English B1
Unit 5. Food and Cooking
Unit 5. Food and Cooking
Grammar focus
EXPRESSING QUANTITIES
A quantifier is a word or phrase which is used before a noun to indicate the amount
or quantity. Quantifiers can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
Quantifiers with both countable and uncountable nouns:
all some more a lot of enough
no any most lots of less
e.g. Ruby has a lot of friends.
I want to buy all these shoes.
Do you need any help?
I can’t plan this trip, I’ve got no money.
I don’t want to talk about this, I’ve had enough.
Most of all, I would like to thank you for your precious help.
These more colloquial forms are also used with both count and noncount nouns:
plenty of heaps of loads of a load of tons of
e.g. I am free today, we have loads of time.
Rudy has plenty of friends.
There were heaps of food at the party.
Some/ Any:
➔ We normally use the quantifier any in negative and interrogative
sentences.
e.g. Do you need any help?
We don't have any friends left in town.
➔ We can use some for offers and requests
e.g. Would you like some chocolate?
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English B1
Unit 5. Food and Cooking
I would like some coffee please.
Quantifiers with countable nouns:
Some quantifiers can be used only with countable nouns:
not many each either (a) few
several both neither fewer
e.g. I will need both of you for the meeting tomorrow.
Each of you will need to do his part of the work.
I would like a few more potatoes please.
These more colloquial forms are used only with count nouns:
a couple of hundreds of thousands of
e.g. I will be back in a couple of minutes.
There were thousands of people at the festival tonight.
Quantifiers with uncountable nouns:
Some quantifiers can be used only with uncountable nouns:
(not much) a bit of a little
e.g. Would you like a little wine?
These quantifiers are used particularly with abstract nouns such as time, money
and trouble:
a good deal of a great deal of
e.g. He spent a good deal of time preparing this assignment.
Members of groups:
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English B1
Unit 5. Food and Cooking
We put a noun directly after a quantifier when we are talking about members of a
group in general.
e.g. Most people are rude.
I never had much money.
If we are talking about members of a specific group, we use of the as well:
e.g. Few of the people in this city are rude.
I spent all of the money, my parents gave me.
Both, either, neither:
If we are talking about two people or things, we use the quantifiers both, either and
neither:
one museum two museums more than two museum
the museums are closed Both the museums are All the museums are
on Mondays. closed on Mondays. closed on Mondays.
The museum wasn’t open Neither of the museums None of the museums
on Monday. was open on Monday. were open on Monday.
I don’t think the museum I don’t think either of the I don’t think any of the
was open. museums was open. museums were open.
NOTE: nouns with both have a plural verb but nouns with either and neither have a
singular verb.
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English B1
Unit 5. Food and Cooking
Every/ each:
➔ We use the quantifiers every and each with singular nouns to mean
all.
e.g. Every person has his own beliefs.
Every child was given a chance to win.
➔ We often use every to talk about times like days, weeks and years:
e.g. Every day I go for a walk in the morning.
When I was younger, every year we used to visit my grandmother in Paris.
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