Quite a few, hardly any, each, neither, none of

  • B2 · Upper-intermediate
  • Grammar lesson
  • 60 min
  • quantifiers

Quantifiers for B2: few, a few and quite a few; little and a little; hardly any; much, many, a lot of and plenty of; each and every; both, either and neither; none of and most of. From a volunteer group's report on a beach cleanup to a survey of your own life.

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quite a fewhardly anyneithernone of

What's in the lesson

  1. 1Warm-up
  2. 2Reading: beach cleanupReading comprehension
  3. 3What does it mean?Grammar exercise
  4. 4Plural, uncountable or both?Grammar exercise
  5. 5QuantifiersGrammar rule
  6. 6Choose the right quantifierGrammar exercise
  7. 7Both, either, neither, each, every, noneGrammar exercise
  8. 8Build the sentencesGrammar exercise
  9. 9Say it naturallySpeaking practice
  10. 10Both of us, neither of usSpeaking practice
  11. 11About youGrammar exercise
  12. 12Wrap-up

Homework

  1. 1Homework: our street surveyGrammar exercise
  2. 2Homework: which is right?Grammar exercise
  3. 3Homework: a group eventDiscussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

  1. Have you ever taken part in a cleanup or a volunteer day? What was it like?
  2. What kind of trash do you see most often in your town?
  3. Do you think people in your country recycle enough?

Grammar rule

Quantifiers

How much and how many

with plural nounswith uncountable nounswith both
a few, few, quite a few, several, many, a large number ofa little, little, much, a great deal ofa lot of, plenty of, hardly any, some, any, most, all

a few / a little = some (positive). few / little = not many / not much (negative). quite a few = a fairly large number. hardly any = almost none. plenty of = more than enough. Much is most common in questions and negatives (How much sugar do you take? I don't have much patience); in positive sentences, people usually say a lot of (I have a lot of patience). Many is fine in positive sentences, especially in writing (Many people agree), but a lot of is more common in conversation.

Each, every, both, either, neither, none

WordMeaningExample
eachevery member of a group, one by one (a group of two or more)Each player has a number. Each of the players…
everyall the members of a group of three or moreI've read every book in the series. (not every of: say every one of the books)
boththe two together, with a plural verbBoth answers are right.
eitherone or the other of two (either … or: one of two choices)You can park on either side of the street. Either my mom or my dad will pick you up.
neithernot one and not the other of twoNeither answer is right. Neither of the answers is right.
none ofnot one, of three or more (or not any, with an uncountable noun)None of my friends could come. None of the money was left.
Each, every, either and neither + a singular noun take a singular verb: Each room has a balcony. Each of + a plural noun takes a singular verb too: Each of the rooms has a balcony. After neither of and none of + a plural noun, a singular verb is more formal, and a plural verb is common in speech. Hardly any is already negative: not hardly no or didn't find hardly any.

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