2. We can use a quantifier + of to identify a quantity or
amount of something in a particular group.
Many of the international students in my class speak several languages.
(refers to a particular group of international students--the ones in my class)
3. When we aren’t talking about a particular group, we
usually use a quantifier without of.
Many international students speak several languages.
(refers to international students in general)
4. We usually use a quantifier + of with plural count nouns
or noncount nouns.
• the
• a possessive such as my, your, Maria’s, etc.
• these or those
The quantifier + of is almost always followed by one
of these determiners:
5. These sentences use a quantifier + of
followed by the.
We met most of the new people at work.
The class misunderstood some of the homework.
(NOT: most of new people at work)
6. These sentences use a quantifier + of followed by
a possessive.
All of Maria’s friends attend the university.
She spends most of her money on tuition.
7. This sentence uses a quantifier + of followed by
these or those.
I can only answer a few of these questions.
9. We use plural nouns after each of, every one of, neither
of, and either of, not singular nouns.
Write a topic sentence for each of the paragraphs.
We can’t complete either of
these projects.
My boss rejected every one of my ideas.
(NOT: each of the paragraph)
(NOT: every of my ideas)
10. We can also use a plural noun after none of.
Luckily, none of the students failed the exam.
WARNING! When we use a quantifier + of, we use:
My boss rejected every one of my ideas.
• none instead of no:
Luckily, none of the students failed the exam.
• every one instead of every:
11. We can also use of after numbers.
Three of my closest friends live in Italy.
We use a plural noun after one of.
Einstein has always been one of my heroes.
13. When we use a quantifier + of as a subject, the verb
usually agrees with the main noun after of.
Some of the information in this article
is incorrect.
Most of the men in my office were married.
14. However, we usually use a singular verb after each of,
every one of, neither of, either of, none of, and one of.
(The verb agrees with the singular quantifier.)
Each of my brothers has three children.
Neither of my parents speaks Chinese.
15. None of the rooms is available this afternoon.
One of the students in my class was trilingual.
However, we usually use a singular verb after each of,
every one of, neither of, either of, none of, and one of.
(The verb agrees with the singular quantifier.)
17. We can also use an object pronoun after a quantifier
+ of. The pronoun often refers back to a noun or
noun phrase that was mentioned earlier.
I don’t know all of the members, but I know
most of them.
I’m going to speak to each of you separately.
