Quantifiers / Expresiones de cantidad

 

Form: All, no, each, every, some, any, much, many, several, more, most, little, less, a lot of, few, fewer, enough, one, two, first, second, last, either, neither. 

Cuantificador	Contable	Incontable
Many	X
Much		X
Some	X	X
Any	X	X
No, none	X	X
A lot of/Lots of	X	X
Little/A little		X
Few/A few	X

Use

Los cuantificadores, o determinantes de cantidad, nos dicen de cuántas cosas o personas hablamos o a qué cantidad se refiere del sustantivo que acompañan:
There are some cartons of milk in fridge.
Only few swimmers have been able to cross The Channel.

all

• Se utiliza con sustantivos incontables: All electrical equipment should be checked carefully.
• Se utiliza con sustantivos contables, en plural: All shops close at lunch time in this town.

no

• Se utiliza en oraciones negativas después de un verbo en forma positiva:
  I've got no money left.
  There will be no test this week because your teacher is ill.

each and every

• Se usan solamente con sustantivos contables en singular:
  Fill in each blank in the exercise.
  We have to telephone every person in this list to organise the party.

some

• Se utiliza con nombres contables en plural:
  I've borrowed some books from the library.
• Se utiliza también con sustantivos incontables:
  There is some milk in the fridge.
• Se utiliza en preguntas cuando esperamos una respuesta positiva. Por ejemplo, cuando se ofrece comida o bebida:
  Would you like some ice-cream? Yes, please!

any

• Se utiliza en oraciones negativas e interrogativas tanto con sustantivos contables como incontables:
  There aren't any glasses here.
  Are there any glasses here?
  There isn't any water on the table.
  Is there any water on the table?

much and a lot of

• Much se utiliza con sustantivos incontables:
  How much pocket money do you get every week?
  Hurry up. There isn't much time left.
• En inglés hablado much se utiliza solo en oraciones interrogativas y negativas. Para hablar afirmativamente se usa a lot of:
  Andalucía exports a lot of olive oil.
  Please, put a lot of cream on my apple pie.

many and several

• Solo se pueden utilizar con sustantivos contables en plural:
  Many German tourists come to Spain in Summer.
  I've tried to talk to you several times.

more and most

• Se utilizan con sustantivos contables en plural y con sustantivos incontables:
  Teenagers should eat more fruit and vegetables.
• Most es la forma superlativa de more:
  New York is one of the most attractive cities in the world.

little and a little

• Solo se utilizan con sustantivos incontables y significa poca cantidad. A menudo le acompaña very:
  I think you pay (very) little attention to my explanations.
• a little tiene una connotación positiva, signfica que hay algo aunque sea poco:
  Work a little every day and you'll succeed with your exams.

less

• Se usa normalmente con sustantivos incontables. Es la forma comparativa de little y significa una cantidad más pequeña de algo:
  After knowing about the problems of the crazy cows, people eat less meat at present.

few and fewer

• Few y su forma comparativa, fewer, se utilizan con sustantivos contables en plural:
  There are few LP's in the record shop. They are old fashion.
  Fewer people buy flats in the centre of Madrid. They are too expensive.
• few significa que no hay cantidad suficiente, pero si decimos a few, damos una connotación positiva a la información, es decir, que aunque pocos, hay algunos:
  She has a few friends in her new school.
  There are a few good Italian restaurants near here. 

enough

• Se puede utilizar tanto con sustantivos contables en plural como con sustantivos incontables:
  There is enough lemonade for everyone.
  There aren't enough glasses for everyone.

one, two, three, etc. (cardinal numbers)

• Solo se pueden usar con sustantivos contables. One se usa con el nombre en singular y el resto en plural:
  I have two good books for you here.
  There is only one sweet. Who wants it?

first, second, third, etc. (ordinal numbers)

• Solo acompañan a sustantivos contables en plural. First puede determinar a sustantivos contables en singular también:
  The first men landed on the moon in 1969.
  This is not the first time that we meet.
  He won the Oscar for his fifth script.

last

• Se utiliza para indicar que algo es el último elemento de una serie, o bien, para informar de que es el acontecimiento más reciente:
  This is your last chance.
  We had a quarrel last week.

either (... or) and neither (... nor)

• Se pueden utilizar con nombres contables o incontables indistintamente:
  You have to take either arts or science subjects next year.
  I have neither milk nor sugar in my coffee. 

 

A bowl of cereal	A chunk of cheese, ice	A handful of sweets
A barrel of wine	A bundle of branches	A box of matches
A bar of chocolate	A dish of fish	A pool of secretary
A litre of petrol	A glass of wine	A tank of water
A cup of tea	A can of coke	A bouquet of flower
A plate of spaghettis	A ball of snow	A group of teenagers
A loaf of bread	A collection of books	A carton of tobacco
A pair of shoes, glasses	A bottle of water	A jar of milk
A piece of cake	A packet of tobacco	A pot of tea
A pint of beer	A bag of potatoes	A gallon of petrol, diesel
A pack of paper	A drop of water, wine, juice,	A jug of oranje