Quantity determinativesΒΆ
Item |
Class (CGEL) |
Example |
|---|---|---|
one |
Cardinal determinative |
One student was absent. |
two |
Cardinal determinative |
Two errors were found. |
twenty |
Cardinal determinative |
Twenty people attended. |
both |
Proportional determinative |
Both candidates agreed. |
either |
Proportional determinative |
Either answer is acceptable. |
neither |
Proportional / negative determinative |
Neither option works. |
half |
Fractional determinative |
Half the class left early. |
some |
Existential determinative |
Some students objected. |
any |
Non-assertive existential determinative |
Any solution will do. |
several |
Existential determinative |
Several issues remain. |
a few |
Existential (complex determinative) |
A few questions were raised. |
all |
Universal determinative |
All students passed. |
every |
Universal distributive determinative |
Every child smiled. |
each |
Universal distributive determinative |
Each member voted. |
no |
Negative determinative |
No objections were raised. |
none (of) |
Negative determinative (partitive/fused-head) |
None of the answers was correct. |
many |
Scalar determinative (count plural) |
Many people complained. |
few |
Scalar determinative (count plural) |
Few opportunities remain. |
fewer |
Comparative scalar determinative (count plural) |
Fewer mistakes were made. |
a number of |
Complex determinative + of |
A number of issues were discussed. |
most* |
Superlative scalar / proportional determinative |
Most students agreed. (*context-dependent; can be quantifier with count NP) |