Unit 2 Determiners.ppt

ii) (A) few, (a) little a few/ a little: a positive evaluation on the part of the speaker, few / little: a negative evaluation. When a few is preceded by quite or not, it does not denote the idea of small quantity but that of “a fair number (of)”. Likewise, a good few also denotes the idea of “a considerable number (of)”, e.g.: Quiet a few of us are getting worried. Youll have to wait a good few weeks. Less/Least: the comparative / superlative degree of little, commonly go with mass nouns物质名词. iii) Some, any As an assertive word, some is generally used in affirmative sentences, and any, which is a nonassertive word, is generally used in negative or interrogative sentences, in conditional sentences or in sentences with negative implications. When some occurs in questions, it is implied that the speaker expects an affirmative answer. expecting letters: Are there some letters for me? showing hospitality to his guests: Would you like some chocolate cake? When some is followed by a singular count noun, it means a certain (某一) instead of “一些”. When any is followed by a singular count noun, it denotes the idea of no matter which (任何一个), eg: Some boy has broken a window. Any child can answer that question. iv) All, both, every, each, either, neither, any All the items with the exception of any: both as determiners and as indefinite pronouns every: a determiner only. a) To express the idea of “全体”, we can use all and both. All: the whole of three or more than three, Both: the whole of only two. The negative forms of all and both are respectively none and neither. None, which means no one, can be used both for personal and for impersonal reference, while no one for personal reference only, e.g.: None of the students failed the exam. Ill have none of your stupid ideas. No one in the class failed the exam. b) To express the idea of “每个”, we can use every and each. 1) Every: cannot be used to speak of only two people or things, or in phrases like “each of the boys” / “