UNIT 6 QUANTIFIERS 2.

1. All, both and half

a) All, both and half are used with ‘countable plural noun + plural verb’, all and half is also
possible with ‘uncountable noun + singular verb’. Three structures are possible with all and
both, while with half only two. (See also 1.3.b, 1.4.e.)
Both apples are red. Both the apples are red. Both of the apples are red. (all specific)
All books teach something. (general) All the books on this shelf are in English. All of
the books on this shelf are in English. (the second two specific)
Half the people have already left. Half of the people have already left. (specific)
(NOT Half people have already left.)
Both (of) these/those buildings are new. All (of) these/those buildings are new. Half
(of) these/those buildings are new.

b) We can put all and both after pronouns (except in short answers!) or before pronouns with
of:
I have invited them all/both. I have invited all/both of them.
(NOT I have invited all/both them.)
‘Who knows my secret?’ ‘All/Both of them.’
(NOT ‘Them all/both.’)
We all/both enjoyed the film very much.
We have all/both enjoyed the film very much.
(all and both are separated from the pronoun if there is an auxiliary.)

c) Negative sentences are rarely used with all and both but we can use not all (nem
mindegyik) especially at the beginning of a sentence.
Not all the people who had been invited came. ( = Not everybody came.)
None/Neither of the people who had been invited came. ( = Nobody came.)
(NOT All/Both the people who had been invited didn’t come.)

d) Both is used for co-ordination:

Thomas Hardy was both a poet as well as/and a novelist.

e) All can express ‘nothing more’ in the following way:

All (that) she wants is to be famous.

2. All and everything

All might mean everything but only in the structure all + relative clause.
She gave up everything (that) she had to move to the U.S.
She gave up all (that) she had to move to the U.S.
She gave up everything.
(NOT She gave up all.)

3. All and whole

a) When used with plural nouns all and whole mean different things.
All (the)countries in Europe are excited about the total eclipse of the sun. ( = every
country)
Whole countries in Europe will experience the total eclipse of the sun. ( = complete
countries)
b) We can use both ‘all (of) + determiner + noun’ and ‘determiner + whole + noun’, (‘the
whole of + noun is also possible’) to refer to a singular noun as something complete.
All (of) my childhood was spent in Budapest. OR
My whole childhood was spent in Budapest.

c) Before an indefinite article we can only use whole.

She is coming for a whole week.
(NOT She is coming for all (of) a week.)

d) With uncountable nouns we rather use all (of).

He has told me all (of) the news.
(NOT He has told me the whole news.)

e) In the case of proper nouns we always use the whole of or all (of).
The whole of Paris/All (of) Paris had to be rebuilt after WW2.
(NOT Whole Paris had to be ...)

4. All, any and none

a) All, any and no can be used with adjectives or adverbs.
‘Is the new film by Scorsese any good?’ ‘It’s no good at all.’
You are all bloody. What have you been doing?

b) All, any and no can also follow comparative structures.

Is she any cleverer after this expensive course?

c) All the, any the, none the + comparative is used to express abstract ideas.
The journey was all the more interesting because we met some wild animals.
I had been rewriting the essay for hours but it didn’t seem any the better.
I’m none the more relaxed after this long rest.

5. Each and every

a) Each and every can be used with a singular noun. With expressions such as almost, nearly,
practically we rather use every.
Each girl knows the answer. (more specific)
Every girl wants to get married. (more general)
(NOT Every/Each girl want to get married.)
I’m tired almost/nearly every day.
(NOT I’m tired almost/nearly each day.)

b) Each of can be used with a pronoun or a determiner + plural noun, which is the same as
every one of. The verb is singular, but in informal use the structure each of can be followed
by a plural verb.
Each of us is/are happy to see you.
Every one of us is happy to see you.
(NOT Every of us is happy to see you.)

c) To show how much/many of something each person gets, each can also come at the end of
a clause.
We gave the children three books each. OR Each child got three books.
6. Either and neither
a) To talk about two things we use either, neither + singular noun + singular verb or with
‘either/neither of + plural noun + singular (or with negatives plural) verb’. For other uses of
either and neither, see 23.3.
Either date is good for me. OR
Either of the dates is good for me.
(NOT Either of the dates are good for me.)
Neither date is good for me. OR
Neither of my parents is/are at home now. OR
I don’t think either of my parents is/are at home now.

b) In short answers either and neither are used as pronouns, without a noun.
‘Which of the books have you read?’ ‘Either./Neither.’
(NOT Either one./Neither one.)

c) Either … or list positive options, while neither … nor list negative ones. They can be
followed by a singular or possibly plural noun and verb, usually the closest noun decides.
See also 23.3.
She promised that she would either telephone or write to me.
She neither telephoned nor wrote to me.
Either my parents or I will be at home.
Neither my parents nor I was at home.
Either Joe or Jim knows the answer.
Neither Joe nor Jim knows/know the answer.

Note: The structure neither … nor can sometimes be substituted by not ... nor.
My main interest is not acting, nor teaching.

7. Few/a few and little/a little

a) Few and little are negative, meaning not many/not much. They can also follow only a/just
a/relatively/extremely as well.
She has few friends and little money, does she? = She has only a/just a few friends
and only a little money.

b) A few and a little are positive, meaning some.

She has a few/quite a few/a good few friends and a little money, doesn’t she?

c) In short answers of and the noun can be omitted in the case of a little and a few.
‘How much time do you need?’ ‘Just a little.’
‘How many apples are there?’ ‘A few.’

d) Few and little are not used after nouns.

We got little help because there were few rescuers.
(NOT The help was little because the rescuers were few.)

e) (A) little is used with comparative adjectives and adverbs. (e.g. little-known)
Could you speak a little more slowly?
We are little better than the other team, unfortunately.
(NOT It was little good.)
He is a little-known French painter.
8. Much and many
a) Many (used with countable nouns) and much (used with uncountable nouns) are used with
the words too, not too, not and how and in themselves they only occur in formal affirmative
sentences.
She has too many bad habits, I won’t marry her.
There wasn’t much snow this winter, was there?
Many scientists have tried to discredit his theory.
(NOT USUAL I have many friends.)
Much has been said about the elections lately.
(NOT I drink much milk to be healthy.)

b) Many and much are not used after nouns, and the nouns are only omitted in short answers.
There wasn’t much time left and we didn’t have many ideas.
(NOT The time wasn’t much and the ideas weren’t many.)
‘How much money is left?’ ‘Not too much.’

c) We use much of and many of before determiners. Much of can also be used with a singular
countable noun or a proper noun as well.
I miss too many of my friends.
What’s wrong? You haven’t eaten much of your food.
We didn’t see much of the exhibition and we didn’t see much of Paris in one week.
I’m afraid, I’m not much of an expert in this field.

d) So much can also be used with comparative adjectives or adverbs, as well as for comparing
clauses.
You sing so much better than I do.
Their flat was so much more expensive.
He is not so much a singer, more an actor.
He is not so much a singer as an actor.
It’s not so much that I don’t like parties, as that/but that I’m too tired to meet
anybody.

e) Very much is used as an adverb and it is rarely used before nouns.

I love going to the sauna very much.
(NOT There is very much heat there.)

9. No and none
a) No substitutes not any (when they appear next to each other and not is not contracted or
when it is the subject) and can be used before a plural, singular or uncountable noun.
She has no friends, no family and no hope.
(NOT She has not any ....)

Note: She hasn’t got any friends is correct.

No children/None of the children should stay up late.
(NOT Not any children/Not any of the children should stay up late.)

b) None refers to three or more things or uncountable nouns as well. It can be used alone as a
pronoun, with of + plural noun + singular or plural verb or with of + uncountable noun +
singular verb.
 ‘How many of the letters have you written?’ ‘None.’
None of my friends was/were surprised by your success.
(NOT None friend was ....)
None of the information was useful.
(NOT None of the information were useful.)

10. An amount/the amount of and a number of/the number of

A/the number of is used with plural countable nouns, A/the amount of is followed by
uncountable nouns.
a) A number of + plural verb, an amount of + singular verb mean some (valamennyi):
A (great/small) number of people are waiting for you.
A (great/small) amount of time is needed for this job.

b) The number of + singular verb, the amount of + singular verb refer to quantity (‘valaminek
a száma/mennyisége’).
The number of people who are waiting is increasing.
The amount of time that you have is limited.

11. So and such with quantifiers

a) So can be used before the quantifiers few, little, many and much
We have so much food and so few people to eat it.
(NOT We have such much food and such few people to eat it.)
There were so many people at the concert and there was so little room to dance.
(NOT There were such many people and there was such little room to dance.)

Note: if little is an adjective, it is used with such.

It was such a little house.

So much is used as a form of comparison. See 6.8.d.

c) Such can also be used with a lot of.

There was such a lot of water in the streets after the flood.

12. Some
a) Some can be used both with countable and uncountable nouns. It is generally used in
affirmative sentences or in polite questions (where we can expect yes for an answer). It can
only appear in negative sentences if it precedes the verb.
I need some apples and some flour for this dish.
Would you like some cake?
(NOT Is there some cake?)
Some people don’t feel like coming with us.
( NOT I don’t know some people here.)

b) The form can be as follows: some as a pronoun, some of the + (plural, singular or
uncountable) noun, some of + pronoun.
Some (people) say that education should be taken more seriously.
Some of the people have already left. Some of the book is missing. Some of the
information has got lost.
Some of them are here.
c) Some has a few special uses too.
I haven’t seen her for some years. (meaning several)
There were some 500 demonstrators. (meaning about, approximately)
That’s some dress you’ve bought. ( meaning extraordinary (informal))
There is some guy at the door, he says he knows you. (meaning a certain guy)
That is some advice, thanks. (meaning no advice, ironic)

Exercises

1. Decide if the following sentences are correct or not. If not, correct the error(s).

1. Every accommodation you suggested is suitable for me.

2. Every of the colleagues in this office have received all the news about the promotion of the
boss.

3. There are hundreds more book bargains in our new catalogue.

4. I can’t believe she smokes hundred cigarettes a day.

5. Unfortunately, only the minority supports our proposal.

6. Children have to be above 6 to be able to attend school.

7. Renault says there is more and more demand across whole Europe for cars.

8. They neither sent a letter nor wrote an email.

9. The short story was all the more moving because my grandmother was the main character.

10. After the journey we didn’t have much of energy left and the water was little too.

2. Write A if only sentence A is correct; B if only sentence B; C if both and D, if neither of the
two sentences are correct.

1. A) All we want to know the truth.

B) All we want to know is the truth.

2. A) A number of clients have been queuing for hours.

B) The number of clients who have been queuing are getting bigger and bigger.

3. A) She has little experience with computers, doesn’t she?

B) She has a little experience with computers, doesn’t she?

4. A) A majority of people speak only their mother tongue.

B) The majority of people speak only their mother tongue.

5. A) The problem was that the light wasn’t much.

A) The problem was that the light was little.
6. A) You can either wait until my return or leave a message through my office at the above
address.
B) You can either wait until my return or you can leave a message through my office at the
above address.

7. A) I hardly ever see her and I don’t want to either.

B) I hardly ever see her and nor do I want to.

8. A) Neither cup of coffee has sugar in it.

B) Neither cups of coffee has sugar in it.

9. A) For the moment everything seemed calm, but under the surface the whole situation was
very unstable.
B) For the moment everything seemed calm, but under the surface all of situation was very
unstable.

10. A) The baby kept everyone awake for a whole night.

B) The baby kept everyone awake for the whole night.

3. Rewrite these sentences using ONE of the two words given. Remember that only one can be
used correctly in that sentence and you are not supposed to change the word(s) given in any
way.

1. We’ve got some time left, let’s have a coffee. A LITTLE/LITTLE

2. He can’t take his two dogs on his journey to Canada. ANY/EITHER
3. We have a lot of valuable history books. AMOUNT/NUMBER
4. There were about 50 000 people at the concert. ANY/SOME
5. The majority of people are afraid of snakes. MOST/THE MOST
6. There is a man called Smith on the phone for you. THE/SOME
7. All the sportsmen in the competition have taken a drug test. EVERY OF/EACH OF
8. There is less and less cash on people nowadays. AMOUNT/NUMBER
9. She has emptied a bottle of whisky that’s why she is drunk. ALL/WHOLE
10. The market was full of antiques. THE ALL/THE WHOLE

4. Translate these sentences into English.

1. Minden diáknak ki kell tölteni ezt a kérdőívet.
2. Nincs túl sok időnk, tudnál picit sietni?
3. Mindegyik gyereknek adtatok csokit?
4. Ha többet tudnánk eladni az almából, gazdagabbak lennénk.
5. Mióta őszintén elmondtam a véleményem a Titanic c. filmről, egy barátom sem hív
moziba.
6. Sajnos kevés embert érdekelnek az ősi kultúrák.
7. Mindkét játékost figyelmeztették, de úgy tűnik, hogy egyikük sem vette komolyan.
8. Minden percét élveztem az előadásnak.
9. ‘A nagy táskát vagy a kicsit akarod?’ ‘Bármelyiket.’
10. Jesszusom! Az összes tej megromlott!