QUANTIFIERS

Quantifiers are the elements that come together with a noun to help the noun form its quantity. In another way of saying, quantifiers make the noun have a complete meaning and quantity. Quantifiers function as adjective that always precede the noun. Quantifiers are affected by the kind of noun (count or mass noun) and the number of the noun (plural or singular) for the countable nouns.

1.    A LITTLE and LITTLE

Both a little and little mean a little amount of something. The things are the mass nouns. Mass nouns are the nouns that cannot be counted one by one since it has no form of individual. To measure it, we must use a unit of measurement. Mass nouns only have singular form. Mass noun is also called Uncountable Noun.

There is a significant difference between a little and little in sentences. The difference is not on the structure but on the meaning that each element bears.

The formula is:

A LIITLE LITTLE + MASS NOUNS

Little bears a negative meaning to the sentences but a little bears a positive meaning to the sentences.

Examples:

a.     I had a little time to finish the tasks.

In this sentence, the writer has a small amount of time to do something, but he could complete the tasks successfully. It means that this sentence says that a positive thing happens.

b.     I had only little time to finish the tasks.

This sentence brings the meaning that the writer had a small amount of time to complete those tasks and he failed to complete them. It means that the time given was not enough for him to complete the tasks.

The sentences below show more examples.

Sentence	:	I had a little money to buy the doll.
Meaning	:	I bought the doll with that money.
Sentence	:	She put little sugar for the tea.
Meaning	:	The sugar was not enough to sweeten the tea.
Sentence	:	There is only little flour in the cabinet.
Meaning	:	The amount of the flour is too little to make something.
Sentence	:	There was a little butter for the cake.
Meaning	:	The butter is enough for the cake

2.    A FEW and FEW 

Both a few and few mean a little amount of something. The things are the count nouns. Count nouns are the nouns that can be counted one by one. Count nouns have two forms; the singular and plural forms. This is dependent on the number of the noun. If the noun comes only one, we name it as singular. When the noun appears in more than one, then it is plural. Few and a few only deal with plural nouns.

Just like little and a little, few and a few have the same case about the meaning of using each of them. The formula is:

A FEW FEW + PLURAL COUNT NOUNS

Few bears a negative meaning to the sentences but a few bears a positive meaning to the sentences.

Examples:

a.     We failed to finish the project because we only had few men.

The project couldn’t be completed because they were lack of human resources. Few is used to express the negative point of view.

b.     We had a few men to complete the project.

Though the human resources were not a lot, they still could complete the project. This brings the positive point of view.

The sentences below show more examples.

Sentence	:	We had a few cars to bring all of us to the villa.
Meaning	:	The cars are enough to lift us all.
Sentence	:	We failed to bring the big box because we ere too few.
Meaning	:	We were not enough to bring it.
Sentence	:	I have a few dollars to buy the doll for her.
Meaning	:	I buy the doll with the money.
Sentence	:	I had only few dollars to but the doll for her.
Meaning	:	I didn’t buy the doll because the money wasn’t enough.

3.    PLENTY OF and A LOT OF

The two elements mean that the noun is in a massive number or at least more than enough. Both bring positive ideas about something. The nouns follow the elements can be either count nouns or mass nouns. For the count nouns, the nouns must be in plural form.

The formula is:

PLENTY OF A LOT OF + PLURAL COUNT NOUNS MASS NOUNS

It is important to remember that the elements are often be followed by a noun. But sometimes the noun can be omitted if the noun has either already mentioned before or it is contextually understood. 

Examples:

a.     A lot of cars are produced without any serious surveillance in China.

b.     A lot of oil is still dumped into the sea by many petroleum companies illegally.

c.     Nobody needs a lot of Potassium to make a hand-made bomb that can destroy a residence.

d.     Shockingly, the United Nations witnessed a lot of rotten death bodies in Banda Aceh a day after disaster.

e.     The mixture is complete and stable, they only need water; just a little, not a lot.

f.      Plenty of glucose will be bad for a sixty-year old retiring man.

g.     Plenty of good books were destroyed when German attacked Austria.

h.     They rejected the last supplies of the alcohol since they have it plenty.

4.    MUCH and MANY

Much and many have the same meaning as plenty of and a lot of. But the nouns following much and many are certain. Many must be followed by count plural noun while much must be followed by mass noun.

The formula is:

MUCH + MASS NOUNS MANY + PLURAL COUNT NOUNS

Examples:

a.     Many animals were killed in the forest fire.

b.     There are so many unsolved problems we can find in the Indonesia educational system.

c.     Much sugar can guarantee the sweetness of a tea, but never be safe for diabetic patients.

d.     Since his father doesn’t really fond of sugar, Ronald do not need much for his father’s tea.

5.    SOME and SEVERAL

Some and several bring the meaning that the noun is in a big number or amount but neither plenty nor a lot. In comparison to a lot of and plenty of, the quantity of some and several is less. The semantic of the elements means that in a population, they indicate that the quantity of the nouns is less than fifty percents.

Some can be followed by either count nouns or mass nouns. Several is followed by plural count nouns. 

The formulas are:

SOME + MASS NOUNS PLURAL COUNT NOUNS SEVERAL + PLURAL COUNT NOUNS

Examples:

a.     Some novels bring a story about women’s fight against life and men.

b.     They finally found some information about the missing boat.

c.     Several boats were missing in the triangle sea brought people to think about UFO.

d.     Several findings were collected to prove that UFO exists, but they never prove it to be true.

6.    A NUMBER OF and AN AMOUNT OF

Both elements could be said as neutral quantifiers since they only state that the noun exists. A number of is used with count nouns and an amount of is used with mass nouns.

The neutral meaning that is brought by the elements can be expanded into a higher level as a lot of and plenty of bring by placing some adjectives before them. The most common adjectives used are big and large.

Examples:

a.     Michael Jackson has a number of houses that he even never lives in for more than a week.

b.     A huge number of people are gathering in the field protesting the government’s foreign policy toward Iraq.

c.     In every concert he made, Michael Jackson has always been successful in gathering a large number of audiences.

d.     In his song, Earth Song, Michael Jackson tried to tell the world that a huge amount of chemicals has already been poisoning the earth.

e.     An amount of arsenic is easily found in most Japan rivers.

7.    THE NUMBER OF

Unlike a number of, which is using plural verb forms as its predicate, the umber of is using singular verb forms.

Examples:

a.     A number of prehistoric species are predicted extinct earlier that human’s appearance on earth.

b.     The number of fish is gathering in the shallow water creating a very beautiful underwater scene.

c.     It was predicted that a number of false document were the substances of the military leak scandal in the year of 1990.

d.     They predicted that the number of documents which was missing last year was the top secrets of our foreign secret military missions.

THE TABLE OF QUANTIFIERS

	Count noun		Mass noun	Semantic
	Singular	Plural
LITTLE			√	( - )
A LITTLE			√	(+)
FEW		√		( - )
A FEW		√		(+)
PLENTY OF		√	√	(+)
A LOT OF		√	√	(+)
MUCH			√	(+)
MANY		√		(+)
A NUMBER OF		√		Neutral
AN AMOUNT OF			√	Neutral
THE NUMBER OF			√	Neutral