In this article, we will look at the rules for some and any and see examples to illustrate the differences and potential errors in use. This article looks at the basic usage of these words and so learners should appreciate that there are other ways that they are also used. For a more complete explanation, you should look up quantifiers. The general rule is that any is used for questions and negatives while some is used for positive.
Some may also be used for questions, typically offers and requests, if we think the answer will be positive. These work in the same way as some and any. Much may only be used with uncountable nouns while many is used with countable. Again, much and many may also be used in questions if the speaker thinks that the answer will be positive.
It is also possible to produce negative by using no or none. Complete some practice sections on quantifiers from a grammar practice book to get into the habit of using these words correctly. Write dialogue exchanges using questions, negative and positive sentences to practice and have these checked for errors by your tutor or teacher. He or she has a sufficient number of socks unlike the person who has few of them. The dictionary says it means more than a few but not a great number.
In a sentence? Feel free to leave a comment here or on the Facebook page. Your question and the answer could be featured in a future post. Fun topic to debate. It is a problem that the logical part of my brain cannot accept. So I came up with a standard method of applying these terms many years ago. You are spot on with a couple since it commonly is used to refer to 2. From there I tackled few, several and many.
Since few is more than 2 and less than several I decided I would use Four to denote a target area for Few. It is the way that our mind records quantities, and why we are not good at appreciating large quantities. For more on this topic, see here. The father of friends of mine arrived home after a long day at work just in time to settle an argument we were having: How many is a few?
A few means a small amount out of the whole amount. If I have 30 balls and 26 are white then many or most are white.
If Have balls and 26 are white while the remaining are black then 26 is only a few. I grew up in the Boston, MA area and in that area a few was perhaps seven. Of course in that area a cup of regular coffee came with sugar and cream already in it. You also worshed your cahh and paahked in Haaarvud Yahd, and rooted for the Redsawks. I know this is an older comment, but what else is regular coffee if not with cream and sugar?
Me , I drink my coffee black. Unless you are at a Starbucks and you order some concoction. Black is regular. I always considered black coffee to mean no sugar or cream until I had a customer order a black coffee and assume I knew that it would have sugar in it.
While that was not how I interpreted it I understood it if we are only talking about color. I love language variation. Fascinating although sometimes frustrating. There was no easy way to say that in the midwest. A couple means two. A few means a small number. Leave it to the English to have several words all mean the same as a few but not less than a couple.
I pulled out my trusty smart phone and we began to whittle down our disagreement. Then, by a stroke of good fortune we came across your story. We want you to know that we have decided to accept your definitions due to the fell circumstances in which they were decided. To make this sentence more effective, it would read as thus: I saw a group of cats in an alley on the hunt for food.
The distinction in definitions appear to be related to the specific, region or locality you attended elementary school in. The words were taught this way. A couple was 2. Several was considered a vague term with 4 to 8 being the accepted meaning. A dozen was It could be combined with couple, few, and several dozen to give a general estimate. Some and a group as well as a bunch or many could only be defined in the contest used with a bunch and many considered more.
We all know a bubbler and not a fountain is the proper term for the fixture or unit, usually in a public area, you get a drink of water from. A fountain is a place you throw coins in…. Yes, I live in Wisconsin. In my studies to teach English as a Second Language, we were instructed to explain those terms as: a couple is 2, a few is 3 or 4, several is 5 or 6 and many is more than that.
If you mean 3, 4, 6, 7, etc. The only thing I can say for sure is a couple means two. This is closest to my belief, but I was taught that a couple was 2 or 3, no specifically either.
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