Grammar: QUANTIFIERS (some of, many of, no longer, not any longer, not anymore)

0%, 10%, 50%, 100%, etc.
½, ¼, etc.
1, 2, 3, 4, etc.
one, two, three, four, etc.
one half, one third, one fourth, one quarter, one fifth, etc.
a bit, a couple, a few, a good deal, a good many, a great deal, a great many, a little, a little bit, a majority, a minority, a number, a quantity, all, an amount, another, any, any, both, certain, each, either, enough, enough, few, fewer, heaps, less, less, little, loads, lots, many, masses, more, most, much, much, neither, none, numbers, part, plenty, quantities, several, some, the, majority, the remainder, the rest, the whole, tons, various

Quantifiers are a type of determiner which denote imprecise quantity. They differ from numbers or numerals which indicate precise quantity.

The most common examples:
the most common quantifiers used in English are:

some / any ,  much, many, a lot, a few, several, enough.

There are three types of quantifier;
1. neutral quantifiers,
2. quantifiers of large quantity, and
3. quantifiers of small quantity

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1. Neutral quantifiers:

     Some and any: several, a number of, enough

Some and any are both quantifiers and articles. In many contexts, some is the plural indefinite article, the plural of "a" or "an"; but more often, some implies a limited quantity, and for this reason has the value of a quantifier.
Some is used in affirmative statements; it is replaced with any in negative and interrogative contexts. 

 Examples:
      I've got some apples in my basket and some water in my bottle.
     I haven't got any apples in my basket, nor any water in my bottle.
     Have you got any apples in your basket? Have you got any water in your bottle?
     We had some visitors last weekend, but we didn't have any this weekend
     Have you got any rooms free for the night of September 30th ?

Several and a number of  imply "more than one, but less than a lot". They are not usually used in negative or interrogative structures, only in affirmative statements. For example

     There are several books / a number of books by J.Z.Plummerman in our library.
     Several people / A number of people said that they'd seen the missing child.

Enough implies a sufficient quantity; it is used in affirmations, negations and questions.

We can get tickets for the concert, I've got enough money now.
Have you got enough money for the tickets?

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2. Large quantity quantifiers: 

     much, many, lots of, plenty of, numerous, a large number of, etc.
► Much and many: much is used with non count nouns (always in the singular); many is used with count nouns in the plural. (Click here for the difference between count nouns and non-count nouns).
     IMPORTANT NOTE: Much and many are not often used, in modern spoken English, in affirmative statements; but they are very commonly used in interrogative and negative contexts. 

 Examples:
I have many reasons for thinking that this man is innocent is acceptable, but rather formal; most English speakers would more naturally say:
   I have plenty of / a lot of / a large number of reasons for thinking .....
Much whisky is of very good quality. This sentence is technically acceptable, but not probable in modern English. Most people would say (and write):
   A lot of whisky / A good proportion of whisky / Plenty of whisky ......

Remember this principle: don't use much or many in affirmative statements. 

► Lots of, a lot of, plenty of, a large number of, numerous .
These expressions all mean  more or less exactly the same. In the list above, they are arranged in order of formality, going from the most informal (lots of) to the most formal (numerous). Informal language is more appropriate in dialogue, formal language in written documents.

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3. Small quantity quantifiers: 

 ►    few, a few, little, a little, not many, not much, a small number of, etc.
These quantifiers are normally only used in affirmative statements, to which they give a negative colouring.
► Little, a little, not much are used with non count nouns (always in the singular)
       Few, a few, not many are used with count nouns in the plural.

Examples:
Few people can speak more than three languages
A few (of the) paintings in this gallery are really good.
There's little point in trying to mend it. You'll never succeed!
I've got a little money left; let's go and have a drink.

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4 Recapitulation: table of usage for common English quantifiers

	Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative
Neutral	some, several, a number of, enough	any, enough	any, enough
Large quantity	numerous, plenty of, a lot of, lots of, too many	much, many, too many	much, many, too many
Small quantity	few / a few, Little / a little

Sometimes we use a quantifier in the place of a determiner:

Most children start school at the age of five.
We ate some bread and butter.
We saw lots of birds.

We use these quantifiers with both count and uncount nouns:

all	any	enough	less	a lot of	lots of
more	most	no	none of	some

and some more colloquial forms:

plenty of

heaps of

a load of

loads of

tons of

etc.

Some quantifiers can be used only with count nouns:

both

each

either

(a) few

fewer

neither

several

and some more colloquial forms:

a couple of

hundreds of

thousands of

etc.

 Some quantifiers can be used only with uncount nouns:

a little

(not) much

a bit of

And, particularly with abstract nouns such as time, money, trouble, etc:, we often use:

a great deal of

a good deal of

Members of groups

You can put a noun after a quantifier when you are talking about members of a group in general…

Few snakes are dangerous.
Both brothers work with their father.
I never have enough money.

…but if you are talking about a specific group of people or things, use of the … as well

Few of the snakes are dangerous.
All of the children live at home.
He has spent all of his money.

Note that, if we are talking about two people or things we use the quantifiers both, either and neither:

One supermarket	Two supermarkets*	More than two supermarkets
The supermarket was closed The supermarket wasn't open I don’t think the supermarket was open.	Both the supermarkets were closed. Neither of the supermarkets was open. I don’t think either of the supermarkets was open.	All the supermarkets were closed None of the supermarkets were open I don't think any of the supermarket were open

*Nouns with either and neither have a singular verb.

Singular quantifiers:

We use every or each with a singular noun to mean all:

There was a party in every street.	=	There were parties in all the streets.
Every shop was decorated with flowers.	=	All the shops were decorated with flowers.
Each child was given a prize.	=	All the children were given a prize.
There was a prize in each competition.	=	There were prizes in all the competitions.

We often use every to talk about times like days, weeks and years:

When we were children we had holidays at our grandmother’s every year.
When we stayed at my grandmother’s house we went to the beach every day.
We visit our daughter every Christmas.

BUT: We do not use a determiner with every and each. We do not say:

The every shop was decorated with flowers.
The each child was given a prize.

In formal academic writing, it is usually better to use many and much rather than phrases such as a lot of, lots of and plenty of.

There is an important difference between "a little" and "little" (used with non-count words) and between "a few" and "few" (used with count words). If I say that Tashonda has a little experience in management that means that although Tashonda is no great expert she does have some experience and that experience might well be enough for our purposes. If I say that Tashonda has little experience in management that means that she doesn't have enough experience. If I say that Charlie owns a few books on Latin American literature that means that he has some some books — not a lot of books, but probably enough for our purposes. If I say that Charlie owns few books on Latin American literature, that means he doesn't have enough for our purposes and we'd better go to the library.
Unless it is combined with of, the quantifier "much" is reserved for questions and negative statements:

• Much of the snow has already melted.
• How much snow fell yesterday?
• Not much.

Note that the quantifier "most of the" must include the definite article the when it modifies a specific noun, whether it's a count or a non-count noun: "most of the instructors at this college have a doctorate"; "most of the water has evaporated." With a general plural noun, however (when you are not referring to a specific entity), the "of the" is dropped:

• Most colleges have their own admissions policy.
• Most students apply to several colleges.

Authority for this last paragraph: The Scott, Foresman Handbook for Writers by Maxine Hairston and John J. Ruszkiewicz. 4th ed. HarperCollins: New York. 1996. Examples our own.

An indefinite article is sometimes used in conjunction with the quantifier many, thus joining a plural quantifier with a singular noun (which then takes a singular verb):

• Many a young man has fallen in love with her golden hair.
• Many an apple has fallen by October.

This construction lends itself to a somewhat literary effect (some would say a stuffy or archaic effect) and is best used sparingly, if at all.

BESIDE AND BESIDES

Beside means "close to" or "by the side of."

Besides means "in addition to."

Examples: Come, sit beside me. (Next to me)

Besides me, Fran and Millie will be there.
(In addition to me)

Beside is a preposition meaning "next to." Besides is a preposition meaning "except" or "in addition to." As a conjunctive adverb, besides means "also."

Examples:

Merdine was too proud to sit beside Gus; besides, she preferred to sit outside.

Usage Notes:

• "While the two words were once used interchangeably, beside has been reserved as the preposition and besides as the adverb since the late 18th century. But they are still confounded."
  (Bryan A. Garner, Garner's Modern American Usage. Oxford Univ. Press, 2009)
• "Some critics argue that beside and besides should be kept distinct when they are used as prepositions. According to that argument, beside is used only to mean 'at the side of,' as in There was no one in the seat beside me. For the meanings 'in addition to' and 'except for' besides should be used: Besides replacing the back stairs, she fixed the broken banister. No one besides Smitty would say a thing like that. But this distinction is often ignored, even by widely respected writers. While it is true that besides can never mean 'at the side of,' beside regularly appears in print in place of besides. Using beside in this way can be ambiguous, however; the sentence There was no one beside him at the table could mean that he had the table to himself or that the seats next to him were not occupied."
  ("besides," The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., 2000)
• "As a number of commentators remark and all conscientious dictionaries show, there is a certain amount of overlap between these two words. The OED shows that historically there was even more than there is now. . . .
  
  "The only question arises when beside is used in the preposition sense of besides. Gould [in 1856] disliked this use, and most commentators since his time simply avoid it by not mentioning it at all. Although it is not nearly as frequent as besides, it is well attested. It has been in use since the 14th century and appears in the King James version of the Bible in several places. Our modern evidence for this sense is modestly literary. . . . While this use of beside is not wrong, nor rare, nor nonstandard, besides is the word most people use."
  ("beside, besides," Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, 1994)

NOT ANY, NO, NONE; NO MORE, NOT ANY MORE, NO LONGER, NOT ANY LONGER

not (n’t) + any

• There aren‘t any cars in the car park.
• Sally and Steve haven‘t got any children.
• You can have some coffee but I don‘t want any.

no + noun (no cars / no garden etc.)
no … = not + any or not + a:

• There are no cars in the car park. (= there aren‘t any cars)
• We’ve got no coffee. ‘(= we haven‘t got any coffee)
• It’s a nice house but there’s no garden. (= there isn‘t a garden)

We use no … especially after have (got) and there is/are.
negative verb + any = positive verb + no:

• They haven’t got any children, or They‘ve got no children.
  (not ‘They haven’t got no children’)
• There isn’t any sugar in your coffee,  or There‘s no sugar in your coffee.

no and none

Use no + noun (no money / no children etc.):

• We’ve got no money.
• Everything was OK. There were no problems.

Use none alone (without a noun):

• ‘How much money have you got?’   ‘None.’ (= no money)
• ‘Were there any problems?’   ‘No, none.’ (= no problems)

none and no-one
none = 0 (zero)
None is an answer for How much?/ How many? (things or people):

• ‘How much money have you got?’   ‘None.’ (= no money)
• ‘How many people did you meet?’   ‘None.’ (= no people)

no-one = nobody
No-one is an answer for Who?:

• ‘Who did you meet?’   ‘No-one.’ (or Nobody.)

No more/not any more / not any longer / no longer  

We use no more to talk about quantity or degree – to say ‘how much’

• There’s no more bread. She’s no more a great singer than I am.

We do not use no more to a talk about time.
Instead we use no longer (usually before the verb), not… any longer, or not… any more.

• I no longer support the team. (NOT I no more…)
• This can’t go on any longer.
• Annie doesn’t live here any more. (NOT… any more is informal)

We use not…any more or not…. Any longer to say that a situation has changed. Any more and any longer go at the end of a sentence:

·         Sara doesn't work here any more ( or any longer ). She left last month.

( not ' Sara doesn't still work here' )

·         We used to be good friends but we aren't any more ( or any longer ).

You can also use no longer. No longer goes in the middle of the sentence:

·         Sara no longer works here.

Note that we do not normally use no more in this way:

·         We are no longer friends. ( not' we are no more friends' )

  Compare still and not… any more:

·         Fatima still works here but Sara doesn't work here any more.

·         We can use not...any more, not ... any longer and no longer to say that a situation has changed. They have the same meaning but take different positions in a sentence. No longer usually comes before an ordinary verb and after verb BE and it is used in statements. Any more or any longer usually comes at the end of the sentence and they are used in nagative sentence (V + not). We don't often use no more in this situation. We only use no more before a noun to say about a level or quantity.

Ex: There's no more bread.
She's no more a great singer than I am.