Quantifiers
Quantifiers
My daughter has a lot of apps on her phone.
Nina has lots of clothes.
I've been there loads of times.
James eats a lot.
There aren't many cafés near here.
Do you have many close friends?
Do you watch much TV?
I don't eat much chocolate.
Don't run. We have plenty of time.
We use a lot of in positive sentences. We can also use loads of, but it's more informal.
We use a lot when there is no noun, e.g. He talks a lot.
much/many are normally use in negative and interrogative sentences, but a lot of can also be used.
We use plenty of in positive sentences. (=more than enough)
Do you want some more ice cream?
Just a little.
The town only has a few cinemas.
I'm so busy that I have very little time for myself.
Sara isn't popular and she has very few friends.
I have less free time than I used to have.
There are fewer flights in the winter than in the summer.
I don't like this city. It's too big and it's too noisy.
You're speaking too quietly - I can't hear you.
There's too much traffic and too much noise.
There are too many tourits and too many cars.
There aren't enough parks and there aren't enough trees.
The buses aren't frequent enough.
The buses don't run frequently enough.
There isn't any milk in the fridge.
We don't have any eggs.
There's no milk in the fridge. We have no eggs.
How many eggs do we have?
None. I've used them all.
We use a lot of or lots of in positive sentences. We can also use loads of, but it's more informal.
We use a lot when there is no noum, e.g.
He talks a lot.
NOT He talks a lot of.
much / many are normally used in negative and interrogative sentences, but a lot of can also be used.
We use plenty of in positive sentences. (= more than enough)
We use little + uncountable nouns, few + plural countable nouns.
a little and a few = some, but not a lot.
very little and very few = not much / many
The comparative of little is less and the comparative of few is fewer.
We use too + adjective or adverb.
We use too much + uncountable nouns and too many + plural countable nouns.
We use (not) enough before a noun
(not) enough eggs / milk
and after an adjective or an adverb
It isn't big enough.
You aren't walking fast enough.
We use any + uncountable or plural noun for zero quantity with a negative verb.
We use no + uncountable or plural noun with a positive verb.
We use none (without a noun) in shorts answers.
BBC Learning English
few x little (not enough / negative)
Hurry! We have (very) little time.
He has (so) few friends, I think he's lonely.
a few x a little (enough / neutral)
Let's have a coffee. We have a little time before the meeting.
I made a few friends, living abroad became easier.
only a few x only a little
(not enogh / negative)
We can't buy it. We've only got a little money.
There only a few shops im my town. We need more.
Exercise a
My husband has too many gadgets.
I just have to reply to a few emails.
Do you spend much time on social media.
My bedroom is a nice size. There's enough room for a desk.
My bedroom is a nice size. There's plenty of room for a desk.
I know very few people who speak two foreign languages.
My brother has downloaded a lot of apps onto his new phone.
My brother has downloaded lots of apps onto his new phone.
I have some cash on me, but not a lot.
Their new TV is too big. It hardly fits in the living room.
There aren't any potatoes. I forgot to buy some.
There are no potatoes. I forgot to buy some.
My niece isn't old enough to play with a games console.
I don't have a lot of close friends.
I don't have many close friends.
Exercise b
My nephew got lots of video games for his birthday.
I don't post many photos online.
How many presents did you get?
A lot.
I buy fewer ebooks than I used to because I prefer physical books.
There is no time to walk there. We'll have to get a taxi.
Please turn that music down. It's too loud!
There aren't many good programmes on TV tonight.
My broadband isn't fast enough for me to download films easily.
I get too many emails at work. It takes me ages to read them all!
How much fruit do we have?
None. Can you buy some?
There are only a few people that I can talk to about my problems.
Karen has plenty of money, so she always has the latest phone.