Quantifiers

With plural countable nouns	With uncountable nouns	With both
A few / few several many a number of the majority of	a little / little a bit of much a great deal of an amount of	some / any / no plenty of a lot of / lots of most / most of
Example: many students the majority of citizens	Example: a little money a large amount of garbage	Example: some animals no time plenty of people

I. Few / A few, Little / A little

a few and a little have positive connotations while few and Little have negative connotations.

Example: There are a few students in this class who are interested in reading.

(= Some of the students are still interested in reading.)

Example: There are few students in this class who are interested in reading.

(= Nearly all of the students are NOT interested in reading.)

II. Some / Any / No

Some is often used in positive sentences.

Example: My grandpa used to raise some chickens.

There’s some milk left in the fridge.

Any is often used in negative sentences or questions.

Example: The teachers can go home now because there aren’t any students today.

Is there any question that you want to ask?

No is used in positive sentences, but carries negative meaning.

Example: I have no intention of buying the house.

There was no food in the pot.

NOTE: In reality, there are cases in which either some or any can be used.

Example: Do you have some/any money I can borrow?

III. A number of / The number of

We use a number of to mean “some”.

Example: A number of people in USA still believe the Earth is flat.

We use the number of to talk about a figure.

Example: The number of participants in this club is increasing.

IV. Most / Most of

Most + Noun(s)

Example: Most students do not realize the importance of reading.

Most of + the + Noun(s) / Most of + Possessive Adj + Noun(s)

Example: Most of the students in this class are female.

Most of our friends come from Western countries.

The same rule is applied for Much / Much of, Many / Many of, …