The document explains the usage of definite and indefinite articles, proper nouns, and quantifiers in English grammar. It highlights the differences between countable and uncountable nouns, examples of each, and how to effectively quantify them. Additionally, it provides examples and exercises to reinforce understanding of these grammar concepts.

1. QUANTIFIERS
DEFINITE & INDEFINITE ARTICLES
Tara L. Lockhart

2. Proper nouns
Which is incorrect?
a. The teacher gave us a test.
b. The Tara gave us a test.
c. Tara gave us a test?

3. Proper nouns
Which is incorrect?
a. A / The teacher gave us a test.
b. The Tara gave us a test.
c. Tara gave us a test?
WHY? We usually use articles for common nouns, but
NOT for proper nouns with exceptions of
course….more on that later. 

4. Proper nouns
A proper noun is the name of a particular group
(people), place or thing. They’re usually unique. There
is only one.
Proper nouns are ALWAYS capitalized.
*exception: seasons (spring, summer, autumn/fall, winter)
**sometimes we use [the]
unique: the Internet the autumn*
people: Tara, Scottish
places: Charlottetown, Canada
months: October. April,
languages: English, French, Greek

5. Nouns
count
dollar(s) / cent(s)
hour(s) / minute(s)….
animal(s)
cup(s) / glass(es) / milliliter(s)
cup(s)
bowl(s)
slice(s)
book(s)
hat(s)
non-count /
uncountable
money
time
pork / beef
liquid: water, oil, beer
rice
spaghetti
bread
air
pants / jeans

6. How to count uncountable nouns?
a piece of cake.
I’ll have a piece of cake
please.
A: Can I have some cake?
B: Of course! Do you want
a big slice of cake or a
small slice of cake?
This grammar point is a piece of
cake! (= is easy)

7. MORE EXAMPLES
The entire thing can be counted, of course.
A: How many cakes did you get for the party?
B: Since there were 60 people, we got 2 cakes.
A: How many pizzas did you order?
B: We ordered 27 large pizzas. I think I ate 3 slices of pizza!
BUT if someone asked you:
A: Did you have any cake?
B: Yes, I ate 2 cakes and 3 pizzas.
A: What?! Did you really eat 2 whole cakes and 3 whole
pizzas?!
(Were they tiny cakes and pizzas? Ha ha)

8. How do we count uncountable nouns?
cup(s) / glass(es) / milliliter(s)
• The recipe calls for 2 cups of water.
bowl(s)
• He ate a bowl of rice with his lunch.
handful(s)
• They threw handfuls of money into the crowd.
slice(s)
• A large pizza has 8 slices.
a pair of
• She packed 2 pairs of shoes and 4 pairs of pants and
shorts for the trip.

9. Non-count nouns….(cont’d)
• metal: gold / silver / copper = a bar of, a piece of,…
• abstract words: courage, fear, goodness, hatred, love,
laughter, education, time, art, thoughts,…..
• activities: bowling, teaching, farming, running, hiking,….
• fields of study: English, chemistry, biology, medicine,
mathematics,….
• List of abstract nouns
• http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-abstract-
nouns.html

10. Non-count nouns….(cont’d)
Some non-count nouns don’t fit in a category
equipment – a piece of equipment, some, etc
homework – some homework, a little, no, etc
news
furniture
information
work

11. Non-count nouns….(cont’d)
Some non-count nouns don’t fit into a category
Remember that if it is uncountable, it’s considered
singular.
equipment – a piece of equipment, some, etc
Some of the equipment is old.
I bought a lot of equipment for the camping trip. It is in the
car.
homework – I only have a little homework, and thankfully
it is really easy.
news - The news is exciting. (a piece of news)
furniture – How much furniture do you want to buy? (a
piece of furniture)

12. Non-count nouns….(cont’d)
Remember that if it is uncountable, it’s considered
singular.
clothing – The clothing at this store is really expensive.
work – I’m finished. I don’t have any more work to do.
weather – The weather was bit cold yesterday. The cold
bothers me.
information – We can look up a lot of information online.
corn – Corn always tastes better on the cob.

13. Quantifiers
count
some
enough
a lot of
a few
several
many
------------------------------------
not + any
enough
a lot of
many
non-count
some
enough
a lot of
a little
a great deal of
much
--------------------------------------
not + any
enough
a lot of
much

14. Speaking Activity – talk with a partner
1. How many hours do you spend on the Internet every
day?
2. How much time do you waste online every week?
3. How many planets do you think have life on them?
4. How much money do you have on you?
5. What is something you have too much of?
6. How many pets do you have / would you like to have?
7. How many people are in your immediate family?
8. How much water should you drink every day?
9. How many cups of coffee/tea do you usually drink every
week?

15. ANY: negatives & questions
Did Tara give us any homework in class today?
Tara didn’t give us any homework.
Is there any beer?
No, there isn’t any beer.
Are there any bears in Halifax?
Nope! There aren’t any bears in Halifax.
*These examples are in the simple present, but remember you can use
other verb tenses.

16. Speaking activity – take turns asking each other
questions. Answer using complete sentences.
Answer the question using the negative + any!
1. Do you have any drugs you can sell me?
2. Did you shoot any birds this morning?
3. I need to borrow some money. Do you have any spare change?
4. Does your grandmother have any tattoos?
5. Will you buy any honey at Sobeys this week?
6. Have you bought any dog food this month?
7. Do you have any questions?
8. Are there any monkeys in your bedroom?
9. Do you own any camping equipment?
10. Have you lived on any other planets besides Earth?

17. FYI
couple = 2
few = 3 -4
several 5-6
We ordered a couple of glasses of beer.
He has a couple of dogs.
She went to Montreal for a few days.
I’m planning on buying a few things at the store on the way
home.
There are several restaurants in my neighbourhood.

18. few – a few > used for countable nouns
• [a] few + plural noun
• a few = some but not many (positive)
• few (without a) = nearly none (negative)
James has a few friends. = He doesn’t have a lot, but he
has some. He has enough friends. He has a good
number of friends.
He has few friends. He doesn’t have a lot of friends. He is
probably lonely. He doesn’t have enough friends.

19. little vs a little> used for non-countable
nouns
• [a] little + uncountable noun
• a little = some but not much (positive)
• little (without a) = nearly none or nearly nothing (negative)
James has a little money = He doesn’t have a lot, but he has
some. He has enough money. He has a good amount of
money.
He has little money. He doesn’t have a lot of money. He is
probably broke. He doesn’t have enough money.

20. Re-state the sentences
Ex: They have some money. = They have a little
money.
They are poor. = They have little money.
1. I’ve got some friends. 
2. I wish I had more friends. 
3. The fridge is nearly empty.
4. Her French is good, but she still makes mistakes.
5. He knows how to speak some Spanish.
6. They wanted to make Chinese food, but they don’t have
enough rice.

21. Re-state the sentences
1. I’ve got some friends.  = I’ve got a few friends.
2. I wish I had more friends. = I’ve got few friends.
3. The fridge is nearly empty. = The fridge has little in it. / There’s
little food in the fridge. / There are few items / things in the
fridge.
4. Her French is good, but she still makes mistakes. = She speaks a
little French.
5. He knows how to speak some Spanish. = He speaks a little
Spanish.
6. They wanted to make Chinese food, but they don’t have enough
rice. = They have little rice.

22. much & many – questions & negatives
• How many days until Halloween?
• How much time do we have until Halloween?
• There are __ days until Halloween. / There’s lots of time
before Halloween.
• How much money did you spend while on vacation?
• They didn’t spend much (money) while on vacation.
• How many dollars did you spend at the Dollarama store?
• I spent about five dollars. / I didn’t spend much money.
• Is there much food in the fridge?
• There’s not much food in the fridge.
• There aren’t many drinks in the fridge.

23. A
AN
THE


24. definite and indefinite articles
[ a ] is an indefinite article used before a general noun that
starts with a consonant SOUND. = a hamburger
[an] is an indefinite article used before a general noun that
starts with a vowel SOUND. = an hour
[the] is a definite article used before a specific noun. BE
AWARE that there are TWO pronunciations.
thᵊ boat | thiː apple

25. Articles: indefinite & definite
general noun (a / an)
an apple
a boat
a chair
a dozen eggs
an egg
a french fry
a giant french fry
an hour
a hot day
……..
specific noun (the)
the apple > / thiː/ apple
the boat
the chair
the dozen eggs
the egg
the french fry
the giant french fry
the hour > /thee/ hour
*french refers to the style of cut – it’s cut long and thin.

26. french = style of cut
also called julienne
which is why it is not capitalized

27. Articles: indefinite & definite
> general / more than 1 / unknown / first time we mention
something
> specific / only one / known
I saw a man walking around the block with a dog.
Is it clear which man / dog the speaker is speaking of?
Is this new information?
“the block” - Is it clear where the man & dog are walking?

28. There are 5 windows.
Can you open a window?

29. There are 5 windows. There’s only one next to
the door. There’s only one door.
Can you open the window next to the door?

30. Can you open the window?
The speaker knows which window you’re
going to open / it’s the window closest to you.

31. Guess the article!

32. Can you pass ___ salt?

33. “Omens” is __ really good book.

34. Where are ___ dogs?

35. Hi! I’d like __ old-fashioned donut and _
cup of coffee.

36. Can I ask __ question?

37. “Avengers” is __ awesome movie.

38. Where is he sitting?

39. Are you okay?
No, I have __ headache.

40. She has __ flu.

41. Soup of the day: The tears of our
enemies.

42. We say “the” when it’s clear which thing or
person we mean.
• the floor (of a room)
• the ceiling (of a room)
• the roof (of a house)
• the door (of a room / house / apartment…)
• the carpet (of a room)
• the light (in a room / on a table)
• the kitchen (of a house)
• the bathroom (of a house)
• the bus stop / station (train, subway) (of a town/city/one’s
neighbourhood)
• the airport (of a city / province)
• the government (of a country)

43. We use ‘the’ when it’s clear which thing /
person we mean.
What is the name of your country? (There’s only one name.)
Who is the best cook in your family? (There’s only one….)
What’s the time? (The time now)
My apartment is on the third floor. (There’s only one 3rd floor.)
the + city centre / same / nearest…
We live in the same apartment building.
There’s a really good pub in the city centre. / in the centre of
the city.
Where’s the nearest bathroom?
Pluto is the farthest planet* from the Earth. (*became a planet
again in 2015)

44. We say….
The Earth is the third planet from the sun.
the sun / moon / world / sky / sea / ocean / country*
I grew up in the country of Canada. = I grew up in Canada.
I grew up in the country. (= not a town or city)
She grew up in the city. (= not in a small village or the woods!)
the police / fire department / army (of a city / country, etc)
What did you just do? I’m calling the police!

45. FYI
We really only capitalize “sun and moon” when talking
about them as objects in space or in reference to
other planets. However, there is no hard and fast
rule and you’ll often see the words “sun and moon”
un-capitalized.
The Sun = Earth’s sun
The Moon = Earth’s moon
The Earth is closer to the Sun than Mars.
The Earth is closer to the sun than Mars.

46. We say….
the top / middle / end / bottom / left / right
• Look at the top of page 65.
• I like to sit in the middle of the movie theatre.
• Their house is at the end of this street.
• The boardwalk is at the bottom of the hill.
• Do you drive on the left or on the right of the road in your
country?

47. We say…
the + musical instruments
Tara plays the piano and the ukulele. 
Can you play the drums?
the + radio / Internet
Does anyone listen to the radio anymore?
It’s amazing what you can find on the Internet.

48. TV vs a / the TV (television)
If you watch a lot of TV, you’re called a couch potato.
What’s on TV / television tonight?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turn off the TV.
I bought a new TV 2 months ago.
Where’s the remote to the TV?
the TV = the television set; the actual machine

49. We do not usually use the with:
breakfast / lunch / dinner / supper / tea / coffee
What did you have for supper last night?
OMG I’m so hungry. I can’t wait for lunch.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We do use ‘the’ when we are talking about a : social function /
event / specific food
The Queen came to the tea on Saturday.
We had a good time at the lunch yesterday.
Students went to the BBQ at the Confederation Landing Park.
The tea / coffee at Starbucks is quite expensive.
The dinner we ate last night was really delicious.

50. We do not use the with:
next / last + week / month / year / summer / Monday
My parents are coming to visit next week.
Let’s go to Hunter’s next Thursday!
Last year, we visited Montreal.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first week of the month is usually easy, but the next
week is usually filled with quizzes and assignments.
We always receive our reports the last Friday of the month.

51. the + places
Note that there are still many more rules.
This is just a list of some of them. 
Remember:
Some countries have “the” as
part of their names.
Example:
The United Kingdom
The United States of America
The Republic of South Korea
etc
*In English, we usually just
say:
The U.K
The U.S.
(South) Korea

52. The End!