Advanced quantifiers and determiners

Quantifiers tell us about number or amount. The right choice depends on whether the noun is countable, uncountable or a whole group—and on whether the speaker means a small amount, a useful amount or none at all.

Countable and uncountable nouns

Use many, few and a few with plural countable nouns:

Many applicants asked for more time.
Few seats were available.
A few seats were still free.

Use much, little and a little with uncountable nouns:

Much of the information was outdated.
Little progress had been made.
A little progress is better than none.

Few/little often suggest “not enough” or “almost none”; a few/a little mean “some”, often enough for the purpose. Compare We have little time (almost none) with We have a little time (some time remains).

In positive everyday sentences, a lot of/lots of are often more natural than much/many: We have a lot of work; A lot of people came. In questions and negatives, much/many are common: How much time do we have?; There weren’t many people.

Amount, number and plenty

Use the number of with countable nouns and the amount of with uncountable nouns:

The number of complaints has fallen.
The amount of traffic is increasing.

Plenty of means “more than enough” and works with both types: plenty of time, plenty of options. Several means more than a few but not a large number; a great deal of is used with uncountable nouns and sounds more formal.

A small article changes the speaker's attitude

Suppose six people attend a workshop designed for thirty:

Few people came, so we cancelled the group activities.
A few people came, so we were able to try the activity together.

The number may be the same. Few presents it as a shortage; a few presents it as some people being available. The same contrast works with uncountable amounts: little money suggests limited resources, while a little money points to something you can use.

Neither expression gives an exact number. A few is not a fixed mathematical range, and several does not have a precise upper limit. If the amount matters, use a number.

Match the quantifier to the meaning of the noun

Advice, information, furniture and equipment are normally uncountable in these meanings. Say a few pieces of advice, not a few advices. Adding pieces of gives you a countable unit.

For careful B2 writing, use fewer with countable items and less with uncountable amounts: fewer cars, less traffic. Less is also common with measurements treated as an amount: less than ten minutes.

Quantifying part of a group

Use some/most/all of + the/these/my/them when the group is identified:

Some of the guests arrived early.
Most of my colleagues work remotely.
All of them received a copy.

Before a noun without of, say some guests, most colleagues, all participants. Both refers to two; either means one or the other of two; neither means not one and not the other:

Both routes are open.
Either route is suitable.
Neither route is suitable.

Every and each take a singular noun and verb: Every student has a login; Each of the students has a login. To refer to three or more choices, any and none are usually better than either/neither.

Negation changes the quantity

Not all the files were copied. At least one file was not copied; the sentence does not specify how many were copied.
None of the files were copied. Zero were copied.

With none of + plural noun, singular and plural verb agreement both occur; formal writing often uses singular, while plural agreement is common when thinking of several individual items. Rephrase if the agreement sounds awkward: No files were copied.

Cambridge’s page on quantifiers and its guides to few/a few and little/a little explain these contrasts in more detail.

Whole groups, individual members and agreement

All the students have a password views the group as a whole. Every student has a password says the statement applies to all members, using a singular noun and verb. Each student has a different password draws attention to individuals. Each can apply to two or more; every normally refers to a group of three or more.

All day means throughout the day. The whole day also presents the day as a complete period. Do not say whole the day: whole follows the/my/this in these patterns.

Most students means the majority of students in the relevant broad group. Most of the students in my class selects a proportion of a specified class. Avoid most of students. With personal pronouns, of is necessary: both of us, all of them, not both us.

Some agreement patterns are worth learning as complete phrases:

A number of students are absent. — several students
The number of absent students is increasing. — the total number

The grammatical subject in the second sentence is the number, not students.

Finally, not all does not mean none. Not all the answers are correct tells us that at least one is incorrect; it does not guarantee that any are correct. None of the answers are correct explicitly says zero are correct. To mean some correct and some incorrect, state that clearly: Some answers are correct, but others are not.

Sources and further reading

• Cambridge Dictionary: Quantifiers
• Cambridge Dictionary: Little, a little, few, a few
• Cambridge Dictionary: Much, many, a lot of