OXFORD LEARNER''''S GRAMMAR 6 ppsx

The articles: ala n and til e 161 Articles in phrases of time A Introduction -In a phrase of time we often use a singular noun without an anicle in winter on Monday Bur we put a t an

The articles: ala n and til e

161 Articles in phrases of time

A Introduction

-In a phrase of time we often use

a singular noun without an anicle

in winter on Monday

Bur we put a t an or the before an adjective + noun

n very cold winter

We also use an article if there is a phrase or clause after the nOun

the Munday before the holiday the winter when we had all cllat snow

In 8-H there are some examples with various kinds of time phrase

B Years

The company was formed in 1981

The war iIlsledfrom 18121018 15

C Seasons and months

If winter comes, can spring be

fllr behind?

It 's nice here in (the) summer

June is my fai lOurite month

The elections are in March

D Special times of the year

I must fin ish this report by Monday

(Monday of next week)

Our visitors are coming on Friday

(Friday of this week)

I'm leaving on the Wednesday before Easter That's the second Wednesday

in April

This happened on a Friday ill July

We usually go out on Saturday I on

Saturdays (; every Saturday)

F Parts of the day and night

At midday it was very hot

They reached the camp at sunset

We ' ll be home before dark

at night, by day/night

161 Articles in phrases of time

We usually go out on a Saturday

Friday 12 May would be OK, but I'm busy on the Thursday (; the

Thursday of that week)

I'll see you at the weekend

It was a wDtlderful sunset

I couldn't see in the dark

in/during the day / the night / the morning/ the afternoon/the evening

In phrases of time we normally use these nouns on their own: dawn,

da)'break, sunrise; midday, noon: du sk, sunset, twilight; dark, nightfall; midnight But we use af an or the when we talk about the physical aspect, e.g not being able to see in the dark, rather than about the time

G Meals

Breakfast is from seven o 'clock

I had a sandwich for lunch

H Phrases with last and next

The breakfast we had at the hOlel

wasn't very nice

They all had a delicious lunch

The meal was perfect

These fiats were built last year The flats had been built the previous

year/the year before

We're having a party next Saturday They were having a party tile

following Saturday

Compare these phrases

Seen from the present

I'm leaving tomorrow

The mat c h is !lext week

Seen from th e past

I was leaving (the) next day

The match was , the following week

The articles: a l an and th e

162 Names

A Most names of people and places are without, the,

Daniel Mrs Par sons Texas South Australia

Some place names have the, especia y names consisting of more than one

word, but there are others which do not have the For example, we say th e Black Sea but Lake Sup e ri or, Two things affect whether a name has the or not They are the kind of place it is (e,g a sea or a lake), and the grammatical

structure of the name We often usc the in these structures,

Of-phrase:

Adjective:

Plural form:

th e Duke of Edinburgh the Ame ri can S h ol the Joh" sonsl the Johnson family

We do not usually Wie th e before a posses ive

Possessive: C l eopat ra' s Need l e

the Isle of Wight the Ro ya l Ope r a llou se the Wes t Indies

For more details about place names and the > 163

N TE

A noun su ch as doctor , profe ~s or, o r pre s idem can be part of a p er s o 's name

J s aw Doctor Fry

But when the noun i s nOI part of a name, w e lISC a n article In t h e u sual w ay

J saw the doctor

B We can sometimes use an article with a person's name

There's a Laura whu works in our office ( = a person c lled Laura)

A Mr Wilsoll called to see YOf.t ( = someone called Mr Wilson)

The Laura I know has dark hair ( = the person called Laura)

That' s a Hockn ey, is n ' t it? (= a picture by Hockney)

Here are some examples of al an and zhe with place names which normally

There 's a Plymouth in the US ( = a place c lled Plymouth)

The Plymouth of today i s very different from tlte Pl y mouth I o ce knew

(Plymouth at different times)

Ams terdam is th e Venice of the norch (= the place like Venice)

Stressed (h e !fJi:! before a name can mean 'tne famolls

I kno,w a Joan C ollins, but she i sn' t TH E joan Collins

We can also stress a l eI! to contrast with the :

1 know 1 \ joan Collins, but s he isn't THE joa~l Collins

210

For some general points about place names and the , > 162A Here the different types of place name are dealt wirh in more detail

163 Place names and the

A Continents, countries, and states

Masl continents, islands, countries,

states, and counties are wilhout the

When the name of a continent or Most other regions have the

country (e.g America) is modified by

another word (e.g Centra!), we do

not use the

Central America to North Wales

South·East Asia in New England

o Lakes, rivers, and seas

Lakes are without the

beside l.ake Ontario

the Sou th the Mid- West the Midlands the Riviera

A velY few mountains have the

the Matterhorn the Eiger

Mountain ranges and hill ranges have the

across the Alps

in the Cots wolds

Rivers, canals, and seas have the

on the (River) Avon the Missouri (River)

building the Panama Canal the NortFi Sea

in the Pacific (Ocean)

The art icles: al a n and t h e

E C i i es and t owns

F

G

212

Most ci tie s towns, suburbs

and villages a e without the

in Sydney

Ki n gswood, a suburb of Bristol

a Nether Wa ll op

Roads and streets

Most roads, streets and

parks ar e wil ham ' he

off SlO.tion // oad

Some br i dges are without t he

across Magdalen Bridge

We s tmin ste r B r idge

nea r Tower Bridge

This includes the major

the Bat h Road (; the road to Bath)

We can also use the with some main road s in cities

along t he Edgware Road

We use the with by - passes and motorways

t h e York by - pass

th e M6 (motorwayJ

Other exceptions to the general ru l e are

T h e Avenue, T h e Mall, and The Strand

But there arc also bridge s w ith the

th e Sydney Harbou r Bridge

t he H umbe r B r idge (; the bridge

over the Hu mber)

The i s used in American English

l he Quee nshoro ' Bridge

H Stations, churches, schools, etc

Most lTanspon facilities, churches,

schools, and other important

buildings, as well as palaces and

houses are without the

in Slough General Hospital

Leeds Town Hall

behind Buckingham Palace

at Cla r ence House

Theatres, hotels, etc

With theatres, cinemas, hotels,

museums, gallenes, and centres, we

usually lise the except with a

possessive form

St Marrin 's (Theatre)

Claridge's (Hale/)

When the first word of the phrase is a

place name (e.g York), we can

sometimes use the phrase without

the

in York Museum

Some US names with cefiter are

without the

near Rockefeller Center

J Shops and restaurants

Most shops arc without the

shopping at Harrod 's

in Next

A restaurant can be without the if it

has a possessive form

at Charley's (Restaurant)

163 Place n ames and the

VVe lise the when there is

the Royal High Schoo l the Old Town Hall the White Hous e

Normally we use Lhe

the Prince Edward (Theatre)

I saw it at the Odeon (Cinema ) the Dorset (Hotel)

the Science M meum

the National Gallery shopping in the Metro Centre

We use the with building

the Chrysler Building

We use the with shops and restaurants when there is an adjective or noun modifier

the Kilchen ISfi op

at the Old Bakehouse (Restaurant)

Most pub names have the

at the Red Lion (Inn)

In this conversation four people are discussing a date for a meeting

Emma: What about Friday?

Luke: I'll just look in my diary

Emma: Have you got your diary, Tina?

Tin(t:

Jason:

Luke:

J chink so

I haven ' t gOl mille with me

I can 't come Oil Friday, We're giuing a party for one of our neighbours /t 's her birthday

We use possessives to express a connection, often the fact that someone has

something or that something belongs to someone My diary is the diary that belongs to m'e The possessive form of a noun has the same meaning > 1328

Luke 's diary our neighbour's birthday

There are possessive determiners (my, your, etc) and possessive pronouns

( mine yours etc) Possessive determiners come before a noun

our neighbour her birthday some of your friends

my diary (N01 ' fite-diary-o~ on IhHtly-t1'~ry)

Possessive determiners are sometimes call~a 'possessive adjectives'

We leave out (he noun when it is clear from the context what we mean, for

example when the noun has just been mentioned We usc a possessive pronoun (e.g mine ) instead of a possessive determiner + noun

(e.g my diary)

I'll just look in my diary - I haven't gOl mine with me

I LOok LiSll in my car because h e r s had broken down

I've gOl my opinion, and I'm sure you've go t yours

A possessive pronoun can be a complement

I s this diary yours? No, I think it's Luk~'s

(NOT n-fhi:! tiia" fB YBU? OR -lH1tffl-dtttrY-0fyotff)

NOTE

For my one, your one, etc, , 1 79C Note

B Form

DClenniners

Singular First person my pen

Second person your number

Third person his father

her decision

its location

His is male, and her is female

Luke's father his father

Emma's father -+ her father

164 Possessives

Pronouns Plural Singular Plural

our house mine Ollrs your coats yours yours their artilude his theirs

hers

Its refers to something not human or to a place or an organization

the roof of the car its roof

the country's expor t s -+ its exports

Their is the plural of his, her, and its

Luke and Emma's father -+ their father

the interests of the two countries ~ their interests

His can be either a determiner or a pronoun

Has James got his mobile?

I've got my mobile, but james hasn't got his

Its is a detenniner but not a pronoun

The restaurant is famous for its good food

We avoid using its without a following noun

The east-coast route has its advantages, and the west-coast route has its advantages £00 (NOT au: /:Veil eatiSf IOttU htt:!J its latJ.)

We do not use an apostrophe with a possessive (NO T y&t.tH )

Note that it 's is a short form of it is or it has, > 290C

C Possessives with parts of the body

We normally use a possessive with people's heads, arms, legs, etc, and their clothes, even if it is clear whose we mean

What's the matter? J've hurt my ba ck (N OT Fbt flUi t the baek.)

We all gal out of the car to stretch our legs

He just stood there with his hands in his pockets

But we usually use the in this pattern where a person is the object

Verb Person Prepositional phrase

The stone hit the policeman on J Ire head

Someone pushed me in the back

Possessives and demonstratives

We use the in the equivalent passive sentences

A poli ce man was hit on the head

Compare these examples

The SlOne hil him on the Jz ead

H e h ad a bandage ro"nd his h ead

A person is the object (him ) only in the first example

o A friend of mine

My friend means a definite person, the person I am friends with To talk

about a person I am friends with, we say one of my friends or a fri e nd o min.e

one of my friends I a friend of mine

so me of my friends I so me fri e nds of mine

Here ar c some examples of this of-structure

I lik e The St rok es I'm a fan of th ei rs

My bro the r h as just seen an old girlfriend of his

Didn ' t yo u borrow some CDs of min e?

I d n ' t th ink m y privat e lif e is any business of yours

We can also use the possessive form of names and other nouns in the

of-structure

We m e l a cous in of Nic ola's

T h ese ar e ju s t some papers of my jlatmate 's,

NOT I :

In informal specch we can use t" is, tllat, th ese, or those

I've bee n lhmki rz g about that suggestion of yours

We can use ow n after a possessive determiner

I'd lov e to have my own flat

S tud erl l S ar e ex p ec ted to contribute their own ideas

My own means 'belonging (0 me and not to anyone else'

There is also a structure with of

I'd love a Jlne of my own

Sometimes own expresses the idea of doing something yourself without help

(; You'll have to make your bed yourself.)

We ca n miss out the noun if the meaning is clear withoUl it

The i deas s h ou ld be your own

On you r own and by yourself mean 'alone'

I dOll't wanlto wa lk home on my own / by my se lf

2 16

165 Demonstratives

NOT E

Very OI U rI IS more emphatic

1 never expected (J little vIllage /0 Ilt we i s very OWl! zoo

J lannah 's dr( ~ am was to ha/lt a pony of lIer /lery OWl!

A In this conversation Debbie is choosing a birthday gifl for her mother

Debbie: I just warll to look at th ese jugs I might buy one Jor my mother

Lauren: Tho se glass ones are nice

Debbie: Yes , this one looks the so rt of t hing s he m i g t l ike

Lauren: Wha t ubuut tll is?

Debbie: I don't like that so much

We use demonstratives to 'point 10' something in the situation This and the s e

refer to something near the speaker That and those refer to things further away_ This and that are singular T h ese and lhose are plural

Singular

Plural

Near Furtl1er away

this colour th a t car

th ese flowers th ose hills

We also usc this and that with uncountable nouns as well as singular ones

th is co ffee th at musi c

For uncountable nouns, > 137

We leave out the n un when it is clear frol11 the context what we mean vVhen

we do this we use a pronoun

Determiner:

Pronoun:

What about thi s jug?

What abou t tli is ?

I like th ose pi c tures

I like tho se

Possessives and dcmonstrativcs

We can use one or ones instead of the noun

What abolll this one?

Th ese one s are nice

B The basic meanings of 'ncar the speaker' and 'further away from the speaker'

apply to both place and time

Place Near: this book ( her e)

these papers ( her e)

Further away: that shop ( there )

those people (t h e re )

Time

at thi s moment (::: now)

the se days (::: now)

at that time (::: then)

in those days {::: then}

When we are in a place or situation or at an event, we use lhis (not that) to

refer to it

This town has absolutely no night life

H ow long is this weather going to last?

This is a great party, isn't it?

We can lise lhallthose with something already seen or talked about but no longer present in the situation

That dress Tanya was wearing looked very smart

Tho se things I bought in the market were really c heap

This usage is rather informal

We use t his when we are talking about something that is about to happen

['m going to enjoy this meal

We use thal for something that is over

That was delicious

We use this or these for the present time

My mother is st a ying with us (his week

Things are different these days

We use rhat or those for lhe past

J remember that terrible storm My moth e r was staying with us that week Things were different in thos e days We didn't even have computers then

NO T E

I n infor mal En glish, this ( in s lCad of a l an ) can IIltrotluce the topic of a story or Jokl~

Tllis girl knocked on ollr door on e day and

The scene IS morc immediate, as if we call sec the gir l in rront of us

C Look at these examples

2J8

Thi s is a great party, Lm'l it ? I'm really enjoying it

These shoes are wet / left th e m outside in the rain

when we mention something a second time, we use it or lhey/them We do not usually use a demonstrative again

165 Demonstratives

o We can use a demonstrative with words for people

that waiter (over ther e) these peopl e (in here)

We can also use the pronouns thi s and that when we identify someone

Mum, this i s my Jriend Leanne."" Hello , Leanne

That was S im on at the door ", Oh? What did he want?

On the phone we use this when we identify ourselves

Hello This is Stev e Is Claire the r e , please?

We usually usc that when we ask who the other person is

I s that you, Mark?

Who is that ? I Who is this ? (US: Who is ",is?)

But we do not usc these c><pressions when speaking face to face

NOTE

We slJlIl clnne s leave oul people after those

Those (peo pl e) who ordered lun ch sllOuld go to th e d i ning-room

E We can use that to refer to a statement or idea mentioned hefore

I haven ' t goz an appointment Oh, that doesn 't maller

Here that means 'the fact that I haven't got an appointment'

Here are n ,o more examples from real conversations

The room.~ are so big Tllat 's why it' s cold

Well, if you h ave n ' l gOlleleuision, y ou can't watch it - Thar's true

Sometimes we can use this , although tha t is more usual

r simp ly haven't gal the money This is / That' s th e prob l em

We use this and that in a number of idiomatic statements 10 express

agreement or to say that someone has made a relevant point

That' s right 11rat 's I.he thing That' s (j u st) it This IS i t

In these expressions we stress the word at the end (righ t, thing , ll)

When we refer fOlward to what we are going to say, we use this

What I'd like to say is this The government has done a great d ea l w

F We can use that or those in this paltern

S e recognized lh e hand wrili ng as that oj her husband

(:: the handwriting of her husband/her husband's handwriting)

Th e best advice I'ue ever had is that which myoid t e a c h er g lll! me

(:: the advice which myoid teacher gave me)

Some l eaves are poisonous, especially those of e vergreen shrubs

(= the leaves of evergreen shrubs)

Th ere's a big diff e r ence be twe en stud i es w hi c h are sc i ent ifi c and thuse

w hi c h are not

(:: studies which are not)

This use of that and tho se is rather formal

Quantifiers

166 Large and small quantities

A quantifier i s a word like many , no , or some It usually cnmes before a noun

many times no ri cke t s some wale r

A quantifier says how many or how much For example, many expresses a

large quantity and 110 expresses zero quantity Which quantifier we use can also depend on whether a nOUI1 is countable or uncountable For example;

we say many bills hut much money for details about the possible

combinations, > 1378

A quantifier can consist of more than one word, e.g lots of, a few

loIs of fUll a few people

We can also use a phrase with number or amounl

a number of problems no amount of effort

We often use an adjective with "umb er or amoulll , e.g small, enormous

a small number of cases an enormous amount of {lJ()ft

Sometimes we· can lise an adverb of degree (e.g l Oa, quite ) with a quantifier

too many e-mails quite a lot of mOtley

For the possible combinations, > 196F

We can lise a quantifier without a noun when the meaning is clear (rom lhe coni ext > 174

J expec t ed to st.#(! Jot s of p eo ple , but there were Dilly a few

In B-E there are some examples of how to express large and sm,IJl quantities

Some of these forms are dealt with in more detail in 167- 174

B A large quantity

220

With either a plural or an uncountable n un

There are a lot oftlols of lellers for you > l67A,B

There ' s masse vheaps/loads of tim e (informal)

Only with a plural noun

Many questions r e main unanswered > 167A,B

A large/considerable number of languages h ave died nUl complete l y

Numerous diffiCUlties were put in m y way

Only with an uncountable noun

We haven 't had much rain lately > 167A,B

A di s hwasher u ses a great deal of electricity

A ia rge/consillerab l e amount of dala h as bee" g ather ed

Adjectives we can usc before numb e r or amounl include co n siderable,

e normous, fair, farge , s ub s tantial, and treme1ldous

1

16 7 A lot of , many , much, a few a litt l e and a b,t of

NOTE

The ver b ag re t: s w ith t he n ou n > 1 46B

" farxe number of ltmguuge s have dIed O ld

C A quantity

With either a plural or an uncountable noull

I n e ed to earn some mon ey > 1 72 A

Only with a plural noun

A numb e r of probl ems have ari se n

Only with an uncountable n un

The machine makes a certain amount of noise

D A small quant ity

Only with a plural noun

I'm having a few days off work > 176C-0

A s mall number of hous es will be buill

The group has only a handful of m embers

Seve ral people we r e inju r ed in the inc id ent (perhaps four or five people)

Only with an uncountable noun

/'II just hav e a littl e water l a bit of water > 167C-0

A c ompute r uses only a sma ll amount of e l ec tr icity

E Zero quantity

There's no milk in the fridge > 172 C

I haven't sent any e-ma ils today > 1 2 A

67 A lot of, many, much, a few, a little, and

A A lot of, lots of, many, and much

These words express a large quantity We use a lot of and lot s of with both plural and uncountable nouns

PLural: The town gels a lot of lIisicorsllots of uisico r s in s umm e r

Uncountable: You ' ll ha ve a l o t of fun/lots of fun at our H oliday Celltre Many goes before a plural noun and mu c h before an uncountable noull

Plural: There ar e n ' t many trains on a S unday

Uncountable: Th e r e isn't much traffic on a Sunday

We can use quite and rather before a lot of (but not before lOI s of, man y,

or much)

We get quite a lot of visitors

Quantifiers

B A lot of , lots of, many, and much in s tatements and questions

As a very general rule, we use u lot ofl lots of in positive statements and nwny

or mu c ll in negatives and questions

Positive: We gel a l ot of visil ors/lo ts of v;siLOrs

Negative: We dan '[ gel mall)' visitors

Question Va you gel many visilOrs? J-/ow mall Y visitors do you gel?

However, therc arc exceptions to this general rule In positive statements we

use many or much (but not a lut ofllots of) after very , so, IOO, as, f ind how Very mall Y c rim es go unreported

I've got so many books there' s no room for any more

nlere's too mu c h concrete around here and flOt e nough grass

1 haven 't take n as many pharos this year

J know ho w mu c h work you've put into til e project

A lot of and lots afare rather more informal than many/muc h In informal

English we can usc a lor olin negatives and questions as well as in positive

s tatemen~s

We don ' t gel a lot of visitors / man y visitors

H ave you done a lot of work / mu c h work on the project?

Mainly in more formal English, we can u.se many and much ill positive

statements as well as in negatives and qucstions

Many voices spoke out in protesl

Ther e ha s heen much c ritici s m of the government's policy

NO TE

We can w,e nut many I IIot milch I lint a lot of + nOlln :IS subject or after a prcpIIsition > lO e

No t many shops were ullen We armJCci witll u o/ (l 1 01 of tllll l! 10 \ / }(Ire

C A few, a little, and a bit of

222

These words mean a small quantity We use them mainly 111 positive

statcmefllS A few gocs before a plural noun; a lilli e and a hil of go before an

uncountable noun

Plural: J took a few photos of the animal s

Uncountable: I'v e s t ill got a littl e money / a bit of monl"Y l efl, fortu nately

We often u e a few in expressions of time

/ saw J ucy a f ew da y s ago

A (liule) bil of means the same as a litt l e but is more informal

fm JUS [ goiug to add a ( littl e) bie Of sa il

We can lise quit e before a few and (l bit of

/ lOok quit e a f ew ph-olUS We 've liad quit e a bit of rain

This means a fairly large quantity, similar to quice a 101 of photos / rain Dilly emphasizes the smallness of the number

f only took a lew photos

This means a smaller numhcr than we might expect

N OTI\

Utile can also be an a dj ec ti ve m e' lIl ing · S Ill' lll in size', e.g (J lilil ej/(ll I (I smrlll flat

168 Whole and part quantities

o few and little

f'ew,lIld little without a have a negative meaning Compare these examples

Do p eo pl e come here on holiday? - Yes, there ar e a few tourists

(= some tourists/a small number of tourists)

Do peuple come h ere on holiday? No , ther e are few touri sts

(= nor many tourists)

Even at th r ee in the morning there was a little traffi c

(= some trafficla small amount of traffic)

Il was three in lh e m orni n g, so th e re was little traffi c

(= not much traffic)

Few and lillle used alone without a arc rather formal In conversation no t many and nor much (tre morc usual

We can use very before few or litt l e

Th e r e are very f ew l ou ri s t ~ her e

( = a vel)' small number of tourists)

E Special patterns with many, few, and little

Many, few, and liltle ~ome lim es come after a determiner e.g Ili s , Ihe , th ese

Tim introduced us LO 0111! of his many gir lfri ends

71r e few hotels in th e area are always full

Only th ese few survivors ar e l ef t t o tell lh e s lOry

I didn '( want ro waste (lie aule money 1 had left

A grem many is a little formaL

A great many c rimes go unreported

NOTE

a T hi s patt e rn v, "ith man y a i s rather literary

Many a s liip IU Lf C Ome to grief off ril e c oast here

Many {I lim e I I!lwe dreamed of s ta rling a Ilew lif e

In Inf orma l pcel.h many limes or lots of lim es would be more usual

Tile dis,uJllanlaKe,~ of lhe scheme are many

This IS rather literary Many before the noun would be more usua1

Tile sc h me ha s many distutvQllcag es

168 Whole and part quantities

A Introduction

To talk about wh le and part quantities, we can use words like all and mo s t

nle s lOry i s in all (oj) the newspapers (Ihe whole group)

The bed wk c!s lip most of th e space in here (the greater part)

We often use o[with wh le and part quantities

Some quantifiers can express either large/small quantities or whole/pan

quantities They include a JOI of much, many, a f ew, and a little

Quantifiers

I found a lot of information on the

Int erne t (<1 large amount)

We didtz't see mall)' protesters on the

streets (a large number)

The artist sold a few painlings

(a small number)

Some pages were missing

(a number)

We can lise an uncountable noun

(in/ormation) Dr a plural noun

(protesters , paintings pages) when

expressing large or small quantities

The artist sold a few of his painting s

(a small part of the total)

Some of tile pages were mlssing

(a part of the total)

Some of the book was missing

(n part)

We often use of + determiner

(/lie, his) + noun As well as an

uncoumablc or a plural nOUll , we

can also usc a singular noun (book)

In B-Ii there are some examples of how to express whole and part quantities

Some of these forms arc dealt with in more detail in 169-174

B The whole

All (oj) the tickets Itave been sold > 169B

The whole lof the) show will be televised live > 169D

Every seat will b e occupied > 171

C The greater part

I slept through most of the film > 169A-B

o A large part

A lot of the passengers 011 tile plane were backpackers

Many of the spectators left before the end

I spend much of my tim e (Jlaying golf

E A part

[an swered some of tl,e exam questions > 172D

J did part of the exa m > 172C

F Numbers

224

About a hundred of the spectators left before the end

J ans wered six of the exam quc ! s lioIlS

Two of the apples have gone bad

'69 All, most, half, none, and wh ole

G A small part

A few of the apple s have gone bad

Not many of the motorists were carrying pas se ng e rs

You hav e n ' t read much of that book y e f

H No part

I don't lik e nny of these colours

A We can lise all! most before a plural or uncountahle noun to make a

generalization

Most banks hm / e cash machines

Most pollution c ould be avoided

These sentences are about rabbits, hanks, and pollution in general

Compare these examples

Most of the people here are stranger s to m e ( a specific group of people)

As well as most, we can also use allhe majority ~f and mor e titan half Affhe majority of banks hav e cash machines

More than half (oj) the pollution in the worLd could be alJOided

The opposite is a minority oJ or l ess lhan half

N O TE

a AU + noun i s s om e timc s u s ed 011 w ritt c n i nstructions a b out w hat p eo pl e h a ve to do

All tickets mu s t he s l/ ow " All v isitors report to ReceptIOn

h Fo r a generali z ation w i,h a plur a l noun on Its own , e.g Rabbits l ove g re e n/ oo (l > 15 3

B When we are talking about something more specific, we usc:

All (oj) our rabbits died from s om e disea s e_

Most of the pubs arou.nd h e re se rve food (NO T che-mf1Sl -u / - lfl e pubs )

In this pattern we cannot le ve Ollt of after most ol h on e

We can leave out of after all and half But before a pronoun such as il or

th e m, we always lise of

W e had some rabbit s , blll all of lhem died

Quantifiers

We can usc a I an with half

We waited half all hour I ate half a slice uf toast

Some nouns can follow a half, c.g a Iwlf hour, a half day

I work a half day on Thur s days

But this pattern has a more limited usc than half WI hour or half a day

Tile rabbiLS died We lost th e m ali I all Of th em

Th ese pictures are all quite valuable

The rabbits all died I They all di ed

The pubs around here mostl y serve food

(; Most of the pubs around here serve fuod.)

NOTE

For (Ill wit h out it noun or pronoun :> 174B

C None means 'not any of the group' We use it with the of-structure

None of the ralJbits s urvived I'm afraid they all died

(NOT A#-o/-rhe-rubbiI3 didll 't surbibt: )

Not all means 'fc.werlless than all'

Not all {oft tlte rabbit s died Some of them survived

NOTE

For I/O and 1I00W, :> 174C

o We can use whole as an adjective before a singular noun

Did you li sle n to the whole tape~ (NOT the flll-Ittpe )

'111;S whole id ea is complete l y crazy (NOT tlti $- flll itltffl)

Y()U didn't eal a whole chicken!

We can also use whole as a noun

Did you list e n to tlte whole of ti, e tape?

Compare these examples

We 'fJeTII all day I the whole day on the beach

(We were Ihere from morning till evening.)

We spe nt el'ery day on the beach (every day of our holiday)

226

The police se t up barriers aI bollr ends olthe street (the one and the other)

If you're ambidextrous, you c an write with eit ll e r hand

Ne illi e r of ti, e twillS is a ll es pecially allractiue c hild

(nol the one and not the other)

171 Every and each

B Compare the meaning of bolhl neither and all! none

Two: 80th pnsoners escaped

Three or more: All the prisoners escaped

Neither of the prisoners escaped None of the prisoners escaped

C We use bOlh before a plural noun

BOlh hou.s es are for sale

We can also lise it before a determiner or with the of-structure

Both (oft the lrouses are Jar sale

Both (oj) th ese lellers have been incorrectly addressed

Bulh (oj) her parenb are alcoholics

But we do NOT say fhtd_h-I,ou ,

We can usc bOlh after an object pronoun

Two prisoners escaped, but (h e police caught them both / both of them

It can also come in mid position or after the subject

The learns are both confident of viCLOry

The girls both enjoyed themselves.lThey both enjoyed lilcmsellJcs

NOTE

For the pattern holll her morher and her fnlher > 233E

D We lise eilher and neither before a singular noun

Either way is as good as the other

Neither car is very economical to run

We can also use them in the of-structure with a plural noun

IslAre either o/your sisters married?

Neither of our cars islare very economical to run

Tn positions other than the subject, we usually lise eilher rather than neither

J don't like either of those pictures

This is more usual than Iltke neither of those pictures But we usc neither in

the subject of a negative sentence

Neither of those pictures appeals to me

(NOT Rifherl&Jth~It,3,U; "i£tures~()-me.)

171 Every and each

A We lise every and each before a Singular noun to mean all the members

of a group

There were flags flying from every/each buildiflg

Mike grew more HerUOLtS with every/each minute that passed

A subject with euery and each has a singular verb

Every/Eaelr customer ;s greeled at the door

Juantifiers

B In many contexts eilher e l le ry or each is possible bUI there is a dirference in

meaning Ellery C ustomer means 'all the cusromcrs' and jrnplies a large

individuals, as if we i:\re lhinking of greeting tl~em onc by one

euc/J, a1though either word is possible in these contexts

On the tape 1 cou ld hear ellery word clearly

(all the words, everything that was aid)

The swdent had 10 look lip e ach word in a dictionary

(aU the words one by one)

Every child is conditiolled by its environment

(all children in general)

(all the children individually)

Every usually suggests a larger number than e a c h f ach refers to two or more things, blH every refers to three o r more

Miss il es we r e being thrown from ellery direction/all directions

We often use e!lt'ry to talk about things happening at regular intervals

The noise U!ukes me up evel)' monling

I go to t h e gym every Thursday

Each is pOSSible here hut less usual

In these examples expressing frequency, we u.se ellery but not each

The meeting s are eve ry four weeks (;;; at intervals of four weeks)

We lIisie my mother every other weekend (!: every second weekcnd/on ahemate weekends)

C Wc can use almo s t or nearly with evel)' but not with each

Tllere were flag s flying from almost every buililing

Every s ingle means 'cvery one without exception'

No one was lefr out Every single child wa s give ll a medal

o We can use each (but nO( every) in these patterns

Each of the students has a personal /Utar

Before the visito r s lef t , we gave them eac h/ eacll of them a souvenir Tile winrlers each received a prize

But we call usc every one of + noun phrase This emphasizes the fact that there are no exceptions

Every one of th e students has a per so nal 'V , lO/,

We gaue every olle of them a souvenir

I

For the difference between everyone (two word~) and eve,yone (one word),

> 1808 Note a

22B

Each as an adverb can come after a noun

'fhe ricket s ar e flO each

172 Some, any, and no

E We cannot use a negative verb after every or each Instead we use nOlle and a pO!:>itive verb

None of th e doors was/were lo cked (N OT EtJeryIEoch t/wttS-rH - loeketI )

But not every means 'fewer than all'

Not every door was locked Some of them were open

( N OT Nal Md, daBr WM ttu ; Ireti )

Some with a plural or uncountable 110un is equivalent to a/an with a singular

noun, > 157

You ' ll need some wood, a hammer , and some nails

Here some is usually pronounced !saml or Is m /

Some expresses a positive quantity, Some nails means 'a number of nails' But

any docs not have this positive meaning Vvc use any mainly in negatives and questions

Positive: /' ue gal some nails

Negative: 1 haven't got allY nails

Question: Halle you gOl ally/some nails?

In a negative sentence we use any rath er than some This includes sentences with negative words like never and hardly,

I 'lever seem to have any spare tim e

We ' ve won hardly any games this season

Any is more usual in questions

Ha ve you got any nails? "-Yes / No / I don't know,

Did y ou catch any fish? - Yes, lots I Yes, a few I No, we didn't

But we use some to give the question a more positive tone, especially when making an offcr or request It may suggest that we expect the answer yes Did you catch some fish? (~ I expect you caught some fish.)

Would you like some cornflakes? (0::; Have some cornflakes,)

Co u.ld you lend me some money? (:; Pleasc lend me some money.)

In an if-clause we can use either some or any

If you need some/any help, please let me know

We can lise any in a main clause to express il condition

Any problems will be dealt with by our agelll ,

(:; If there are any problems, they will be dealt with by our agent.)

NOTE

In a negative se ntence or a questIon we can SO mellrlltl S u s c any with a singul;u nOlln

I w rote to the company , but I didn'l get a r ep ly / any reply,

00 you haw a mew/a ny mew on ri,e maIler?

AllY is rather more emphatic than a here In the fir s! example we cn n lise any to e mpha S iz e the fact lhal there was no reply But III general alan Is morc llSU;t1 We say I haven't gOl (I