THE QUANTIFIERS: Graded Quantifiers

They function like comparatives and hold a relative position on a scale of increase or decrease.

INCREASE From 0% to 100%
With plural countable nouns:
many	more	most
With uncountable nouns:
much	more	most
DECREASE From 100% to 0%
With plural countable nouns:
few	fewer	fewest
With uncountable nouns:
little	less	least

Examples:

• There are many people in England, more in India, but the most people live in China.
• Much time and money is spent on education, more on health services but the most is spent on national defence.
• Few rivers in Europe are not polluted.
• Fewer people die young now than in the seventeenth century.
• The country with the fewest people per square kilometre must be Australia.
• Scientists have little hope of finding a complete cure for cancer before the year 2,000.
• She had less time to study than Paul but had better results.
• Give that dog the least opportunity and it will bite you.