Quantifiers

Finn Hello and welcome to 6 Minute Grammar with me, Finn.

Catherine And me, Catherine. In this programme we’re talking about the words all, every, each, both, either and neither …

Finn …also known as quantifiers. So let’s start by listening to Darren. He’s been talking about how to choose a tablet.

Catherine While you listen, think about this question: Why do customers have difficulty choosing a tablet?

INSERT Darren Should you have either this one or that one? All customers choosing a tablet ask themselves that question because each tablet is slightly different. Take the Apik 1 and the Negus 2. Both tablets have similar specs. While neithe r tablet is heavy, the Negus 2 is lighter. This could make a difference every time you go out. Each of the tablets has 2 gigabytes of RAM, but the Negus 2 is the faster device. And then there ‘s the cost. While neither of them seems much better than the other, the Negus 2 is considerably cheaper.

Finn That was Darren. So we asked you: Why do buyers have difficulty choosing tablets?

Catherine And the answer is: Because each tablet has slightly different features.

Finn Now each , every and all can mean the full amount or total number of something. So we could also say every tablet or all tablets .

Catherine Each and every are followed by a singular noun and verb. We say each tablet has and every tablet has - but all is followed by a plural noun and verb, so it ‘s all tablets have . We could also say all the tablets have , but we don’t use the with each or every .

Finn OK. There’s also a slight difference in meaning between every and each . We often use each when we’re thinking about the individual members of a group.

Catherine That’s right. So to talk about about the features of individual tablets, Darren said each tablet . But here’s what he said later on.

INSERT Darren This could make a difference every time you go out.

Catherine There he’s thinking about all the times, not individual times.

Finn Right. Listen for more quantifiers in this clip.

INSERT Darren
Should you have either this one or that one? Both tablets have similar specs. While neithe r tablet is heavy, the Negus 2 is lighter.

Catherine There we heard the words either , neither , or as some people say, either , neither , and both. We use these quantifiers to talk about two people or things. So in the phrase Both tablets have similar specs, Both tablets means this tablet and the other tablet .

Finn Neither tablet is heavy . That means not this one and not the other one .

Catherine Darren asked: Should you have either this one or that one? Either is used mainly in questions and negatives, to indicate a choice between two, or sometimes more than two, options.

Finn Right. Let’s take a quick look at the verbs we use after both and neither . Listen. Both the tablets have similar specs. Neither tablet is heavy.

Catherine So after both , the verb is positive and plural - have . But after either and neither , the verb is positive and singular - is . Let’s have another clip.

INSERT Darren Each of the tablets has 2 gigabytes of RAM, but the Negus 2 is the faster device. While neither of them seems much better than the other, the Negus 2 is considerably cheaper.

Catherine So we heard each of the tablets and neither of them. You can use all , each , neither , either and both with of and a plural noun phrase - like the tablets - or with a pronoun - like them.

Finn Yes. So you could say both of the tablets or both of them .

Catherine Yes and in this case, each of the tablets means the same as both of the tablets.

Finn Because there are only two.

Catherine Exactly.

Finn But we say each of the tablets has - that ‘s a singular verb - but both of the tablets have - and that’s a plural verb.

IDENT
6 Minute Grammar from BBC Learning English.

Catherine And it’s quiz time!

Finn OK.

Catherine Number one: Which is correct: a) Both of us lives in London. Or b) Both of us live in London.

Finn And the answer is b) Both of us live in London.

Catherine
And let’s do number two: Which is correct? a) Neither of us likes the countryside. Or b) Neither of us doesn’t like the countryside.

Finn
This one… is a) Neither of us likes the countryside.

Catherine Number three: Which is correct? a) Answer each questions. Or b) Answer each of the questions.

Finn The answer is b). Answer each of the questions.

Catherine Fantastic! And that’s the end of the quiz.

Finn There’s more about this at bbclearningenglish.com. Join us again soon for more 6 Minute Grammar.

Both Bye!