noteswale
Noteclass 9 10

Quantifiers

Lesson 49 of 84

B1

few / a few / little / a little = almost none vs thoda (positive). Gini jaaye / some / any / much / many / a lot of = topic 20. Extra much / many = I6. too much / enough = topic 34.

1. Kya hai

Quantifier = kitna. Is page pe: almost none vs thoda (positive — kaam chal jaaye).

Gini jaaye (plural) Pani jaisi (uncountable)
Thoda / kuch (positive) a few friends a little time
Bahut kam (negative feel) few friends little time
Kaafi / zyada plenty of chairs / plenty of rice

Noun type topic 20 se aata hai. Yahan few ko time se mat jodo.

2. few / a few / little / a little

Form Matlab Example
a few + plural kuch hain — kaam chal jaaye I have a few friends in Pune. Wait a few minutes.
few + plural almost none — kami / udaas (positive nahi) Few people came. I have few friends here.
a little + uncountable thoda hai — kaafi / add karo I have a little time. Add a little salt.
little + uncountable almost none — kami (positive nahi) I have little time. There is little hope.

only a few / very few / very little = kami aur clear. British extra: quite a few = kaafi saare (kam nahi!). a bit of ≈ a little: a bit of sugar.

a few of the students / a little of the rice jab set khaas ho. Bina noun: I have a few.

3. plenty / fewer / less / none

Form Matlab Example
plenty of + C or U zyada / kaafi, tension nahi There's plenty of rice. There are plenty of chairs.
fewer + plural kam (gini jaaye). Exam me yahi Fewer students came this year.
less + uncountable kam (mass). Superlative: the least Use less sugar. This costs less. (more/most = topic 24)
none / none of zero. Noun ke bina none; no + noun None of the mangoes are ripe. I have no sugar. / I have none.

plenty ke baad noun ho to of: plenty of time, not plenty time.

Informal speech: less people sunai de. Exam / is site: people = gini jaaye → fewer people. a lot of / much / many lamba = topic 20 / I6. too many = topic 34.

British: none of them are aksar. Verb match = topic 51.

4. Examples

Bold = quantifier.

  1. I have a few friends in Pune.
  2. Wait a few minutes.
  3. Few shops are open at noon.
  4. I have few friends here, so evenings are quiet.
  5. Add a little salt to the dal.
  6. We have a little time before the train.
  7. I have little time today. Call tomorrow.
  8. There is little milk in the fridge.
  9. Quite a few people came to the wedding.
  10. There's plenty of rice. Don't cook more.
  11. There are plenty of autos outside.
  12. Fewer students came this year.
  13. Use less sugar in the chai.
  14. None of the mangoes are ripe.
  15. I wanted tickets. There were none.

5. Common mistakes

few time / little friends / a few water
little time / few friends / a little water
I have few rupees — I can pay. (matlab: thoda hai)
I have a few rupees. few = almost none (negative).
quite a few = bahut kam
quite a few = kaafi saare (British)
plenty time / plenty students
plenty of time / plenty of students
less students / less people (exam)
fewer students / fewer people. less sugar.
I have no any sugar. / None sugar.
I have no sugar. / I have none. / none of the sugar
I have much money. / too few hot
a lot of money (topic 20 / I6). too hot = topic 34, not few.
a little friends came / few of milk
a few friends / a little milk / little of the milk
Hindi note. Ginti wale (friends, minutes) = few / a few. Mass (time, rice, milk) = little / a little. a = thoda hai, chalega. Bina a = almost zero, kami. plenty of = kaafi. Countable kam = fewer; mass kam = less.

6. Practice

A. 10 MCQ

1. I have ______ friends in Pune. I can stay with them. (positive, some)
2. Add ______ salt to the dal.
3. I have ______ time today. Call tomorrow. (almost none)
4. ______ people came, so the hall looked empty. (negative)
5. There's ______ rice. Don't cook more.
6. ______ students came this year. (countable, kam)
7. Use ______ sugar in the chai. (uncountable, kam)
8. ______ of the mangoes are ripe. They're all green.
9. ______ people came to the wedding. The tent was full. (British: kaafi)
10. Wait ______ minutes.

B. 5 fill-in

1. I have ______ friends in Pune. I can stay with them. (a few)

2. Add ______ salt. (uncountable, thoda)

3. I have ______ time today. Call tomorrow. (almost none)

4. There's ______ rice. Don't cook more. (plenty of)

5. Sahi karo: I have few time today.

C. 3 sentences

Model answers neeche. Ek a few, ek a little, ek plenty of.

  1. a few (plural): I have a few friends in Pune.
  2. a little (uncountable): Add a little salt.
  3. plenty of: There's plenty of rice.

7. Answer key

MCQ
  1. b) a few — countable, positive some. few = kami. a little = uncountable.
  2. c) a little — salt uncountable. a few salt galat.
  3. a) little — almost no time. a few time galat.
  4. b) Few — empty hall = negative. A few = some came.
  5. c) plenty of — of + noun. plenty bina of galat.
  6. a) Fewer — gini jaaye, exam me fewer. less students informal, yahan nahi.
  7. b) less — sugar uncountable. fewer sugar galat.
  8. c) None — zero of the set. A few would mean some are ripe. A little mangoes galat.
  9. a) Quite a few — British = kaafi. few = kam.
  10. b) a few — minutes countable. a little minutes galat.
Fill-in
  1. a few — friends plural, positive.
  2. a little — salt uncountable, add thoda.
  3. little — almost none (prompt). a little bhi grammatical, yahan kami.
  4. plenty of — of zaroori.
  5. I have little time today. — time uncountable. a little bhi OK if meaning some.
Model sentences
  1. I have a few friends in Pune.
  2. Add a little salt.
  3. There's plenty of rice.

Check: a few/few + plural; a little/little + pani-jaisi; a = thoda (positive); bina a = almost none; quite a few = kaafi; plenty of; fewer people / less sugar; none / no + noun; some/any/much/many/a lot of = topic 20 / I6; too = topic 34.