🎯 Objective
To help learners master the correct usage of key determiners all, none, not (any), enough, and few in various grammatical contexts and improve accuracy in both spoken and written English.
📖 Grammar Focus
Determiners are words that come before nouns to specify which things or people we are talking about. Today we'll focus on five important determiners that students often confuse or misuse.
| Determiner | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| All | Every one of a group | All students passed the exam. |
| None | Not one; zero | None of the answers were correct. |
| Not (any) | Zero amount or quantity | I don't have any money. |
| Enough | Sufficient amount | There's enough food for everyone. |
| Few | Small number (countable) | Few people understand this concept. |
📚 Step-by-Step Guide: Mastering These Determiners
Understanding Determiners
What are Determiners? They are words that introduce nouns and provide information about quantity, possession, or specificity. They help clarify which noun we're talking about and how much or how many.
The 5 Key Determiners Explained
1. 🔄 ALL
Usage: Refers to every member of a group
With countable: All students, all books
With uncountable: All water, all information
Position: All + determiner + noun OR All of + determiner + noun
2. ❌ NONE
Usage: Not a single one; zero quantity
Structure: None of + determiner + noun
Verb agreement: Usually singular verb
Common error: "None student came" (✗) → "None of the students came" (✓)
3. 🚫 NOT (ANY)
Usage: Negative form; zero amount
Structure: Not + any + noun
In questions: "Any" becomes positive
Alternative: No + noun (No students came)
4. ✅ ENOUGH
Usage: Sufficient quantity; adequate amount
Position: Enough + noun OR Adjective + enough
With infinitive: Enough money to buy
Common pattern: Enough + noun + for + person/purpose
5. 📉 FEW
Usage: Small number (with countable nouns only)
Distinction: Few = not many (negative), A few = some (neutral/positive)
Uncountable equivalent: Little (not few)
Emphasis: Very few, quite a few
Common Patterns and Structures
ALL - Pattern Variations:
- All + noun: All students attended
- All of + the/my/these + noun: All of the students attended
- All + time expressions: All day, all week
- Subject position: We all agreed
NONE - Important Rules:
- Always use "of": None of the books
- Singular verb (formal): None of them was ready
- Plural verb (informal): None of them were ready
- Can stand alone: "How many came?" "None."
NOT (ANY) vs NO:
- Not any + noun: I don't have any books
- No + noun: I have no books
- In questions: Do you have any questions?
- Double negative: I don't have no money (✗ - avoid)
ENOUGH - Position Rules:
- Before nouns: Enough time, enough money
- After adjectives: Good enough, old enough
- After adverbs: Quickly enough, well enough
- With infinitive: Enough time to finish
Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
✅ CORRECT Usage:
- All: All of my friends / All students
- None: None of the answers were correct
- Not any: I don't have any brothers
- Enough: Enough food for everyone
- Few: Few people understand this
- A few: A few students stayed late
❌ INCORRECT Usage:
- All: All of students (missing "the")
- None: None student came (missing "of")
- Not any: I have not any time (word order)
- Enough: I am enough tall (wrong position)
- Few: Few water is left (use "little")
- A few: A few of rice (uncountable noun)
Useful Expressions and Collocations
Fixed Expressions with ALL:
All day long, all over the world, all the time, all at once, all the same
Common Phrases with ENOUGH:
Good enough, old enough, have had enough, enough is enough, fair enough
Expressions with FEW:
Quite a few (many), few and far between (rare), a chosen few, the last few
🧩 Task: Error Correction Exercise
Read the sentences below and identify the errors. Then correct them.
📝 Student Sentences (Find and Correct the Errors):
1. All of student in my class are very friendly and helpful.
2. None answer in the test was difficult for me to understand.
3. I am enough smart to solve this problem by myself.
4. Few water is left in the bottle, so we need to buy more.
5. She doesn't have not any experience in teaching English grammar.
1. ❌ Find the error in sentence 1 and write the correction:
2. ❌ Find the error in sentence 2 and write the correction:
3. ✅ Find the error in sentence 3 and write the correction:
4. ✅ Find the error in sentence 4 and write the correction:
5. ✅ Find the error in sentence 5 and write the correction:
✅ Answer Key & Explanation
1. ❌ Error in Sentence 1:
Correction: "All of THE students in my class are very friendly and helpful."
Error: Missing the definite article "the" after "of"
Rule: "All of" must be followed by a determiner (the, my, these, etc.) before the noun.
2. ❌ Error in Sentence 2:
Correction: "None OF THE answers in the test was/were difficult for me to understand."
Error: Missing "of the" before "answers"
Rule: "None" cannot directly modify a noun. It must be "None of + determiner + noun"
3. ✅ Error in Sentence 3:
Correction: "I am smart enough to solve this problem by myself."
Error: Wrong position of "enough" - it should come after the adjective
Rule: "Enough" comes AFTER adjectives and adverbs, but BEFORE nouns
4. ✅ Error in Sentence 4:
Correction: "Little water is left in the bottle, so we need to buy more."
Error: "Few" is used with countable nouns; "little" is used with uncountable nouns
Rule: Few = countable nouns (few books), Little = uncountable nouns (little water)
5. ✅ Error in Sentence 5:
Correction: "She doesn't have any experience in teaching English grammar." OR "She has no experience..."
Error: Double negative - "doesn't" + "not any" creates incorrect double negation
Rule: Use either "doesn't have any" OR "has no", but never "doesn't have not any"
🏆 Additional Practice Examples
Perfect Sentences Using These Determiners:
ALL:
- All children deserve a good education.
- All of my colleagues attended the meeting.
- We were all surprised by the announcement.
NONE:
- None of the restaurants were open on Sunday.
- None of this information is confidential.
- "How many mistakes did you find?" "None."
NOT (ANY):
- I don't have any spare time this week.
- There isn't any milk left in the fridge.
- She didn't make any comments about the proposal.
ENOUGH:
- There's enough space for everyone to sit.
- She's old enough to make her own decisions.
- He ran fast enough to catch the bus.
FEW / A FEW:
- Few people can solve this puzzle. (negative - not many)
- A few students stayed after class. (neutral/positive - some)
- Quite a few customers complained. (many)
Memory Tips:
- ALL = Everything/Everyone → Complete inclusion
- NONE = Nothing/No one → Complete exclusion (remember: None OF)
- NOT ANY = Zero quantity → Negative form
- ENOUGH = Sufficient → Position matters (after adj., before noun)
- FEW = Small number → Only with countable (use LITTLE for uncountable)