2015-12-09 Grammar: sg/pl quantifiers and 'of'

Greg Malivuk
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http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk
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Homework: read p. 361 and do p. 362 exercise 4
1 few
2 a little
3 a few
4 little
5 few
6 little
7 a few
8 little

little + noncount = not much (quantifier)
little + count = small (adjective)
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“little” and “few” are grammatically similar to “hardly any” and “almost no”
(“a little” and “a few” are grammatically somewhat similar to “some”, but there are cases where “some” is incorrect like “at least some”)
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p. 363 - singular and plural quantifiers for count nouns
No doctor is allowed to do that. (singular)
No doctors are allowed to do that. (plural)

both/either/neither are like all/any/no when there are exactly two things (but “either” and “neither” are always singular)
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exercise 6
All doctors must complete their residencies within two years. (= in 2 years or less)

Every doctor must complete his residency within two years. (sexist, because women can be doctors)
Every doctor must complete his or her residency within two years. (correct, but it can become awkward if there are many pronouns)
Every doctor must complete their residency within two years. (most common, but some people feel it is incorrect in formal English)
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Homework: read focus 4 (p. 364-365) and do exercise 9 on p. 365