Home Education What Is an Adjective of Quantity? 25 Useful Adjectives, Examples, and More!

What Is an Adjective of Quantity? 25 Useful Adjectives, Examples, and More!

by Louise W. Rice
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There are potentially countless ways to describe a quantity of a thing, but did you know we have a name for that? It’s called the adjective of quantity, and we use it pretty much all the time.

For example, the previous sentence has one adjective of quantity. Did you spot it?

If you haven’t, don’t worry! By the end of this article, you should be able to identify adjectives of quantity, differentiate them from other nouns, and use them in a sentence like a pro.

Let’s get started!

What Is the Adjective of Quantity?

The adjective of quantity is used to describe the quantity of a noun, without actually specifying the exact number.

Any adjective that can show the estimated amount of a noun or pronoun is called an adjective of quantity.

A lot of people don’t know what an adjective of quantity is, yet they use it all the time.

So, think of an adjective that can answer the question “how much?” If you can’t think of one at the top of your head, look at the previous sentence and try to figure out which word is the adjective of quantity.

A lot of people don’t know what an adjective of quantity is, yet they use it all the time.

That’s right! There are two adjectives of quantity in this sentence: “a lot” and “all.”

So, let’s say you come across this sentence:

“I asked the waiter for two cups of coffee.”

Is the word “two” considered an adjective of quantity? No.

First of all, the word “two” is a noun. An adjective of quantity can be either:

  • An adjective that answers the question “how much?”

Or

  • An adjective next to an adverb that answers the question “how much?”

Let’s Put This Into Perspective

The word “enough” can be either an adjective or an adverb. If it’s used in a sentence as an adverb, it’ll go something like this:

“He was generous enough with me.”

The adverb “enough” modified the adjective “generous.” This means that generous enough is an adjective of quantity.

But if we come across “enough” as an adjective, it’ll be something like this:

“There weren’t enough people at the wedding.”

Here, enough is used as an adjective, and since it describes the quantity of the people at the wedding, it’s considered an adjective of quantity.

List of Adjectives of Quantity

Here are 25 of the most commonly used adjectives of quantity:

  1. A little bit
  2. All
  3. Any
  4. Considerable
  5. Double
  6. Enough
  7. Few
  8. Full
  9. Half
  10. Heavy
  11. Insufficient
  12. Less
  13. Lots of
  14. Many
  15. Most
  16. Much
  17. No
  18. Numerous
  19. Plenty of
  20. Several
  21. Significant
  22. Some
  23. Sparse
  24. Sufficient
  25. Too

Common Examples of Adjectives of Quantity

Let’s use these adjectives in a sentence, to better understand how to identify them:

  1. We talked for a little bit
  2. All five children were present
  3. There weren’t any people at the office
  4. The concert attracted considerable attention
  5. I’ll pay you double what he paid you
  6. Have you got enough money?
  7. There were a few people at the park
  8. My room is full of posters
  9. I’ve only had half of my meal
  10. There was heavy snowfall in the morning
  11. I had insufficient storage on my computer
  12. There were fewer people there than I expected
  13. I feel a lot better now
  14. I worked hard for many years
  15. I don’t see you most of the time
  16. He didn’t offer much help
  17. There was no better option for me
  18. We’ve received numerous complaints
  19. I had plenty of time to finish the job
  20. There were several reasons why I said no
  21. I won a significant amount of money
  22. Can you give me some berries?
  23. Open land is sparse in this area
  24. There was sufficient evidence to prosecute him
  25. I’ve had too many apples

Now, take every adjective on the list and use it in a new sentence. Make sure the adjective is placed right before the noun or pronoun, and that the sentence doesn’t specify an exact number.

Pop Quiz!

By now, you should know what an adjective of quantity is and how to use it in a sentence. Let’s see if you can identify the adjective of quantity from the following sentences.

  1. She didn’t have any complaints about the food
  2. I think we have enough chairs for everyone
  3. I’ve lived in this town my whole life
  4. I only ate a little bit of the meal
  5. Do you have any idea where she went?
  6. May I have some water, please?
  7. I don’t have any time for this
  8. From where did you get all of that money?
  9. Many of the animals were rescued from shelters
  10. I don’t think I know any people here

Answers

  1. Any
  2. Enough
  3. Whole
  4. Little
  5. Any
  6. Some
  7. Any
  8. All
  9. Many
  10. Any

If you’ve got all the answers right, congratulations! You can now identify adjectives of quantity like a pro.

If you didn’t get them all right, that’s okay. Familiarize yourself with adjectives of quality and adjectives of number to gain a better understanding of the types of adjectives.

Another way to practice is to open a random book and circle out the adjectives that describe the amount of a noun.

Once you circle out all the words, look them up to see if you got them right.

In Conclusion

There are three types of adjectives: adjectives of quality, adjectives of quantity, and adjectives of number.

To properly identify an adjective of quantity, you have to look at the words that give an indication of the approximate amount of a noun or pronoun.

Familiarize yourself with the concept and study some of the words on this list. Once you’re done, test yourself using our quiz and see how many you got right.

Want another challenge? The previous sentence contains two adjectives of quantity; can you identify them?

Good luck!

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