The document discusses countable and uncountable nouns and how they are used with quantifiers. [1] Countable nouns can be singular or plural and take quantifiers like "a/an", numbers, and expressions like "many", while uncountable nouns do not pluralize and take quantifiers like "much" and "a little". [2] Common quantifiers for countable nouns include "many, a few, some, a lot", and for uncountable nouns include "much, a little, some, a lot". [3] The quantifier "any" is used in yes/no questions and negative statements to indicate a quantity of zero.

1. NOUNS AND QUANTIFIERS
Before starting to work on quantifiers we must have clear the difference between countable and
uncountable nouns.
A. COUNTABLE NOUNS:
As their name indicates, these are nouns that YOU CAN COUNT (1,2,3…).
1. They can be used in singular form:
I have a sister who lives in Canada.
There’s a car in the middle of the park.
Mark needs an umbrella urgently, it’s raining very hard and he must go now.
I ate an apple for breakfast.
IMPORTANT NOTE 1: As you can see, we use the undetermined article a / an to refer to
countable nouns in singular form: a sister, a car, an umbrella, an apple…
2. Countable nouns can be used in plural form too:
John has three sisters, the youngest one is still at primary school.
Japan exported more than 2.000.000 cars last year.
There are many umbrellas in the “lost and found” section of my company.
I found a few apples in the refrigerator.
Some students didn’t go to class yesterday.
IMPORTANT NOTE 2: As you noticed, when we refer to countable nouns in plural form we MUST
use the __S as an indicator of plurality. In addition, before the noun we can specify the number of
elements we are referring to (three, 2.000.000, fourteen, 7…), or we can use some specific
expressions of quantity such as many and a few, which we will explain more in detail later on.

2. B. UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Opposite to countable nouns, YOU CANNOT COUNT uncountable nouns. Take into account
the following tips:
* To have clear if a noun is uncountable (or countable), take into account the element, the
material, the mass, the product; not the recipient, the packing or the weight. For example:
Water: It is an uncountable noun. You CAN’T COUNT WATER, or any liquid, you count “bottles
of water”, “glasses of water” or “liters of water”, but you SHOULDN’T SAY one water, two
waters, three waters etc… So, you can count the recipient, but not the content.
* Some categories of uncountable nouns:
Liquids: water, oil, wine, soda, beer, sweat, blood, coffee, tea...
Some food: bread, cheese, garlic, shrimp, ice cream, butter, lettuce, spinach…
Small particles: rice, sugar, salt, sand, flour…
Meat: chicken, fish, lamb, beef… (meat, not the animals, the animals are countable).
Gases: oxygen, air, carbon dioxide, helium…
Feelings: love, hate, happiness, sadness, boredom, anger, excitement, respect…
Some common concepts: music, silence, time, food, money, evidence, fruit, food…
* Uncountable nouns are not plural or singular, simply because you can’t count them.
However, using plural forms, numbers and expressions of plurality with uncountable nouns is
totally incorrect. The common expressions that go with uncountable nouns are:
There is much cheese in the refrigerator.
We went to a bar and listened to some music there.
I couldn’t go to the concert because I had just a little money.
I don’t feel good; I think I ate too much shrimp yesterday.
IMPORTANT NOTE 3: As you can see, we never use plural forms with uncountable nouns; we only
use some specific quantifiers such as much or a little.
IMPORTANT NOTE 4: Some uncountable nouns as “beer”, “soda”, “coffee” are now used in plural
when we refer to consumption. Example: “We drank some beers in the bar last night”.

3. C. QUANTIFIERS IN AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES
To understand quantifiers in an easy way, let’s analyze the following comparison chart.
COUNTABLE NOUNS UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
-There are many grapes on the table. -We need much sugar to prepare
the cake.
Big quantities
- I found many old books in my dad’s - There is much bread for breakfast.
room.
-I only have a few problems to solve -I just had a little time to finish my
now. homework.
Small
-There are a few strawberries in that - George is so thirsty, but there is
quantities
bowl. Take them! only a little water to drink.
Not big, not - I have some tomatoes to prepare the salad.
small quantities - Johanna bought some food for tonight’s party.
(undetermined) - There is some wine to drink after with the meal.
- There are some extra chairs in the next classroom.
- My father brought a lot of mangoes from his last trip.
- I don’t need a lot of salt for this recipe.
Big quantities
- There are a lot of cars in the street on Friday afternoon.
- There is a lot of evidence to blame the robbery on Paul.
IMPORTANT NOTE 5: As you noticed, “some” and “a lot of” can be used for both countable
and uncountable nouns.
IMPORTANT NOTE 6: All quantifiers we have studied so far can be used in both affirmative
and negative form.
GO ON TO THE NEXT PAGE.

4. D. QUANTIFIERS IN QUESTION FORM:
To analyze “quantifiers” in interrogative (or question) form, we can analyze the following
comparison chart.
COUNTABLE NOUNS UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
-How many carrots are there in the fridge? -How much coffee do you drink a day?
-How many books do we have to read for the -How much bread is there for breakfast?
exam?
-How many sisters does Paul have? - How much love do you feel for her?
E. “ANY”:
A- The use of “ANY” is restricted to the question form of YES/NO questions that need or
imply answers with quantifiers. See the examples below:
Mark: Is there any tea to offer to the guests?
Tina: Yes, there’s much tea in the kitchen shelf.
John: Do we have any additional tables for the party?
Erika: Yes, our neighbor can lend us many tables.
B- “ANY” is also used to emphasize negative sentences that mean that the number or
quantity is “ZERO”. See the examples below.
Monica: Are there any bananas to add to the fruit salad?
. Joseph: No, there aren’t any bananas in the kitchen.
Richard: Do you need any money to go to the trip?
. Linda: No, I don’t need any money; I just need a big suitcase.
IMPORTANT NOTE 7: AS YOU CAN SEE “ANY” CAN BE USED WITH BOTH COUNTABLE AND
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
I hope this little lesson helped you to clarify some doubts.