Quantifiers in the Spanish Language

Quantifiers in the Spanish language are Spanish words that are very useful when we want to speak about statistics. Some of them use the distinction between female and male but others don't do it. Remember that when we don't put the noun after the adjective we are speaking in general, and it will always be masculine.

Let's take a look. To give some examples we will talk about the work world in Argentina. You can think if it is similar in your country.

Todos/as: Todos los trabajadores en relación de dependencia cobran un Aguinaldo, que significa un sueldo extra annual. (All workers as employees take on a Christmas bonus, which means an annual extra salary.)

Casi todos/as: Casi todos los trabajadores tienen 15 días de vacaciones. (Most workers have 15 days of vacation.)

La mayoría: La mayoría toma el transporte público para ir a trabajar. (Most take public transportation to get to work.)

La minoría: La minoría puede trabajar desde su casa. (A minority can work from home.)

Muchos/as: Muchos tienen una hora para almorzar dentro o fuera de la oficina. (Many workers have an hour for lunch inside or outside the office.)

Bastantes: Bastantes trabajadores usan las redes sociales en sus trabajos. (Many workers use social networks at work.)

Demasiados/as: Demasiados trabajadores toman el subte cada mañana. (Too many workers take the subway every morning.)

Varios/as: Varias mujeres guardan su licencia por maternidad para después de tener a su hijo, en lugar de tomarse algunos meses previos. (Many women keep their maternity leave after having their son, rather than taking a few months prior.)

Pocos/as (unos/as pocos/as): Pocas mujeres dejan de trabajar después de tener niños. (Few women stop working after having children.)

Casi nadie: Casi nadie tiene piscina en su lugar de trabajo, aunque algunas empresas modernas la incluyen como un beneficio para sus empleados. (Hardly anyone has a pool in his workplace, although some modern companies include it as a benefit for their employees.)

Casi ningún/a: Casi ningún trabajo permite tomar alcohol durante el horario de trabajo. (Almost no job allows the drinking of alcohol during working hours.)

Casi Nadie and Casi Ningún means the same in this context, but remember that we only use Nadie for people and Ningún or Ninguna can be used with different things and we aways use it before a noun.

Hopefully this lesson was a good review of quantifiers for you. They are an important part of the Spanish language and are very useful in many situations.