Many/several/most explanation

[pmuffley]

As I was going through the first few chapters of the LRB as well as the accompanying drills, I realized I have difficulty with the quantifying vocabulary (i.e. most, some, several etc..).

Is there a way to chart this information out? For example, in the LRB, it said something to the effect of "most can mean many but many can't mean most".

I understand the quantity each word can signify can change depending on the amount of whatever is being discussed in each problem. For example, "a few" could mean something different depending on if you're referencing a party of 6 vs a part of 100. So I want to make two lists (one for smaller quantities and one for larger quantities) that explain the relationship between the words.

This is what I have so far for smaller quantities and I'm hoping I can get some help on whether the relationships are correct, and whether there is a better way to do this.

Small
none = none (none can only mean none)
few -><- several (read few can mean several, several can mean few)
several -><- some (read several can mean some, some can mean several)
some -> many (read some can be many, many cannot mean some)
many -> most (read many can be most, most cannot mean many)
most -> all (read most can be all, all cannot mean most)
all = all (all can only mean all)

[Dave Killoran]

Hi P, as with many LSAT topics, we've written about this one already, and I think it will help here: https://blog.powerscore.com/lsat/bid-15 ... -and-many/

Not all of these have perfect definitions and some can be contextual, but the above explains that. Also, while I kind of understand what you are up to above, there are elements that are incorrect, which I've italicized below:

• none = none (none can only mean none)
  few -><- several (read few can mean several, several can mean few)
  several -><- some (read several can mean some, some can mean several)
  some -> many (read some can be many, many cannot mean some)
  many -> most (read many can be most, most cannot mean many)
  most -> all (read most can be all, all cannot mean most)
  all = all (all can only mean all)

Look at the Logic Ladders for more clarity above, because All, for example, means Most and Some automatically, and so on.


Thanks!