quantifiers-nouns

byRei Rei

MATERIPART A. WHAT QUANTIFIERS DO A quantifier comes before a noun, like the articles and determiners in Module 1. It answers the question how much? or how many? Some quantifiers work with countable nouns, some with uncountable nouns, and some with both (Swan, 2016). With countable nouns (plural) With uncountable nouns With both many, a few, few, several, both, either, neither, every (+ singular), each (+ singular) much, a little, little, a bit of, a great deal of some, any, no, none, a lot of, lots of, plenty of, all, most, enough Two quick reminders from Module 1. First, a plural countable noun follows many and a few: many books, not many book. Second, an uncountable noun never takes -s: much information, not much informations. The safe choice A lot of works with both types of noun and fits most situations: a lot of students, a lot of water. Use it when you are not sure. In formal academic writing, prefer many and much (Bailey, 2018). GRAMMAR 1 | Quantifiers | pg. 6 PART B. SOME, ANY, NO, AND NONE B.1 Some or Any? Sentence type Normal choice Example Affirmative statement some I have some questions about the quiz. Negative statement any I don't have any questions. Question any Do you have any questions? Offer or request some Would you like some coffee? Can I have some water? "It does not matter which" any You can borrow any book from this shelf. B.2 Not Any, No, and None • not ... any and no have the same meaning. There aren't any chairs. = There are no chairs. Use no after the verb be or have, never with another negative. • No comes before a noun. None stands alone or takes of. How many students came? None. None of the students came. • After none of + plural noun, both a singular and a plural verb are possible. A plural verb is more common in everyday English: None of my friends were there (Swan, 2016). B.3 Somebody, Anything, Nowhere Some, any, no, and every combine with -body, -one, -thing, and -where. The rules of B.1 still apply, and the verb after them is singular. -body / -one -thing -where some somebody, someone something somewhere any anybody, anyone anything anywhere no nobody, no one nothing nowhere every everybody, everyone everything everywhere • Somebody is waiting for you. (singular verb) • Is there anything in the bag? There is nothing inside. • Use they or their to refer back to these words: Everyone must bring their own dictionary. (See Module 2.) GRAMMAR 1 | Quantifiers | pg. 7 PART C. MUCH, MANY, A LOT OF, A FEW, A LITTLE C.1 Large and Small Quantities Meaning With countable nouns With uncountable nouns a large quantity many students, a lot of students much water, a lot of water a small quantity, positive a few students (some, enough) a little water (some, enough) a small quantity, negative few students (almost none) little water (almost none) more than you want too many students too much noise the right quantity enough chairs enough time C.2 Much and Many in Questions and Negatives In everyday English, much and many sound formal in affirmative statements. Speakers prefer a lot of there, and keep much and many for questions and negatives (Biber et al., 2021). • Natural: We have a lot of homework this week. Formal: We have much homework this week. • Normal in both styles: How much homework do we have? I don't have many friends here. • Much and many are common in academic writing, so keep them for your essays and your reports. C.3 A Few or Few? A Little or Little? The article a changes the meaning. Compare the pairs below (Murphy, 2019). Positive meaning: some, enough Negative meaning: not enough I have a few friends in Semarang, so I am never alone. I have few friends in Semarang, so I feel lonely. There is a little time left. We can finish the task. There is little time left. We cannot finish the task. Few and little without a sound formal. In speech, people say not many and not much instead: I don't have many friends here. GRAMMAR 1 | Quantifiers | pg. 8 PART D. ALL, MOST, EVERY, BOTH, EITHER, NEITHER D.1 General or Specific? The Role of Of Use the quantifier alone for people or things in general. Use of the, of my, or of these for a specific group (Swan, 2016). General (no of) Specific (with of) Most students use a smartphone in class. Most of the students in my class come from Semarang. All children need sleep. All of my cousins live in Solo. Some water is dirty. Some of this water is dirty. Before a pronoun, of is always necessary: all of us, none of them, both of you. D.2 All, Every, and Each Quantifier Noun and verb Example all plural noun + plural verb All students are welcome. every singular noun + singular verb Every student is welcome. each singular noun + singular verb, often one by one Each student has a different topic. Every and each look plural in meaning, but the verb stays singular. This is a frequent error in student writing: Every students are should be Every student is. D.3 Both, Either, and Neither: Only Two Quantifier Meaning Example both the two together (plural verb) Both modules are useful. Both of them are short. either one or the other (singular verb) Either day is fine for me. neither not one and not the other (singular verb) Neither answer is correct. Use these three words only for two items. For three or more, use all, any, or none. GRAMMAR 1 | Quantifiers | pg. 9 PART E. QUANTIFIERS IN CONTEXT Read the short text below. A student wrote it for a class survey about study habits. The quantifiers are in bold. Study Habits in Our Class (1) Most of the students in my class study at home, but a few of them prefer the campus library. (2) Many students bring a laptop, and some bring only a phone. (3) Every student has an account on Moodle, so nobody has an excuse for a late post. (4) There is not much time between classes, so a little planning helps. (5) Both of my closest friends study in the evening, and neither of them likes early classes. (6) None of us finished the reading last week, because we had too many assignments. Analysis Sentence Quantifier and reason 1 Most of the students: a specific group, so of the is correct. a few of them: a small number, positive meaning. 2 Many + plural countable noun. some in an affirmative statement. 3 Every student has: singular noun and singular verb. nobody takes a singular verb. 4 not much time: time is uncountable. a little planning: a small amount, enough to help. 5 Both of my closest friends: two people, plural verb. neither of them likes: singular verb. 6 None of us: of before a pronoun. too many assignments: more than the writer wanted. E.1 Common Errors of Indonesian Learners Incorrect Correct Reason I have many homework. I have a lot of homework. Homework is uncountable. There are much students in the hall. There are many students in the hall. Students is countable. Every students must join the forum. Every student must join the forum. every + singular noun. Most of students use TikTok. Most students use TikTok. General statement: no of. I don't have no money. I don't have any money. One negative only. Both of my parents is teachers. Both of my parents are teachers. both + plural verb. SOAL ( JAWAB DENGAN MATERI DI ATAS DENGAN BENAR DAN TELITI ): Question 1. What is a quantifier? Explain why you must check whether a noun is countable or uncountable before you choose a quantifier. Give two pairs of examples: one with a countable noun and one with an uncountable noun. Example: many books and much information. Question 2. Choose the correct quantifier in each sentence. Explain why you chose it. a. Is there (some / any) sugar in the jar? b. How (much / many) assignments do you have this week? c. There is (a few / a little) rice left in the pot. d. (Every / All) lecturers in our department have a laptop. Question 3. Explain the difference between a few and few, and between a little and little. Then translate the sentences below into English and explain your choice in each one. a. Saya punya beberapa teman di kelas ini, jadi saya tidak kesepian. b. Waktunya tinggal sedikit. Kita tidak bisa menyelesaikan tugas ini. c. Masih ada sedikit air di botol. Kamu boleh meminumnya. Question 4. Explain when you need of after most and all. Rewrite the two sentences below so they talk about a specific group. Use of the or of my. Then make one sentence of your own with the pattern Both of + my + plural noun + plural verb. a. Most students use a smartphone in class. b. All lecturers are busy this week. Question 5. Each sentence below has one mistake. Read the sentence aloud, give the correct version, and explain the mistake. a. She gave me many advices about the essay. b. Each students has a different topic. c. I didn't see nobody at the campus gate. d. Neither of my roommates like the library. e. There are much cars on the road this morning.