IELTS Grammar Topics
Academic Writing: Quantifiers & Fractions
1. Quantifiers only used with countable nouns
Few (of the) meat products were sold in 2005. (few = a very small amount)
A few (of the) cultural activities were not popular. (a few = 2 or 3)
Several (of the) cities in China experienced population explosions in the nineties.
Many (of the) participants in the survey stated that they preferred Coca-Cola to Pepsi.
The majority of (the) holiday destinations reported an increase in tourist arrivals.
You can use few to mean a very small number. Note, that this is different to a few which means 2 or 3.
You can add of the to identify that this is a quantity from a particular group.
Note that we always use of with majority.
For comparisons:
(Much) Fewer (of the) people chose work-life balance as an important factor than chose having a good boss.
2. Quantifiers only used with uncountable nouns
(Very) Little (of the) damage to land in Asia was caused by overgrazing.
Much (of the) damage to land in Asia was caused by deforestation.
A great deal of (the) time was spent on repairing faulty devices.
Note: you always need of with a great deal
For comparisons:
(Much) Less (of the) damage was caused by overgrazing than by over-cultivation.
3. Quantifiers used with both countable and uncountable nouns
Most (of the) television channels were operating 24 hours a day by 2005.
A lot of (the) dairy products were sold in 2015.
Some (of the) participants preferred to avoid soft drinks completely.
Hardly any (of the) flights were delayed on Tuesday.
Most (of the) pollution was caused by sulphur dioxide in the first decade.
A lot of (the) water was lost due to leaking pipes.
Some (of the) pollution resulted from an increase in the use of cars.
Hardly any (of the) sugar was added to their breakfast products after 2015
Note: you always need of with a lot
For comparisons:
More (of the) shoes were purchased in 2010 than in 1980.
More (of the) metal was produced by the factory in the nineties than in the eighties.