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What are quantifiers?

A quantifier is a word or phrase which is used before a noun to indicate the amount or
quantity:
'Some', 'many', 'a lot of' and 'a few' are examples of quantifiers.
Quantifiers can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
Examples:
There are some books on the desk
He's got only a few dollars.
How much money have you got?
There is a large quantity of fish in this river.
He's got more friends than his sister.
Examples of quantifiers
With Uncountable Nouns
much
a little/little/very little *
a bit (of)
a great deal of
a large amount of
a large quantity of
With Both
all
enough
more/most
less/least
no/none
not any
some
any
a lot of
lots of
plenty of
With Countable Nouns
many
a few/few/very few **
a number (of)
several
a large number of
a great number of
a majority of

* NOTE
few, very few mean that there is not enough of something.
a few means that there is not a lot of something, but there is enough.
** NOTE
little, very little mean that there is not enough of something.
a little means that there is not a lot of something, but there is enough.

Usage of quantifiers:
A few and few, a little and little
Graded Quantifiers
Some or Any?
Something, Anything, Someone, Anyone etc.
Enough
A few and few, a little and little
These expressions show the speakers attitude towards the quantity he/she is referring to.
A few (for countable nouns) and a little (for uncountable nouns) describe the quantity in
a positiveway:
Ive got a few friends (= maybe not many, but enough)
Ive got a little money (= Ive got enough to live on)
Few and little describe the quantity in a negative way:
Few people visited him in hospital (= he had almost no visitors)
He had little money (= almost no money)








INTENSIFIERS
We use words like very, really and extremely to make adjectives stronger:
Its a very interesting story
Everyone was very excited.
Its a really interesting story.
Everyone was extremely excited
We call these words intensifiers. Other intensifiers are:
amazingly exceptionally incredibly
remarkably particularly unusually
We also use enough to say more about an adjective, but enough comes after its adjective:
If you are seventeen you are old enough to drive a car.
I cant wear those shoes. Theyre not big enough.
Intensifiers with strong adjectives:
Strong adjectives are words like:
enormous, huge = very big
tiny = very small
brilliant = very clever
awful; terrible; disgusting; dreadful = very bad
certain = very sure
excellent; perfect; ideal; wonderful; splendid = very good
delicious = very tasty
We do not normally use very with these adjectives. We do not say something is "very
enormous" or someone is "very brilliant".

With strong adjectives, we normally use intensifiers like:
absolutely completely totally utterly
really exceptionally particularly quite







Comparative/superlative
Comparative is the name for the grammar used when comparing two things. The two basic
ways to compare are using as .. as or than. Examples of each are shown below:
She's twice as old as her sister.
He's not as stupid as he looks!
I'm almost as good in maths as in science.
This book is not as exciting as the last one.
The cafeteria is not as crowded as usual.
Russian is not quite as difficult as Chinese.
This computer is better than that one.
She's stronger at chess than I am.
It's much colder today than it was yesterday.
Our car is bigger than your car.
This grammar topic is easier than most others.
I find science more difficult than mathematics.
Today's ESL lesson was more interesting than usual.
Note: In each of the example sentences above, the comparative form of the adjective is
shown. See the foot of this page for information about the comparison of adverbs.
When comparing with as .. as, the adjective does not change. When comparing with than,
however, some changes are necessary, depending on the number of syllables the adjective
has:
1-syllable adjectives: add -er to the adjective
My sister is much taller than me.
It's colder today than it was yesterday.
Superlatives
Notes:
1. The written lesson is below.
2. Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left.


There are two types of superlative: relative and absolute.
Relative: John is the smartest boy in the class.
Absolute: John is very smart.





The relative superlative describes a noun within the context of some larger group.
John is the smartest boy in the class.
Mary is the youngest person in the room.
Of the three, Moe is the meanest.



The absolute superlative does not describe the noun in the context of a larger group.
John is very smart.
The book is extremely expensive.
The food is indescribably tasty.



In English, the relative superlative is formed by using the word "most" or the ending "-est."
John is the most intelligent boy in the class.
Mary is the smartest girl in the class.



In Spanish, the relative superlative construction is similar to the comparative.
definite article + noun + ms (menos) + adjective + de



Here are some superlative examples.
Juan es el chico ms inteligente de la clase.
John is the smartest boy in the class.

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