Quantifier and correlative mastery

C2 quantifier control involves two adjacent areas: (1) fine distinctions among near-synonyms — each vs every vs all; both vs either vs neither; most vs most of vs the most — and (2) correlative pairs — both…and, either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also, the more…the better, no sooner…than, hardly…when. The correlatives are tightly fixed constructions; each pair selects specific syntactic frames that must be matched on both sides.

Russian uses different machinery: case marking, particles (ни…ни, и…и), and word order. As a result, Russian-speaker C2 errors with quantifiers and correlatives are more about subject-verb agreement with each/every/none/both and parallelism with both…and / either…or than about which item to pick.

This lesson covers (1) the each/every/all trio with agreement rules, (2) both/either/neither for pairs, (3) most/most of/the most and partitive constructions, (4) the major correlative pairs, and (5) the proportional construction the more…the better.

Each, every, all

All three quantify universally, but they package the quantification differently:

Examples

• Each member has a vote. (one-by-one — singular)
• Every member has a vote. (exhaustive — singular)
• All members have votes. (totality — plural)
• Each of the witnesses was interviewed separately. (individuating)
• Every witness was interviewed. (exhaustive)
• All witnesses were interviewed. (totality)

Each vs every — the deep difference

Each highlights individual identity within a set. Every highlights exhaustive coverage. The distinction matters in:

• Each combines with small or salient sets; every combines with any set.
• Each permits of the + plural NP (each of the senators); every does not (every of the senators is wrong → every senator).
• Each can occur with plural NP + singular verb in floated position: The senators each have a vote. This is a marked structure but grammatical.
• Every other (= alternating) is a frozen construction: every other Tuesday, every other line.

Idiomatic every + time expression

• Every five minutes / every other day / every few weeks / every so often.

Each does not work in these: each five minutes is ungrammatical → every five minutes.

All alternations

• All the senators voted. (the totality of a specific group)
• All senators are subject to ethics rules. (the totality of the class)
• All of the senators voted. (= all the senators — the of is optional with NP)
• All of them voted. (with pronoun, of is obligatory: all of them, not all them)
• All is forgotten. (mass — abstract; less common in modern AmE)

Both, either, neither

These quantify over exactly two items. Russian has similar two-item particles (оба/обе, либо…либо, ни…ни); the syntactic differences with English are subtle but real.

Examples

• Both witnesses were interviewed.
• Either witness is acceptable. (one of two, singular)
• Neither witness was interviewed. (none of two, formal singular)
• Neither of them was interviewed. (singular — traditional and C2-formal preferred)
• Neither of them were interviewed. (plural — casual/colloquial; widespread in speech but not the formal-writing default)

Agreement after either of, neither of

Traditional rule: either/neither + of + plural NP takes singular verb. Either of the candidates is qualified. Modern AmE casually accepts plural: Either of the candidates are qualified. In writing, keep singular for the C2 register.

Both…and — see correlatives section below

Most, most of, the most

Most (= the majority of)

• Most people prefer transparency. (= a majority of people in general)
• Most of the people in the room voted no. (= a majority of a specific group; requires of with definite NP)

Most vs the most

Most (no the) = the majority. The most = the superlative quantity. For clearly numerical superlative claims, the greatest number of X often reads more naturally than fronting the most X.

Mass-noun most

• Most information about the case is sealed. (= the majority of)
• Most of the information was leaked. (= specific majority)

None and no — agreement

• None of the senators were present. (modern AmE — plural permitted and more natural with plural NP)
• None of the witnesses was subpoenaed. (formal singular — older AmE/BrE)
• No senators were present. (no = zero; takes plural)
• None is more eloquent than she. (singular when none = “not one”)

The none singular/plural agreement question is contested. Modern AmE writing accepts plural with plural-of NPs (none of the senators were). Strict prescriptive style keeps singular (none of the senators was). In C2 writing, plural agreement reads as the modern AmE default.

Correlative pairs

A correlative is a two-part conjunction that joins parallel elements. The two parts must match syntactically — same kind of constituent on each side.

Both…and

• Both the prosecution and the defense filed motions. (NP + NP)
• *She is both brilliant and insufferable. (Adj + Adj)
• *He both writes and edits. (V + V)

Bad: Both she is a lawyer and works in journalism (parallelism broken — Both she is a lawyer and a journalist would work; Both she is a lawyer and she works in journalism is also fine but verbose).

Either…or

• Either he or I will go.
• *We can either stay or leave.
• Either by intent or by accident, the data were corrupted.

Neither…nor

• Neither he nor I was invited. (formal singular agreement — proximate noun rule; I is closer)
• Neither the data nor the analysis support the conclusion. (plural with plural proximate noun)
• Neither poverty nor wealth alone determines outcomes.

The proximate-noun agreement rule

When neither…nor joins two subjects of different number, the verb agrees with the closer subject:

• Neither the senator nor her aides were aware. (aides — plural — closer — plural verb)
• Neither the aides nor the senator was aware. (senator — singular — closer — singular verb)

Same rule for either…or: Either the dean or the deans are at fault — agreement with deans.

Not only…but also

The most rhetorical of the correlative pairs. But also is sometimes contracted to just but, and an inverted variant is common:

• *Not only does the proposal raise revenue, *but it also redistributes it. (inverted — auxiliary does before the proposal)
• *She *not only serves in the Senate but also ran a prosecutor’s office. (VP + VP — cleaner parallel)
• *She is *not only a senator but also a former prosecutor. (NP + NP — also fine; both noun phrases are copular complements)
• Not only had he failed to notify the committee, but he had also withheld the data.

Inversion after fronted not only

When not only fronts a clause, SAI is triggered (lesson 02):

• *Not only does he write fiction, *but he also edits a journal.
• *Not only had the witness lied, but she had also coached others to lie.

This is one of the cleanest places to deploy negative-inversion in AmE rhetorical writing.

Hardly…when, No sooner…than, Scarcely…when

These mark rapid temporal sequence — the second event closely follows the first. All trigger SAI on the first clause:

• *Hardly had we sat down when the lights cut out.
• *No sooner had the bill passed than the litigation began.
• *Scarcely had the witness finished her testimony when the chair gaveled the session closed.

The pairing is fixed: hardly…when, no sooner…than, scarcely…when. Note the than (not when) with no sooner.

As…as and not so…as

• *He is *as sharp as his predecessor.
• *She runs *as fast as anyone on the team.
• *He is *not as competent as he claims. / *He is *not so competent as he claims. (slightly more formal)

The same…as, such…as, so…that

• *She made *the same argument as he did.
• *He has *such an ear as few writers possess. (archaic/literary)
• *He shouted *so loudly that the doors opened.

The proportional construction — the more…the better

A correlative pair using comparatives on both sides, marking proportional covariation:

• *The more he insisted, the less I believed him.
• *The longer we wait, the harder it gets.
• *The sooner you start, the better off you’ll be.
• *The more you read, the more you understand.

The construction inverts normal word order: The more I read (not I read the more). The first clause is the antecedent of the proportion; the second is the consequent.

Short form

• The sooner, the better.
• The more, the merrier.
• The higher, the steeper.

These are elliptical versions; the verbs are recoverable from context.

Productive use

The proportional construction is productive — you can build new ones:

• *The faster they moved through the agenda, the less anyone could ask follow-up questions.
• *The deeper you go into the report, the more disturbing it becomes.

This is a signature AmE rhetorical move — controlled covariation across a sentence.

Other correlative families

So…that and such…that

• *The speech was *so moving that the audience stood.
• *It was *such a moving speech that the audience stood.
• *So profound was the silence that we could hear the clock. (with SAI — lesson 02)

Whether…or

• *We have to decide *whether to file the motion or withdraw the complaint.
• *I’m not sure *whether he is qualified or simply well-connected.

Whether…or is the correlative of binary alternative under hypothesis or question.

Fixed pairs

• Now…now (= alternately): Now angry, now resigned, she paced the room. (literary)
• First…then…finally: First the witness spoke, then the prosecutor cross-examined, finally the judge ruled.
• On the one hand…on the other (hand): On the one hand, the data are limited. On the other, the trend is consistent.

AmE notes

• Plural verb after none of + plural: modern AmE accepts plural (None of the senators were aware); strict prescriptive AmE keeps singular. In writing, the plural is now the default.
• Either of/Neither of with plural NP: AmE casual permits plural verb; AmE formal keeps singular.
• Not only…but also with fronted inversion is a signature AmE editorial/op-ed move.
• The more…the better is heavily used in AmE proverbial and journalistic prose.
• Both and vs either or is parallel in AmE: same-category-on-both-sides parallelism is enforced.

Parallelism in correlatives — the C2 control point

All correlative pairs require the two parts to join parallel constituents. This is the most common parallelism trap:

• Wrong: She not only is brilliant but also has integrity. (joining a verb + an NP)
• Right: She is not only brilliant but also principled. (joining two Adjs)
• Right: She not only is brilliant but also has integrity. — actually this can be saved by re-reading as joining two VP clauses (not only) is brilliant (but also) has integrity. The cleaner version is to keep parallel categories.

Strict parallelism rule: whatever comes after the first correlative member must match the category coming after the second. If not only is followed by an Adj, but also must be followed by an Adj. If not only is followed by a VP, but also must be followed by a VP.

Common Russian-speaker mistakes

1. Singular verb with all: All members has a vote → All members have a vote. All with count plural takes plural verb.
2. Treating each and every as interchangeable with plural verb: Each of the senators have voted → Each of the senators has voted. Each and every take singular verb even when followed by of + plural.
3. Wrong parallelism in both…and: She is both lawyer and writes well → She is both a lawyer and a writer or She is both a lawyer and a strong writer. Match noun to noun, verb to verb.
4. Calquing Russian ни…ни with plural agreement when singular is correct: Neither the senator nor her aide were present → If aide (singular) is closer: was present. If aides (plural): were present. The proximate-noun rule.
5. Missing the in the more…the better: More you read, more you understand → The more you read, the more you understand. The the is obligatory on both sides.
6. Wrong pairing in no sooner…than: No sooner had we sat down when the lights cut out → No sooner had we sat down than the lights cut out. No sooner pairs with than, not when.
7. Confusing most with the most: The most people prefer transparency (sounds like superlative — “the largest number of people”) → Most people prefer transparency (= the majority).

Summary

• Each (individuating), every (exhaustive), all (totality) — all universal but packaged differently. Each/every take singular verb; all takes plural with count and singular with mass.
• Both (two together), either (one of two), neither (none of two) — agreement rules with of + plural NP favor singular in formal AmE, plural acceptable in casual.
• Most (majority) ≠ the most (superlative quantity).
• Correlatives require parallelism: both…and, either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also, whether…or. The proximate-noun rule applies to either/neither.
• Not only…but also with fronted not only triggers SAI.
• **Proportional the more…the better is a productive AmE construction.
• No sooner…than, hardly…when, scarcely…when mark rapid temporal sequence and trigger SAI.

Next lesson: Relative mastery — archaic and formal — whom + preposition formal, whose/of which, what/whatever as relatives, reduced and sentential relatives.