When are you going away?
Why have you told me?Deciding on the quantity
Some adjectives can indicate the number or quantity. They
must precede a noun.
There were onlyten players on their team.
There weremany phone calls as a result of the advertise-
ment.
She wonseveral matches.
They showedno interest in the house.
Have youany money?
There aresome biscuits left in the tin.Using ‘few’
‘Few’ is a strange word as it can be used in different ways.
I intend to takea few days off.This indicates the number of days but not when and uses the
indefinite article ‘a’.
There arefew telephones left in the sale.This suggests there are hardly any telephones left and no
article is used.
The few days remaining she spent clearing her desk.COLOURING YOUR WRITING / 73