Grammar for IELTS Daw Thuzar Latt (M.

A English)

Grammar for IELTS

Quantifiers

Quantifiers are small words or phrases such as some, much, many, a lot of, few, a few, both, each, etc.
that are used to refer to a number of things or to a quantity of something.
It is common to use quantifiers in IELTS Writing Task 2. As you will see, there is a variety of different
quantifiers that can be used. For this reason, you should avoid using the same ones again and again to
show the examiner your range.
In order to be able to use quantifiers correctly, you need to be familiar with the difference between
countable and uncountable nouns.
As the table below shows, some quantifiers are used only with [C] nouns or only with [U] nouns, while
some can be used with both [C] nouns and [U] nouns.

1. Quantifiers used with both [C] some, any, more, most, all, no, enough, a lot,
nouns & [U] nouns plenty of
2. Quantifiers used with [C] nouns many, not many, few, a few, several, a number of, both,
only either, neither, all, none, each, every

3. Quantifiers used with [U] nouns much, more much, little, a little
only

4. Using compound quantifiers • a lot of, plenty of

instead of much / many • a large number of, a great number of, a good
number of
• a great deal of, a good deal of, a large quantity of, a
large amount of

1. Quantifiers + [C] nouns and [U] nouns

These quantifiers can be used with both [C] nouns and [U] nouns:

some / any / more / most / all / no / enough / a lot of / plenty of

➢ [C] In some situations, body language can be more effective than verbal communication.
➢ [U] When applying for a job, some practical experience is often an asset.
➢ [C] A few decades ago, animals did not have any rights.
➢ [U] Meat eaters like to argue that animals do not suffer any pain when slaughtered.
➢ [C] As a result of global warming, more animal species are becoming extinct.
➢ [U] We should spend more money on healthcare for people rather than on animal welfare.

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Grammar for IELTS Daw Thuzar Latt (M.A English)

➢ [C] Most people find it difficult to set themselves realistic goals.

➢ [U] It is well known that most scientific research is funded by government grants.
➢ [C] In my opinion, all wild animals have the right to live in their natural habitat.
➢ [U] In some countries, all animal testing for cosmetics has already been banned.
➢ [C] No children should be denied their right to quality education.
➢ [U] In some countries, the school workload is so heavy that children have no free time for sport
or hobbies.
➢ [C] Very often, schools in rural areas do not have enough resources.
➢ [C] Not enough hospitals are getting the funding they need.
➢ [U] Hospitals in rural areas sometimes do not have enough medical equipment.
➢ [U] Not enough medical equipment is getting through to the front line.
➢ [C] A lot of prospective parents are not fully aware of the demands of child-rearing.
➢ [U] As young children usually demand a lot of attention, it is better for parents to have a part-
time job or to be able to work from home.
➢ [C] Young people from rural areas wrongly believe that there are always plenty of jobs available
in cities.
➢ [U] In the past, people always seemed to have plenty of time to help their neighbors or just to
talk to them.
Also note that some, any, more, most and all are followed by of if you want to refer to a specific group
or to members of a specific group:
➢ [C] Some of the people you meet while travelling can become friends for life.
➢ [U] Some people try to put aside some of their income as savings.
➢ [C] People sometimes make various good resolutions at the start of a new year, and then fail to
keep any of them.
➢ [U] Any of the advice given online from an unknown source should be doubted.
➢ [C] With better diet and health care, people are now keeping more of their natural teeth than in
previous centuries.
➢ [U]In my opinion, teenagers should try to spend more of their free time with their parents and
spend less time chatting online.
➢ [C] The media often claim that they are in the business of reporting the news, but I firmly believe
that most of them actually try to influence people.
➢ [U] It is often said that most of the information we receive when somebody is speaking come
through their body language.
➢ [C] In smaller classes, it is easier for teachers to engage with all of their students.
➢ [U] it is unreasonable to expect school to be interesting all of the time.
some / any
As you know, the general rule is that we use some in positive sentences, and any in sentences with a
negative and in questions:
➢ [C] Some video games seem to incite teenagers to commit criminal offences.

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Grammar for IELTS Daw Thuzar Latt (M.A English)

➢ [U] Isolation and lack of community may be responsible for some criminal behavior.
➢ [C] Some governments lack compassion and refuse to let any refugees enter the country.
➢ [U] In my opinion, it is dangerous to allow children to use smartphones and computers without
any parental supervision.

Quantifiers + [C] nouns

These quantifiers are used with [C] nouns. They are never used with [U] nouns and are always followed
by a plural noun (except either / neither / each / every, which are followed by a singular noun).

many / not many / few / a few / several / both / either / neither

➢ Many historic buildings are damaged by the tourists who visit them.
All these quantifiers too can be followed by of + a noun, a pronoun or a noun phrase to refer to
members of a specific group:
➢ Children generally enjoy school, but not many of them would enjoy going to school at weekends.
few vs a few
Many people confuse the meaning of few and a few. It is a common mistake to make in English
grammar. They do not have the same meaning.
Note that few has a slightly negative meaning:
➢ Unfortunately, few people genuinely care about the environment.
This means ‘not as many people as one would expect’ or ‘not as many people as I would like’. You could
paraphrase it as:
➢ Unfortunately, only a small number of people genuinely care about the environment.
or:
➢ Unfortunately, not many people genuinely care about the environment.
By contrast, a few is more positive in meaning:
➢ Fortunately, a few people genuinely care about the environment.
You could paraphrase this sentence as:
➢ Fortunately, some people genuinely care about the environment.
or:
➢ Fortunately, a number of people genuinely care about the environment.

In your essay, if you wish to paraphrase some (+ plural noun), we recommend that you use a number of
rather than a few:

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Grammar for IELTS Daw Thuzar Latt (M.A English)

➢ Some people believe that it is good for children to be given more freedom:

A number of people think that children benefit from having more freedom.
It is better to paraphrased some (+ plural noun) with a number of because a number of is a neutral
expression, whereas a few means ‘not many’.
Note too that few can have a comparative and a superlative form:
➢ In large cities, not many people know their neighbors, and fewer still would be willing to help
them.
➢ Areas where housing prices are relatively low have the fewest homeless people.
Important: Remember that fewer is the comparative form of few and is used with plural nouns, while
less is the comparative form of little and is used with uncountable nouns.
➢ Although there are fewer fatalities due to plane crashes than to road accidents, many people still
consider flying unsafe.
➢ The popularity of the internet means that people spend less money than before on music CDs.
Besides, fewer people now listen to the radio.
In informal spoken English, you may hear people say less fatalities, less people, etc., but you must not
use such forms in your essay.
several
Several means ‘more than a few, though not a lot’. This is a good alternative to use in your essay so that
you do not repeat the words some or a few.
➢ Several countries have already introduced a ban on single-use plastic bags.
➢ World peace has already been threatened on several occasions this century.
➢ Ecotourism differs from traditional tourism in several ways.
➢ It will take several years before the full impact of social media addiction can be assessed.
both / either / neither
These three words can function as conjunctions and as quantifiers.
Conjunctions:
➢ Obviously, both Maths and Science are essential subjects.
➢ People can either control their emotions or be controlled by them.
➢ Fast food is neither cheap nor healthy.
Below, however, we focus on the use of these words as quantifiers.
You use both, either and neither to talk about two people or two things that you have just mentioned or
that can be identified from the context.
Both means ‘one and the another (as a group)’; either means ‘one or the other (individually)’; and
neither means ‘not one or the other’.

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Grammar for IELTS Daw Thuzar Latt (M.A English)

➢ Young offenders could be sent to a rehabilitation center or told to do community service. Both
solutions are fairly easy to implement.
➢ Young offenders could be sent to a rehabilitation center or told to do community service.
However, either solution is likely to draw criticism from different sections of society.
➢ Young offenders could be sent to a rehabilitation center or told to do community service.
However, neither solution is likely to satisfy all sections of society.
Important: In the sentences above, note:

• the plural noun and verb after both

• the singular noun and verb after either and neither.

both of / either of / neither of

Both, either and neither can also be followed by of.
➢ Both of the candidates interviewed were highly qualified.
In this case, they cannot be followed directly by a noun:
➢ Both of candidates interviewed were highly qualified.
This is a very common grammar mistake which you need to avoid.
Both of, either of and neither of need to be followed by:
i. the + Noun or Noun Phrase
ii. these or those + Noun or Noun Phrase
iii. a Possessive Determiner + Noun or Noun Phrase
They can also be followed by:
iv. a Personal Object Pronoun
v. a Possessive Pronoun
Here are some example sentences to illustrate these five possible structures.
i) followed by the + Noun or Noun Phrase:
➢ Both of the solutions proposed by the government have drawn a lot of criticism.

ii) followed by these or those + Noun or Noun Phrase:

➢ Such a critical issue needs to be dealt with soon, so either of those solutions has to be adopted.

iii) followed by a Possessive Determiner + Noun or Noun Phrase:

➢ The government proposed two ways of dealing with the issue, but neither of their solutions was
very popular.

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Grammar for IELTS Daw Thuzar Latt (M.A English)

iv) followed by a Personal Object Pronoun:

➢ The government put forward two different proposals to reduce social security benefits, but both
of them were rejected.

v) followed by a Possessive Pronoun:

➢ Losing a parent can be traumatic for a child, so we should show even greater compassion to
children who have lost both of theirs.
Important:
In the sentences below, note

• the plural verb after both

• the singular verb after either and neither
The verbs have been highlighted.
a) Both of the solutions proposed by the government have drawn a lot of criticism.
(both  plural verb)

b) Such a critical issue needs to be dealt with soon, so either of those solutions has to be adopted.
(either  singular verb)

c) The government proposed two options, but neither of their solutions was very popular.
(neither  singular verb)
As you can see above, the word solutions is plural in all sentences. However, while in Sentence (a) the
verb is plural, in Sentences (b) and (c) the verb is singular.
all / none
As explained above, both and neither are used to talk about two people or things. If you want to talk
about three or more people or things, use all and none (=not any):
➢ Many solutions were proposed, but all of them drew a lot of criticism.
➢ Three ways of dealing with the issue were proposed, but none of them was very popular.
Notes:
1. While none can only be used with [C] nouns, all can be used with {U} nouns (all the time / all
their money, etc.)
2. It is not a ‘mistake’ to use a plural verb after neither and none. However, this is mainly done in
spoken English. In your essay, it is recommended that you use a singular verb after neither and
none as shown in the example sentences above.

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Grammar for IELTS Daw Thuzar Latt (M.A English)

each / every
These quantifiers are often interchangeable, but their meaning is slightly different. You use every to
generalize, when you think about things or people as a group. You use each to separate, when you think
about the things or people individually.
➢ Every professional sportsperson practices every day.
➢ Each child in a class has a slightly different way of learning.
Only the word every can be used with words such as almost, nearly, practically, not, etc.
➢ Almost every country has serious pollution problems.
➢ Not every student likes to be praised in front of their peers.
Note that after each and every, the noun and the verb are always singular.

3. Quantifiers + [U] nouns

These quantifiers are used with [U] nouns. They are never used with [C] nouns and are always followed
by a singular noun and verb form.

not much / much / little / a little

not much / much

➢ In most countries, it seems that not much effort is being put into creating a health service that
would be free for all citizens.
➢ Some jobs do not require much experience as on-the-job training is provided.

Not much experience is required for jobs that provide on-the-job training.
Note that much in affirmative sentences is considered very formal and is becoming rare. It is alright to
use it in your essay, but you can use a lot of instead.
➢ A fairly large number of elderly people say that they derived much benefit from serving in the
army.

A fairly large number of elderly people say they derived a lot of benefit from serving in the army.
The expressions so much and too much, however can be used in affirmative sentences.
➢ In some countries, schoolchildren have so much homework that they suffer from burnout and
depression.
➢ In my opinion, most governments spend too much money on defence and not enough on health
and education.

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Grammar for IELTS Daw Thuzar Latt (M.A English)

All these quantifiers can be followed by of + a noun or a noun phrase to refer to members of a specific
group:
➢ It is generally accepted that much of human behavior is influenced by culture.
➢ There is some evidence to support the claim of some critics that much of the money donated
after natural disasters is either misused or stolen.

Note that this section is about the word much as a quantifier. There is another use of the word much as
an adverb used before comparative adjectives (much better / much more important, etc.)
little vs a little
Many people make a mistake using little and a little. These expressions do not have the same meaning.
Note that little has a slightly negative meaning:
➢ Unfortunately, little effort is made to educate people about how democracy really works.
This means ‘not as much effort as one would expect’ or ‘not as much effort as I would like’.
You could paraphrase it as:
➢ Unfortunately, not much effort is made to educate people about how democracy really works.
By contrast, a little is more positive in meaning:
➢ Fortunately, most countries have made a little progress toward eradicating poverty. However,
there is still a long way to go.
You could paraphrase this sentence as:
➢ Fortunately, most countries have made some progress towards eradicating poverty. However,
there is still a long way to go.
Note too that little can have a comparative and a superlative form:
➢ There has been very little effort to promote green technologies, and even less to reduce air
pollution levels.
➢ The poorest people are also those who have the least power.

4. Using compound quantifiers instead of much / many

Much and many are unusual in positive sentences, except in expressions such as too much, too many, so
much, so many, very much, very many, etc.
In positive sentences, you can use other quantifiers as an alternative to much/ many. These quantifiers
can also be used in negative sentences and in questions.

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Grammar for IELTS Daw Thuzar Latt (M.A English)

Compound quantifiers + [U] nouns and plural [C] nouns

These quantifiers can be used with both [U] and plural [C] nouns:

a lot of / plenty of

The verb will be either singular or plural depending on the noun before it. Singular nouns (including
uncountable nouns) require a singular verb. Plural nouns require a plural verb.
➢ [C] Food additives and preservatives are not popular with a lot of consumers.
➢ [C] a lot of people spend too much time looking at a screen.
➢ [U] Parents spend a lot of time and energy bringing up their children.
➢ [U] A lot of value is placed on success.
➢ [C] Climate change is pushing plenty of species to extinction.
➢ [U] Plenty of evidence shows that fossil fuels are partly to blame for global warming.
➢ [U] There is plenty of evidence that fossil fuels are partly to blame for global warming.

Both a lot of and plenty of may be used in IELTS Writing Task 2. However, do not overuse these
quantifiers. It is recommended that you sometimes use other quantifiers in order to show flexibility.
Note that loads of and lots of are not listed because they are considered too informal.
Also note that plenty of cannot be used in a negative form unlike a lot of. For example:
➢ Not a lot of people exercise enough these days.

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Grammar for IELTS Daw Thuzar Latt (M.A English)

Quantifiers Exercises

1. Underline the correct word in italics.

1 Owing to high taxation, very many / a lot small businesses find it difficult to survive.
2 In my opinion, employers should assume any / some responsibility for the health of their staff.
3 Company uniforms may be good advertising, but not all / some employees like wearing them.
4 Too many / Plenty advertisements encourage children to eat junk food.
5 Not having some of / enough practical experience is a serious handicap when applying for a job.
6 Most / More, though by no means any / all, major human epidemics seem to come from the use
of animals for food.
7 Any of / Much of the entertainment we consume every day does not demand any / some
intelligence.
8 Watching a good comedy show can offer any / some comfort when you are sad or under stress.
9 If everybody / anybody spoke the same language, countries would lose much / many of their
uniqueness.
10 Not more / all countries have enough / any qualified language teachers.

2. Complete the sentences with both / either / neither / all / none as appropriate. Use each of these
quantifiers twice.

1 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ violent films affect our thinking and our emotions much more than we realize.
2 We all like nature, but _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of us seems to genuinely care for the environment.
3 If _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of the children who spend two or more hours online every day started
exercising, obesity might decline.
4 Children in households where _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ parent works are of course much more likely to
be in poverty.
5 Even in households where _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ the father and the mother work full-time, it is the
mother who is responsible for most of the child care.
6 Nobody knows what the future holds for radio and newspapers, but there is a risk that _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ of these media will disappear unless they adapt.
7 Radio and newspapers are becoming less popular because _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of these media
manages to adapt adequately to the Internet era.
8 Although newspapers, TV and the Internet have become part of our everyday life, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ of these media has brought about a real cultural revolution.
9 Music lover often have a laptop or a smartphone at hand as _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ device can be used
to listen to music online.
10 I believe it would also be beneficial to teach yoga or meditation at school, as _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
of these activities could improve students' motivation and concentration.

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Grammar for IELTS Daw Thuzar Latt (M.A English)

3. Complete the sentences with the correct Present Simple form of the verb to be.

1 None of us _ _ _ _ _ exempt from suffering and life's hardships.

2 Sometimes it seems that all the news we get _ _ _ _ _ bad news.
3 Good teachers know that each of their students _ _ _ _ _ individual learner with specific skills and
interests.
4 Every student _ _ _ _ _ entitled to be recognized for their efforts as well as for their
achievements.
5 A large number of tourists _ _ _ _ _ attracted to places that are associated with famous historical
figures.
6 When they are having an argument, some people start shouting, while some others just keep
silent. Unfortunately, neither method _ _ _ _ _effective in resolving a disagreement.
7 In my opinion, both Biology and History _ _ _ _ _ interesting to learn.
8 Almost every city _ _ _ _ _ experiencing a traffic problem.
9 Not every tourist _ _ _ _ _ interested in learning about local customs and traditions.
10 When politicians become untrustworthy, people abstain from voting or vote for some they do
not have much confidence in. Either course of action _ _ _ _ _ unlikely to foster democracy.

4. In all of the sentences 1-10 there is a mistake in the use of quantifiers. There is either an
unnecessary word or a missing word.
• If there is an unnecessary word in the sentence, cross that word out (×).
• If a word is missing, insert it in the right place (✓).

1 After secondary school, a lot of young people dream of going to university or finding an
interesting job, but for many of them either of option is simply impossible.
2 As all good teachers know, every of student in a class has some hidden talent.
3 Every year, great number of graduates are unable to find jobs.
4 For a good number of years, the United States and China have been economic superpowers, and
the both countries have been vying for supremacy.
5 In many countries, large amount of waste from landfills and dumpsites flow into the rivers or into
the sea.
6 In order to make sense of the present, I believe we need to have little understanding of the past.
7 It is a pity that people seem to have a little understanding of the reality of global warming.
8 Major cities are trying to make life easier for cyclists, but there is still plenty scope for
improvement.
9 We should remain optimistic and trust that there will always be few people who are ready to
help in times of trouble.
10 The government should be worried about the fact that a few young people are feeling optimistic
about the future.

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