Quantity Phrases
Indicating how much or how many
Quantifier vs. Phrase Agreement
| QUANTIFIER AGREEMENT |
|---|
With some quantifier phrases, the quantifier agrees with the verb and is always singular. |
| VERB AGREES WITH QUANTIFIER |
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| PHRASE AGREEMENT |
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With other quantifier phrases, the closest noun in the "of phrase" agrees with the verb. |
| VERB AGREES WITH PHRASE NOUN |
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quantity (n.) – an amount of something that can be counted or measured
quantify (v.) – to determine, indicate, or express the quantity of
Quantifier Agreement
Singular Pattern List
Pattern 1a: Singular Quantifier Agreement
| SINGULAR QUANTIFIER | QUANTIFIER PHRASE | SINGULAR VERB FORM |
|---|---|---|
| INDEFINITE GROUP | ||
ANY |
Any child¹ |
needs love. |
EVERY |
Every child |
needs love. |
| DEFINITE GROUP | ||
EACH/ EACH OF |
Each child / Each of the children |
needs love. |
ONE / ONE OF |
One child / One of my children² |
needs help. |
MORE THAN ONE OF |
More than one of the kids |
needs help. |
NO + ONE — NONE/ NONE OF / NOT ONE OF |
None / None of my children³ |
needs help. |
NEITHER / NEITHER OF (not one or the other) |
Neither child / Neither of my children |
wants help. |
MUCH OF / LITTLE OF |
Much of the class |
wants help. |
¹Any is usually singular, but may occur in plural use as well. Do any children need help?
²One/ A child needs a help. Note one is used as an article not a quantifier, here. *One/ Two children needs help.
³In formal usage none / none of agrees with the quantifier; in informal usage none agrees with the noun. None of the book are here. (informal) / None of the books is here. (formal)
Also see: (neither...nor)
Quantifier Agreement
Plural Pattern List
Pattern 1b: Plural Quantifier Agreement
| QUANTIFIER | QUANTIFIER PHRASE | PLURAL VERB FORM |
|---|---|---|
| INDEFINITE GROUP | ||
ALL |
All children (*All child) |
need love. |
MOST |
Most children (*Most child) |
need love. |
SOME |
Some children (*Some child) |
need love. |
MANY / SEVERAL / FEW |
Many children (*Many/*Few child) |
need love. |
MOST |
Most children |
need love. |
| DEFINITE GROUP | ||
BOTH |
Both children / Both of the children / Both of my children |
need love. |
A COUPLE OF / A GROUP OF / A NUMBER OF / SEVERAL OF/ MANY OF / A FEW OF |
A couple of the children |
are absent. (plural) |
*Not used. (A plural marker is not used with a singular noun).
**Some child is knocking on the door. (an unknown person)
Pop-Q "A couple" (a dozen), Pop-Q "One of the few"
Phrase Noun Agreement
Singular or Plural
Pattern 2: Phrase Noun Agreement "Partitive Quantifiers"
| QUANTIFIER | CLOSEST NOUN IN PHRASE | CORRESPONDING VERB FORMS |
|---|---|---|
ALL OF |
All of the class (collective noun) |
knows the answer. (sing.) |
MOST OF / MUCH OF |
Most / Much of the class (sing.) |
likes mathematics. (sing.) |
A LOT OF¹ / LOTS OF lots, bags heaps, loads, oodles, stacks¹ |
A lot of the work (noncount) |
is hard. (sing.) |
A GREAT DEAL OF / A GOOD DEAL OF a smidgen of, a bit of
|
A great deal of work (noncount) |
|
A MAJORITY OF |
A majority of the students (count) |
like their teacher. (pl.) |
PLENTY OF / A SMALL AMOUNT OF / A LARGE AMOUNT OF |
A large amount of the work (noncount) |
is hard. (sing.) |
A NUMBER / A LARGE NUMBER / A SMALL NUMBER
|
A large number of the assignments (count) |
are hard. (pl.) |
SOME OF |
Some of the garden (sing.) |
needs water. (sing.) |
HALF OF |
Half of the book (sing.) |
is about China. (sing.) |
TEN PERCENT OF |
Ten percent of the cost (sing.) |
is tax. (sing.) |
**NONE OF / NOT ANY OF |
None of the class (sing.) |
needs (sing.) |
*Not used
Used with mass or collective nouns: a large amount of (Garner 43)
count noun (individual items) / collective noun (all included as one, noncount)
**none / none of – Formal usage agrees with the quantifier; informal usage agrees with the noun.
Also see Much / Many, Little / Few and Most /Most of the
Pop-Q "Small amount"
¹Non-count quantificational nouns: (CaGEL 5 §3.3)
Plural obliques (number of , couple of — are)
Singular obliques (deal of, amount of, quantity of — is)
Partitive– some of the ; non-partitive – some (CaGEL 5 §9.1)
Fractional Quantities
Half
A Half / Half a
| A HALF |
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An article (determiner) is used before a fraction: a half, a third, a fourth. A prepositional phrase is used after the quantity: of a kilo, of a dollar, of an apple. The expression a half + of a noun is often reduced to a half noun (less common with third, quarter, etc.) |
The Capitol is a half mile ahead. (common) |
A half hour is a long time to wait. |
We bought a half pound of peanuts. |
| HALF A |
|---|
The expression a half + of a noun can be reduced to half + a noun before an expression of quantity or measurement (mile, pound, hour, degree, etc.) I'd like (a) half (of) a pound. |
The Capitol is half a mile ahead. |
Half an hour is a long time to wait. |
We bought half a pound of peanuts. |
% Less commonly used; used by some speakers; more often of is left out (not incorrect)
* Not used (yet not incorrect)
Also note: We ordered a "half grapefruit". (a menu item) vs. We ate half a grapefruit. (a quantity); We ate "raw oysters on the half shell." (a menu item) vs. We ate oysters on half a shell. (a quantity-fraction)
Half of / Half
| HALF OF |
|---|
A prepositional phrase with of is commonly used after a fraction: a half + of a noun. (Also third, fourth, fifth, tenth, etc.) |
Half of the tour was about history. (before a noun) |
We spent half of our time visiting museums. |
We saw half of them. (before a pronoun) |
The two halves of Congress will meet. (with a larger number) |
| HALF |
|---|
Usually, we shorten the prepositional phrase – omitting 'of' – before a noun of measurement (inch, kilo, hour, etc.) We tend to say: 'half an inch, half a kilo, half an hour'. 'I'd like half a pound of nuts.' Include 'of' after other fractions 'a third of a pound' or with plurals 'two-thirds of a pound'. |
Half the tour was about history. (before a noun) |
We spent half our time visiting museums. |
*We saw half them. (Use half of before a pronoun.) |
*The two halves Congress will meet. (Useof.) |
*Yellow highlighted words are examples of incorrect usage.
Michael Swan, "Half." Practical English Usage. 3rd Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2009. Print
"half." Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage, Springfield, MA: MerriamWebster, Inc.1989. Print.
Quantity of
Negatives
| QUANTITY |
|---|
Use a negative word before a quantity of expression to indicate little or none. |
There's not much of the toilet paper left. / Little of the toilet paper is left. (some) |
Not any of the toilet paper is left. (no amount) |
None of the toilet paper is left. |
| A UNIT |
|---|
Use not a before a unit amount to indicate few or none. Optionally, use the before the noun. |
There's not a lot of toilet paper left. (some) |
Not a sheet of toilet paper is left. (0 pieces) |
Not a one/ a bit/ a piece is left. one (pronoun) – refers to sheet |
Pop-Q "Not a…one"
Compare
A number of / The number of
A number of / The number of
| A NUMBER OF |
|---|
A number of, "several" (an indefinite number) modifies a plural noun. Together they are plural in agreement with the verb. [modifier + noun] |
A number of hula hoops are pink. |
We saw a number of hula hoops. (several) |
A number of hula hoops have disappeared. (are missing) |
| THE NUMBER OF |
|---|
The number of states a quantity, an exact or inexact amount. The noun is singular in agreement with the verb. [noun + prep phrase] |
The number of hula hoops is fifteen. |
We saw the number of hula hoops. (Use a BE verb.) |
The number of hula hoops has increased. |
Also see: A number of / The number of (articles)
Resources
- Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar. White Plains, New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. Print. (6-3)
- Biber, Douglas, and Stig Johansson, et al. Longman Grammar Of Spoken And Written English (LGSWE). Harlow: Pearson Education, 1999. Print. (4.3.6)
- Huddleston, Rodney and Geoffrey K. Pullum, et al. The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language (CaGEL) . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. Print. (349)
- Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Print. (333)
Practice 1
Spending Vacation Time
Quantity Phrase Agreement
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check 1-10" button at the bottom, or click the "check" button as you go.
spend time – pass time, use time
Practice 2
Martha's Show
Read for Errors
Much of Martha's ideas are interesting ones. One of her usual topics are keeping a home vegetable garden. Some of her demonstrations seems easy to do. Much of the food look fresh and colorful. She grows lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, squash, and so on—all of the food are organic.
Half of the shows is about cooking. Each of her guests assist her. Most of the guests have a good time helping. Sometimes, neither she nor her guest are paying attention to the time. None of the guests leave without having fun.
turn out (v.) – result
- Select the option that best describes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check 11-20" button at the bottom, or click the "check" button as you go.
Practice 3
Vitamin Water
Read the Paragraph (without quantifiers)
Vitamin water sold in colorful bottles has little nutritional value. The nutrients vary from one brand to the next. Possible benefits is hydration —drinking enough water. People don't drink enough water, so these flavored waters may help them want to consume more water. However, these vitamin-water drinks contain a lot of sugar. Brand drinks contain artificial sweeteners.
[The water] has flavoring. [The bottle] contain more than one serving. This means [% bottle] is the serving for the calories on the label. [A bottle] of this vitamin water is expensive. Instead, nutritionists advise eating a healthy diet with nutrient rich vegetables and fruit. You can get your nutrition from eating a healthy diet.
artificial (adj.) – man-made, not natural
benefit (n.) – advantage, improvement, help
consume (v.) – eat or drink
hydration (n.) – drinking and keeping enough water in the body
nutrients (n.) – calories and vitamins that give the body what it needs to grow
nutritional (adj.) – relating to the substances in food that help you to stay healthy
nutritionist (n.) – a peron who studies and advises people about what is healthy to eat
sweetner (n.) – sugar or syrup that makes food sweet
value (n.) the importance or usefulness of something
vary (v.) – differ
vitamin (n.) – a chemical substance in food that is necessary for good health, such as Vitamins A, C, or D.
Add Quantifiers
- Select the option that best completes the sentence. Glossary for this practice. (word definitions)
- Compare your response to the answer by clicking the "check" button.