Quantifiers
Quantifiers are expressions we use to talk about how much or how many of something there is. They tell us the number of things or people, or the amount of something.
Large Quantities
We can put "a lot of" or "lots of" before countable plural nouns or uncountable nouns in positive and negative sentences, as well as in questions.
Examples:
There were a lot of people on the street.
Do you drink lots of water?
In negative sentences and questions, "a lot of" and "lots of" indicate small quantities.
Examples:
She doesn't have lots of friends.
There isn't a lot of information.
We put "many" before countable plural nouns in positive and negative sentences, as well as in questions.
Examples:
There were many books on the shelf.
Do you have many friends?
In negative sentences and questions, "many" indicates small quantities.
Example:
He doesn't have many friends.
We put "much" before uncountable nouns in negative sentences, and questions. "Much" is not commonly used in positive sentences.
Example:
Is there much milk left in the fridge?
In negative sentences and questions, "much" indicates small quantities.
Example:
We don't have much time.
Small Quantities
We put "a few" before countable plural nouns in positive sentences. We don't use it in negative sentences or questions.
Example:
She bought a few apples at the store.
We put "a little" before uncountable nouns in positive sentences. We don't use it in negative sentences or questions.
Example:
I have a little money.
Zero Quantity
We can put "any" before countable plural nouns or uncountable nouns in negative sentences for zero quantity.
Examples:
There aren't any cookies left.
There isn't any water in the bottle.
In response to "How many ...?" or "How much ...?", we can use "none" as a short answer to refer to zero quantity.
Examples:
"How many apples do you have?"
"None."
"How much money do you have?"
"None."
Questions
We can use the question word 'how many' before a countable plural noun to ask about the number of people or things.
Example:
How many neighbors do you have?We can use the question word 'how much' before an uncountable noun to ask about the amount of something.
Example:
How much money do you need?RELATED TOPIC
Exercises
Choose the correct expression printed in italics.
1I don't have many / much time today.
I don't have much time today.
2We bought a few / a little apples at the market.
We bought a few apples at the market.
3There aren't none / any eggs in the fridge.
There aren't any eggs in the fridge.
4My teacher gave us a lot of / much homework yesterday.
My teacher gave us a lot of homework yesterday.
5I have a few / a little questions to ask the teacher.
I have a few questions to ask the teacher.
6They don’t have a few / any sugar left, so we can't make a cake.
They don’t have any sugar left, so we can't make a cake.
7How many / much milk do you drink every day?
How much milk do you drink every day?
8We saw lots of / much birds at the park this morning.
We saw lots of birds at the park this morning.
9"How much water is in the bottle?""Any / None."
"How much water is in the bottle?""None."