Quantifier and Qualifier Words

Small words have enormous power in UCAT Verbal Reasoning. The difference between "all" and "most," or between "will" and "may," can change a statement from True to False or from True to Can't Tell. This lesson catalogues the most important quantifiers and qualifiers, explains how they change meaning, and provides practice in detecting these subtle but decisive differences.

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What Are Quantifiers and Qualifiers?

Quantifiers tell you how many or how much: all, some, most, many, few, none, every, several, a majority.

Qualifiers tell you how certain or conditional something is: definitely, probably, possibly, may, might, could, will, should, always, never, often, sometimes.

Together, these words define the strength and scope of a claim. Changing a single quantifier or qualifier can fundamentally alter what a statement means.

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Quantifiers: The Scope of a Claim

The Quantifier Scale