In English, a quantifier (or quantifying adjective) is a word or phrase that describes the general amount of something. We use quantifiers to answer the questions how much or how many, without using a number. Here are some examples of English quantifiers:
In this post we’ll introduce you to the basics of how to use quantifiers in English. We’ll talk first about where to put them, then we’ll talk about the most important quantifiers that are used for different purposes. At the end, we’ll get to some more advanced topics, like the rules for using quantifiers like a lot of and lots of and the difference between quantifying adjectives and indefinite pronouns.
Are you ready to learn to use some quantifiers? I hope you have enough time to study up on them! Most of these adjectives are really important!
Where to put a quantifying adjective in a sentence?
A quantifying adjective, like almost all adjectives in English, comes before the noun it modifies. The basic pattern is:
quantifier
noun
When there are descriptive adjectives in the sentence, the quantifying adjective will come before the descriptive adjective:
quantifying adjective
descriptive adjective
noun
Here are a few more rules to follow:
After a quantifier, mass nouns are singular (as always), but count nouns are usually plural.
mass nouncount nounsome money (singular)some people (plural)Some quantifiers can only be used with mass nouns. Other quantifiers can only be used with count nouns. Some quantifiers can be used before both!
count nounmass noun✅many people
❌many moneymany can only come before a count noun❌less people
✅less moneyless can only come before a mass noun✅some people
✅some moneysome can come before count nouns and mass nouns!Have a look at this list of quantity words for mass nouns vs. count nouns in English to learn more!
Quantifiers are usually determiners. This means that:
They do not follow other determiners like the, my, that, or Sarah’s:
❌the some peopleWe do not use them after a linking verb like be:
❌The people are some.
How to use the most common quantifiers in English?
In this section we’ll talk about the main uses of quantifiers in English, and introduce you to the most important ones to use for each purpose.
To ask about a quantity/amount
In English, we use how much to ask about the amount of a mass noun and how many to ask about the amount of a count noun.
To ask whether the quantity is greater than zero (in a yes-no question) use the word any. You can use this with count or mass nouns.
To describe a large quantity
The following quantifiers describe a large quantity: a lot of, lots of, much, many, several, numerous, a good/great deal of, substantial, abundant, and plenty of.
The most common way to describe a large quantity is with the quantifiers a lot of or lots of. These can be used with count nouns and mass nouns.
The more formal quantifiers much and many are also used to talk about large quantities. Have a look at our post on using much and many in English to learn more!
To describe a small quantity
To describe a small quantity, use few or a few (with count nouns) and little or a little (with mass nouns).
To describe a general quantity
To describe a general quantity greater than a little and less than a lot, use the word some.
You can also use several with count nouns, but this is more formal.
When the quantity is zero
The word no describes a zero quantity:
To compare quantities
When describing the larger or the largest quantity, use more or the most.
To describe the smaller or the smallest quantity, fewer / less or the fewest / the least:
To learn more about where these quantifiers come from, check out our posts on English comparative adjectives and English superlative adjectives.
To give percentages
The quantifiers every, each, and all describe 100% of a group.
The word most describes >50% of a group in general.
To say whether you have the amount that is needed to complete a task
We use the quantifiers enough, plenty of, sufficient (formal), and adequate (formal) if a quantity is equal to or greater than the amount we need to complete a task. The most common is enough.
To describe a group with two members
The words both, either, and neither are only used when you are talking about a group with 2 members. For example, if I am talking about two children, Joe and Fran, I can say:
→ John and Fran
→ John or Fran
→ not John and not Fran
Quantifying adjectives vs. indefinite pronouns
Quantifying adjectives and indefinite pronouns in English are both used to describe a quantity in general terms. The main difference is that a quantifying adjective describes a noun, while an indefinite pronoun replaces a noun.
Question: How many children did you see?
Answer 1:
Answer 2:
Most English quantifying adjectives can also be used as indefinite pronouns, but some can only be one or the other. For example, no can only be a quantifying adjective, while none can only be a pronoun.
→ none is not an adjective
→ no is not a pronoun
What’s the difference between ‘most’ and ‘most of’?
The difference between most + noun and most of + noun comes down to whether most is being used as a quantifying adjective or an indefinite pronoun.
One other way to use English indefinite pronouns is in this structure:
indefinite pronoun
specific noun
So most + noun and most of + noun have two different patterns:
most + noun → quantifying adjective + noun
most of + noun → indefinite adjective + of + specific noun
Let’s compare the two structures to see the differences in meaning and grammar.
quantifying adjective + noun e.g. some cheese | indefinite pronoun + of + specific noun e.g. some of the cheese |
Describes a quantity or proportion in general | Describes a quantity or proportion that is taken from a specific set |
The noun never has a determiner | The noun always has a definite determiner (the, my, that…) |
Here are some examples to illustrate the difference in meaning:
| Quantifying Adjectives | Indefinite Pronouns |
|---|---|
most people the majority of people in general | most of the people the majority of people in a specific group |
no cake a total absence of cake | none of the cake 0% of a specific cake |
many students a large number of students in general | many of her students a large percentage of her specific students |
a little time a small amount of time in general | a little of the time a small amount of a specific window of time |
This simple difference will work for most quantity descriptions!
Summing up
Whew! We’ve covered a lot of information in this post on quantifying adjectives. How about a quick reminder?
Quantifying adjectives (aka. quantifiers) are adjectives that answer the questions how many and how much, giving a specific or general idea of quantity of a noun.
Quantifiers mostly come before plural count nouns or singular mass nouns, and are not used with determiners (the, that, my...).
Some quantifying adjectives are used with count nouns, others with mass nouns, and others with both.
We saw some quantifying adjectives to use with large, small, general, and zero quantities.
We also saw how to use quantifying adjectives for other things, like comparing quantities, discussing percentages, and how to discuss whether a quantity is sufficient to perform a task
Finally, we looked at the difference between quantifying adjectives and indefinite pronouns, particularly how and when to use quantifier + noun vs. indefinite pronoun + of + noun.
Ready to start practicing? Try out our English quantifier activities! Or, keep exploring by following some of the links in the sections above!
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