量詞(QUANTIFIER) a lot of,lots of,plenty of,a great deal of,a good deal of,a large amountof,a small amount of,a quantity of,a great number of,a good number of 等。
a) 中位限定詞包括a(n),the,zero; this,that,these,those; my,your,etc; Merry's,my friend's; some,any,no,every,each,either,neither,enough; what(ever),which(ever),whose等
b) 前位限定詞包括all,both,half; double,twice,three times,etc; one-third,two-fifths,etc; what,such,(a / an)等
c) 後位限定詞包括one,two,three,etc; first,second,third,etc; next,last,other,another,etc; many,much,(a) few,(a) little,fewer,(the) fewest,less,(the) least,more,most; several,plenty of,a lot of,lots of,a great / large / good number of,a great / good deal of,a large / small amount of; such等
表示"多"的意思,可用many,much,a lot of,lots of,plenty of等。但是many,much常用於否定句和疑問句,而a lot of等則常用於肯定句。 I haven't seen many English films. 多數英文電影我沒看過。many修飾可數名詞 I haven't done much work today. 我還沒有做多少活呢。much修飾不可數名詞 many / much常用於否定句和疑問句並不是絕對的,尤其是在下列場合many / much也常用於肯定句:
a) 用於whether / if引導的賓語分句中。 I doubt whether / if there'll be many people at the show on this rainy day. 我懷疑在這個雨天裡會有很多人看錶演。
b) 用於由"how / too / so / as+ many / much (+中心詞)" 構成的名詞詞組中。 He took so many boxes with him that he had to call a taxi. 他身邊帶著太多的箱子,不得不叫計程車。
c) 用於在句首作主語以及在"存在句"中作實義主語的名詞詞組中。 Many people would like to take holidays abroad. 許多人喜歡去國外度假。
2) (a) few,(a)little
表示"少"的意思,可用(a) few,(a) little,既可用作限定詞,也可用作不定代詞。a few,a little表示"少量",帶有肯定意義。 Here are a few more books on this subject. 在他的課題上有少量的書。
few / little 若不與a 連用則表示-否-定-意義,相當於not many / much,not enough。 I have very few (chocolates) left. 我剩下不多的朱古力。
little 的比較級和最高級是less 和least,通常只能用與不可數名詞搭配,但在當代英語中也有用less與複數搭配的。 If only there were less holes in the roof. 如果房頂僅是少量洞。
3) some,any
要表示"一些"的意思,可用some,any。some 是肯定詞(ASSERTIVE WORD〕,常用於肯定句;any是非肯定詞(NONASSERTIVE WORD〕,常用於否定句或疑問句。 I seldom get any sleep these days.
any也常用於條件分句以及帶有否定含義的句子中: I forgot to ask for any change. 我忘了要一些零錢。
當some與單數可數名詞搭配時,some相當於a certain("某一"〕的含義;而any與單數可數名詞搭配,則相當於 every("任何一個"〕的含義 Any child could answer that question. 任何一個孩子都可以回答這個問題。
4) all,both,every,each,either,neither,any
這一類詞,除every只能作限定詞外,都是既可作限定詞,也可作不定代詞。
any boy / any (one) of the (three or more) boys,
a) 表示"全體",可用all 和both,但all表示三個或三個以上人或物的"全體",而both則表示兩個人或物的"全體"。 All the four applicants are below the average. 所有這四位申請者都在平均數以下。 如果要表示"全體都不"的意思,當"全體"為三個或更多的人或物時,通常用none。 None of the students failed the examination. 沒有一個學生考試失敗。 如果要表示兩個人或物"都不",通常要用neither: Neither student / Neither (one) of the (two) cars was made in Japan. 兩輛車沒有一輛產自日本。
b) 表示全體中的"每個",如果這個"全體"包含三個或更多的人或物,通常用every。 Every student in the class took part in the performance. 這個班的每個學生都是這個表演的一部分。 如果這個"全體"包含兩個或兩個以上的人或物,便可以用each Each / Every side of the square was crowded with people. 廣場的邊上擠滿了人。 every 與each 的區別還在於every 指許多人或物中的"每個",側重在全體,近乎all的含義: Every student failed the examination. = All the students failed the examination. 所有的學生都考試失敗。
c) 表示全體中的"任何一個",也要看這個"全體"是包含三個或更多,還是只包含兩個。當"全體"包含三個或三個以上,要表示其中任何一個須用any。 Any (= Every) child would know that. 每個孩子都知道這個。 當"全體"只包含兩個時,要表示其中任何一個須用either。 We have two copies left. Keep either (copy) for the file. 我們有兩份考貝剩下,為檔案保持其中的一份。
但在on either side,on either end等固定詞組中有時可以兼指兩個。 There are stairways at either end of the corridor. 走廊的兩頭都有樓梯。