or two
one or two things |
a day or two
quantity
( LITTLE | NEXT | BUT ) TO NO + noun
I have little to no interest in politics. (I have very little or no interest in politics.)
There is next to no evidence for his claim. (There is almost no evidence for his claim.)
She left but to no avail. (She left but it was useless.)
( LITTLE | NEXT | BUT ) TO NO + noun Read More »
to a large extent
In the English Vocabulary Profile, at B2, or at B2+ in the GSE, ‘extent’ is listed in phrases with ‘to’. It refers to: the size or importance of something | how big, important, or serious something is mainly in some ways A search in NOW corpus for: to_II * * extent 1 TO A LARGE EXTENT
A noun OF noun (quantity expression) ‘a piece of paper’
A2 point 26 in the category of NOUNS is defined: QUANTITY EXPRESSIONS: refer to an individual example or quantity of an uncountable noun using words for containers and countable items. a search in iWeb for: a_AT _NN1 of _NN1 *we have removed examples that don’t match the grammar. 5 A PIECE OF PAPER 27250 Student
A noun OF noun (quantity expression) ‘a piece of paper’ Read More »
adjective + noun + preposition + noun (noun phrases)
In this post, we are interested in discovering the most common noun phrases that follow the adjective + noun + preposition + noun pattern. It was a short period of time. In the above example, the noun ‘period‘ is the head noun of the noun phrase. A search in iWeb for _JJ _NN _I _NN
adjective + noun + preposition + noun (noun phrases) Read More »
millions | loads | tons + of (hyperbole)
Here are some examples of how quantifying determiners can be used in a non-literal and non-academic way:
I have TONS OF THINGS to do this weekend, but the party might be LOADS OF FUN.
I told you MILLIONS OF TIMES that housework and study are more important than your parties!
millions | loads | tons + of (hyperbole) Read More »
A LOT | MUCH (subject pronouns)
This passage discusses the use of “a lot” and “much” as subject pronouns in English. It provides examples of how these words are used in sentences, as well as the frequency with which they appear in the iWeb corpus. The passage also discusses the C1 and C2 levels of these words in the EGP and EVP.
A LOT | MUCH (subject pronouns) Read More »
quantifying determiner + OF + possessive determiner + noun phrase
When a quantifying determiner and a possessive determiner are used together before a noun, they indicate the quantity of something that belongs to someone or something else. For instance, in the sentence “For most of my life, I was terrified of ghosts,” the phrase “most of my” signifies a large portion of the speaker’s life. Similarly, in “All of our fathers enter our doors feeling hopeless,” the phrase “all of our” refers to every father associated with a certain group. In “Many of his senior team thought he was crazy,” the phrase “many of his” denotes a large number of a specific group associated with a person.
quantifying determiner + OF + possessive determiner + noun phrase Read More »
a | every + SINGULAR NOUN
In the English Grammar Profile, A1 point 1 in the category of DETERMINERS/quantity is defined:
limited range of quantifying determiners with singular nouns (‘a’, ‘every’) determiners: articles
Here are two examples showing a limited range of determiners:
A man had A problem.
EVERY person wanted to play A game.
a | every + SINGULAR NOUN Read More »
not + any | many | much + NOUN
In negative contexts, “much” and “many” denote a small amount or number of uncountable and countable nouns respectively. “Any” implies the absence of something, applicable to both countable and uncountable nouns. For instance, “Not many companies can build planes” implies a small number of such companies. “There’s not much difference between them” suggests a minimal difference. “I don’t have any apples” means zero apples are present.
not + any | many | much + NOUN Read More »
quantity phrase + uncountable noun
The English Grammar Profile (EGP) claims that there are over 1000 grammar points in its inventory. However, there are numerous points that are overlapping. This post shows 3 posts that overlap and clash at other levels. B1 point 34 in the category of NOUNS is defined as: uncountable nouns with an increasing range of determiners/quantity
quantity phrase + uncountable noun Read More »
some | any | each | a few + of + PRONOUN
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 49 in the category of PRONOUNS/quantity is defined as: increasing range of pronouns (‘some’, ‘a few’, ‘any’, ‘each’) with ‘of’ followed by an object pronoun. An iWeb search for: some|any|each of _P 1 SOME OF THEM 180790 TLC SPEAKING TEST EXAMPLE: There are many types of chocolates in this world, but unfortunately, I‘m a fussy girl and I just like some of them. female, India,
some | any | each | a few + of + PRONOUN Read More »
too | so + much
We use too before an adjective or adverb to mean ‘more than we need or want’. For example:
This shirt is too big for me.
You are driving too fast.
We use too much or too many before a noun to mean ‘more than we need or want’. For example:
There is too much sugar in this cake. (uncountable noun)
There are too many people in this room. (countable noun)
We use so much or so many before a noun to mean ‘a large amount of something’. For example:
I have so much work to do. (uncountable noun)
She has so many friends. (countable noun)
a little | bits of | a bit of | a bit of a | a little bit of
‘BIT’ related to quantity is countable = a bit of … bits of … For example: By inserting those genes into yeast, we could produce little bits of that smell and be able to, maybe, smell a little bit of something that‘s lost forever. TED A2 in the English Vocabulary Profile: bit = a small amount or piece of something B1 in the Oxford Learner Dictionary: [countable] bit of something (especially British English) a small
a little | bits of | a bit of | a bit of a | a little bit of Read More »
adverb + determiner
Here are a few examples of determiners premodified by intensifiers. There are hardly any phone booths left in this city. TLC male India B1 We have nearly all the big automobile companies. TLC male India, B1 It took me virtually no time at all. Listen to this expert example B1 point 48 in the category of DETERMINERS/quantity is defined as: modify determiners with adverbs. There is clashing information in the English Grammar Profile. The example
adverb + determiner Read More »
many + PLURAL NOUN ?
Interrogative determiners like “many” are useful in gathering information, quantifying objects or concepts, and framing questions about the quantity of things.
many + PLURAL NOUN ? Read More »
most | enough | plenty of + NOUN
B1 Point 43 in the category of DETERMINERS is defined as: increasing range of quantifying determiners with both plural nouns and uncountable nouns (‘most’, ‘enough’, ‘plenty of’, ‘loads of’). *This overlaps another B1 point. PELIC WRITING CLASS EXAMPLES: Most students eat lunch and dinner in a cafeteria. Korean, Female, Level 3 In addition, the people who lived in Korea 100 years ago didn’t have enough transportation. Korean, Male, Level 3 *Note that
most | enough | plenty of + NOUN Read More »
MUCH + uncountable noun (question)
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 40 in the category of DETERMINERS/quantity is defined as: ‘much’ with uncountable nouns in interrogative contexts. A search in iWeb corpus for: much _NN1 ? 1 MUCH MONEY ? 942 2 MUCH FUN ? 462 3 MUCH WATER ? 400 4 MUCH DIFFERENCE ? 352 5 MUCH POWER ? 289
MUCH + uncountable noun (question) Read More »
several | a few of
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 39 in the category of DETERMINERS is defined as: wide range of quantifying determiners with plural nouns (‘several’, ‘millions of’, ‘a few of’). *Note that if ‘millions of’ is used as hyperbole, then it is a C1 point. TLC, Speaking test examples: There are very few sports cars in Sri Lanka. We don’t
several | a few of Read More »
HALF | ENOUGH + OF + determiner
In the English Grammar Profile, B1 Point 37 in the category of DETERMINERS is defined as: DETERMINER + ‘OF’ + DETERMINER – an increasing range of quantifying determiners (‘half of’, ‘enough of’, ‘none of”) *However, this partly clashes with the B2 Negation point for ‘none of’ Also, note that the ‘enough of’ structure might indicate a
HALF | ENOUGH + OF + determiner Read More »