Determiners with countable and uncountable nouns (SOME, ANY, NO, MANY, MUCH, FEW, LITTLE etc.)
Determiners precede and modify nounA part of speech that names a person, place or thing. E.g.: The koala is a marsupial. ("koala", "marsupial")s. Some determiners can only be used with countable or uncountable nouns, while others with both. Countable nouns take a singular or plural form depending on the determiner which precedes them (sing: singular form; pl: plural form):
| with countable nouns | with uncountable nouns (always singular) |
|---|---|
| A, AN + sing, THE, zero article + sing/pl A man and a woman came in. I heard an interesting story at the office yesterday. The apples were peeled and quartered. Mondays are always busy here. I'm going to go to bed early. |
THE, zero article She jumped into the water. A magnet attracts iron. |
| THIS, THAT + sing This film was good. I like that shirt. |
THIS, THAT Where did you buy this wine? That cheese smells delicious. |
| THESE, THOSE + pl Can I try on these jeans? How do you like those cherries? |
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| SOME, ANY, NO + pl I have some problems. I don't have any problems. I have no problems. |
SOME, ANY, NO I have some time. I don't have any time. I have no time. |
| EVERY + sing Every cloud has a silver lining. |
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| FEW, A FEW, FEWER, FEWEST + pl There were few people at the concert. (not many) There were a few people at the concert. (some) We had fewer computers a year ago. This medicine has the fewest side effects. |
LITTLE, A LITTLE, LESS, LEAST There is little hope that he will survive. (not much) There is a little hope that he will survive. (some) Tim should spend less time on the computer. This medicine does the least harm. |
| MANY, MORE, MOST, MOST OF THE + pl There were not many people at the concert. (few) More people came to the concert than expected. Most mammals live on land. Most of the visitors were art students. |
MUCH, MORE, MOST, MOST OF THE There is not much hope that he will survive. (little) There is more hope that he will survive. Most furniture is made of wood. Most of the time I'm not at home. |
| A LOT OF, LOTS OF, PLENTY OF + pl There are a lot of tables and chairs in the room. There are lots of tables and chairs in the room. There are plenty of tables and chairs in the room. |
A LOT OF, LOTS OF, PLENTY OF We have a lot of space in the car. We have lots of space in the car. We have plenty of space in the car. |
| A NUMBER OF + pl A number of questions arose at the meeting. |
AN AMOUNT OF The word "budget" means an amount of money we have available to spend. |
| OTHER + pl, ANOTHER + sing, THE OTHER + sing Other boys would have done the same. Give me another example. I'd prefer the other car. |
OTHER, THE OTHER I have other advice for you. The other news is that they are getting married in June. |
| ENOUGH + pl Do you have enough pens for everyone? |
ENOUGH Is there enough milk in the fridge? |
| ALL, ALL THE + pl All students must take a placement test at the beginning of the course. I couldn't answer all the questions. |
ALL, ALL THE All money is dirty money. The robber took all the money. |
| BOTH + pl Both sides wanted peace. |
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| NEITHER, EITHER + sing Neither side won. You can choose either way. |
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| NONE OF THE + pl Luckily, none of the soldiers were killed. |
NONE OF THE None of the music they played attracted me. |
| EACH + sing, EACH OF THE + pl Each question carries one mark. Each of the questions carries one mark. |
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Comments and questions
very helpful post
very helpful post
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