Noun determiners and quantifiers

As a rule nouns are used with determiners. Determiners include the following groups of words:

- articles (a/an, the);

- demonstrative pronouns (this/these, that/those);

- possessive pronouns in the conjoint form;

- indefinite pronouns some, any;

- defining pronouns each, every, either;

- negative pronouns no, neither,

E.g. a book, this street, my hand, some sugar, no water, etc

Nouns may be also preceded by quantifiers. They precede nouns with or without attributes. Quantifiers denote an indefinite quantity of objects or substance (some, any), a larger quantity (much, many, a lot of), or a smaller quantity (few, a few, little, a little). The choice of a quantifier depends on the number of objects mentioned and on whether the noun is countable or uncountable.

COUNTABLE, SINGULAR	COUNTABLE, TWO THINGS	COUNTABLE, PLURAL	UNCOUNTABLE
Another, any, each, every, some, no	Both, either, neither	All, any, enough, few, many, more, no, several, some, a lot of, plenty of	All, any, enough, little, much, more, no, some, a lot of, plenty of, a great deal of

Some is used in affirmative statements, offers, and requests to denote an indefinite quantity of something:

There is some water in the jar. – В кувшине вода.

Would you like some tea? – Хотите чаю?

The stressed form of some denotes a restricted or limited quantity of something:

I like some music. – Какую-то музыку я люблю.

I can't eat some kinds of fish. – Я не могу есть некоторые виды рыбы.

Any is used in interrogative and negative sentences when quantity is not important:

Is there any bread at home? – Дома есть хлеб?

There isn't any bread on the table. – Дома нет хлеба.

Any book will do. – Любая книга подойдет.

The stressed form of any denotes an unrestricted quantity or unlimited choice:

I don't eat any meat. - Я не ем никакого мяса.

You can take any book. – Ты можешь взять любую книгу.

If the negation refers to the subject, the negative pronoun no is used:

No book will give you the answer. – Никакая книга не даст вам ответа.

Much, many, a lot of are used to denote a large quantity of something; much is used with uncountable nouns and many is used with countable nouns. They are preferable in questions and negative statements, while a lot of is used in affirmative sentences both with plural nouns and uncountable nouns:

How many questions were you asked?

I wasn't asked many questions.

There isn't much coffee left.

There are a lot of interesting articles in this magazine.

There is a lot of interesting information in it.

We also use much/many after " so ", " too ", " how ":

She has so many books to read. You are wasting too much time.

Tell me how much you have already done.

Note: 1. Many and much may be used in affirmative sentences, too, especially in written and formal English.

2. A lot is used in questions and negative statements to give extra emphasis to the amount.

Several, a few, a little suggest a smaller but sufficient quantity; several and a few are used with countable nouns, while a little is used with uncountable nouns. They are more often used in affirmative sentences:

She found several articles on the subject.

I have a few magazines, which can interest you.

There is a little coffee still.

Few and little denote a small quantity, which is not enough. They are more often used in formal written English. Informally not many / much are used:

Few people can answer this question. Not many people can answer this question.

She has got little advice. She hasn't got much practical advice.

All and both can precede other determiners such as the, possessive pronouns, or demonstrative pronouns:

All these exercises are rather difficult.

All the magazines are here.

Both my brothers are older than me.

We can also combine the following determiners:

- every and few, e.g. I travel every few weeks.

- a few and more/less, e.g. He needed a few more newspapers.

- a little and more/less, e.g. I received a little less money.

- few/little and enough, e.g. We get few enough letters as it is.

- much and more, e.g. There is much more work to do.

- They all can be combined (except every and no) with of-phrase, e.g. either of them, many of them.

Little, few, much, many have degrees of comparison; the degrees of comparison of little and much can be used with nouns preceded by adjectives to refer to the quantity of quality, e.g. a less interesting book, the least complicated solution, a more difficult exercise, the most exciting proposal.

More, most, fewer, fewest, less, least are used in statements about quantity, e.g. more people, fewer people, less water, etc.

THE ARTICLE

The articles are words, which modify nouns.

The indefinite article a/an has developed from the numeral one and has some of its meaning as it modifies only nouns in the singular.

The definite article has developed from the Old English demonstrative pronoun.

The articles are usually unstressed. The indefinite article ‘ a’ is used before nouns beginning with a consonant, e.g. a book, a flower. The indefinite article ‘ an’ is used before nouns beginning with a vowel or silent h, e.g. an apple, an hour. The article is stressed if the following word is emphasized.