Adjectives of quantity, number and order answer the questions: How much? How many? What position?

Examples of adjectives of quantity are: some, any, little, much, enough, several.

Examples of adjectives of number are: five, eleven, fifty-six.

Examples of adjectives of order are: first, third, seventy-third.

Adjectives of quantity, number and order are placed before the noun they refer to, or after the linking verb, “to be” (is, are, was, were).

  • Now that you are twenty-one, you are an adult.
  • Every child in the room got a sweet.
  • Each person was responsible for his own safety.
  • Are there some potatoes in the bag?
  • Do we have enough sugar?
  • There is not much action on the soccer field.
  • Several people have complained about the noise.
  • That is the third time I have asked you to be quiet.
  • I was last in line at the bank.
  • The first question was difficult.

    • Adjectives of quantity and number both describe amounts: adjectives of quantity tell us how much of something there is, but adjectives of number tell us how many of something there are. So, while adjectives of quantity always describe an approximate quantity, adjectives of number describe an exact amount. Examples:

    Few people came to the meeting. (adjective of quantity)
    Three people came to the meeting. (adjective of number)

    To answer the question ‘How many’ you need an adjective of number. To answer the question ‘how much’ you need an adjective of quantity.