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Quantitative Adjectives and Pronouns

These  include the following :

a/an , one , some , any , no , none , a little , a few , many , much , lots of , a lot of , and the numerals . They may be used as adjectives only such as a and no , pronouns only such as none , or as both adjectives and pronouns such as some , any ..etc. Except for the numerals which will be discussed later in this book, these forms are dealt with in related pairs .

1.    a / an ,one

Although  a / an is used with a singular noun , it does not always gives the same meaning as one .

         e.g.

         a camel is no good on a mountain . ( = wrong means of  transport ).

          one camel is no good. ( = not enough ).

Since a/ an functions as an adjective only , the pronoun to be used  instead of it is one .

e.g.

I have found a book of yours .

I have found one of your books .

an assistant of his will meet you .

one of his assistants will meet you .

 2. some , any   

     Both of these  forms mean "an unspecified number or quantity ".        Both may funetion as adjectives or pronouns . When used as adjectives they may be followed by either uncountable (quantity) or plural (number) nouns . While some is restricted to affirmative statements , any is used in questions and in negative statements including those with hardly , barely and scarcely .

e.g.

Gave me some money .(adj.)

I want some potatoes , please .(adj.)

We’ve got some fresh fruit . Here’s some . (adj.pron.)

Are there any books in the desk ? (adj.)

There isn’t any water left. (adj.)

Bring us some sugar . There’s hardly any left. (adj.pron.)

Any is also used in conditional sentences and in expressions of doubt.

e.g.

If there’s any trouble ,just let me know.

Lend me some chalk, if you have any.

I doubt if there is any meat left.

Some is used in interrogative statements when the question is actually a request or an invitation .

e.g.

May I get you some biscuits ?

What about some ice-cream ?

Would you mind bringing me some fruit ?