The sentence

‘Not …any’, ‘no’ and ‘none’
1. We can use no instead of not any. We use an affirmative verb with no:
There aren’t any buses after midnight. → There are no buses after midnight.
There isn’t any milk. → There’s no milk.
2. We can also use no in place of not a/an: I’m not an expert. → I’m no expert.
3. None stands on its own as a pronoun: We have no bananas. We have none.
Other uses of ‘some’ and ‘any’
Some and any also have special uses:
I haven’t seen Tom for some years. (= I haven’t seen Tom for several years.)
Any fool knows the answer to a question like that. (= ‘It doesn’t matter who’)
D. ‘Much’, ‘many’, ‘a lot of’, ‘(a) few’, ‘(a) little’, ‘fewer’, ‘less’
Basic uses of ‘much’, ‘many’ and ‘a lot of’
The basic uses are:
1. much (+ uncountable, always singular) and many (+ plural countable):
- in negative statements: We haven’t got much time. There aren’t many pandas in
China.
- in questions: Is there much milk? Have you had many inquiries?
2. a lot of or the informal lots of (+ plural countable or singular uncountable):
- in the affirmative: I’ve got a lot of time/lots of time. I’ve got a lot of/lots of
books.
Other common uses of ‘much’, ‘many’ and ‘a lot of’
1. We can also use much and many in the affirmative (like a lot of/lots of):
- in formal statements: Much money is spent on defense. Many teachers retire early.
- with as … as: Take as much as you like.
- in time references: I’ve lived here for many years.
2. We can use Not much and Not many to begin a sentence: Not many know about this.
3. We can use not a lot of for emphasis: I haven’t got a lot of time for people like him.
‘Few’, ‘a few’, ‘little’, ‘a little’
1. We use few and a few with plural countable nouns: few friends, a few friends.
We use little and a little with uncountable nouns: little time, a little time.
2. Few and little are negative (= hardly any): I’ve got few friends. I’ve got little time.
(hardly any)
We sometimes use very with few and little:
I’ve got very few friends. I’ve got very little time. (hardly any at all)
3. A few and a little are positive (= some): I’ve got a few friends. I’ve got a little time.
(some)
We sometimes use only with a few and a little:
I’ve got only a few friends. (not many) I’ve got only a little time. (not much)
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