Determiners with countable and uncountable nouns (SOME, ANY, NO, MANY, MUCH, FEW, LITTLE etc.)
Determiners precede nouns and show what kind of reference the noun has. Some determiners can only be used with countable or uncountable nouns, while others can be used with both. Countable nouns take a singular or plural form depending on the determiner which precedes them:
| Singular countable nouns | Plural countable nouns | Uncountable nouns |
|---|---|---|
| A, AN, THE A man and a woman came in. I heard an interesting story at the office yesterday. |
THE, zero article The apples were peeled and quartered. Mondays are always busy here. |
THE, zero article She jumped into the water. A magnet attracts iron. |
| THIS, THAT This film was good. I like that shirt. |
THIS, THAT Where did you buy this wine? That cheese smells delicious. |
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| THESE, THOSE Can I try on these jeans? How do you like those cherries? |
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| SOME, ANY, NO I was just talking to some guy from school. Any sensible person would have done the same. I am no scientist. |
SOME, ANY, NO 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 Every cloud has a silver lining. |
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| FEW, A FEW, FEWER, THE FEWEST 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, THE 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, (THE) MOST, MOST OF THE There were not many people at the concert. (few) More people came to the concert than expected. Most mammals live on land. Tom got the most votes. Most of the visitors were art students. |
MUCH, MORE, (THE) 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. Which candy bar has the most sugar in it? Most of the time I'm not at home. |
|
| A LOT OF, LOTS OF, PLENTY OF 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 A number of questions arose at the meeting. |
AN AMOUNT OF The word budget means an amount of money we have available to spend. |
|
| ANOTHER, THE OTHER Can you think of another example? I'd prefer the other car. |
OTHER, THE OTHER Other boys would have done the same. The other students went home. |
OTHER, THE OTHER Is there other software available? The other news is that they are getting married in June. |
| ENOUGH Do you have enough pens for everyone? |
ENOUGH Is there enough milk in the fridge? |
|
| ALL, ALL THE All students must take a placement test at the beginning of the course. I couldn't answer all the questions. |
ALL, ALL THE Not all coffee is bitter. The robber took all the money. |
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| BOTH Both sides wanted peace. |
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| NEITHER, EITHER Neither player has won the game. You can choose either way. |
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| NONE OF THE Luckily, none of the soldiers were killed. |
NONE OF THE None of the music they played attracted me. |
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| EACH Each question carries one mark. |
