, especially temperatures:
20oC = minus twenty degrees or
twenty degrees below zeroalso used to mean 'the lowest point':
'The heavy rain reduced visibility to zero''o' (the letter) used in telephone numbers:
0171 390 0062 = 'o one seven one three nine o double o six two'nil/nothing used to express the score in games such as football:
2 - 0 = 'two nil' or 'two nothing'