Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Unit 3: Butter It Up!
Unit 3: Butter It Up!
INDEFINITE ARTICLES - A/ AN
Examples:
● He is a professor. ● He is an engineer.
● She went to buy a new car. ● She went to buy an uniform.
● I saw a bear at the zoo. ● I saw an eagle right there.
● He is a nice guy.. ● He is an incredible actor.
● An honorable peace
● An honest error
Examples:
● A union (“younion”)
● A united front (“younited”)
● A unicorn (“younicorn”)
● A used napkin (“yoused”)
● A U.S. ship (“you”)
● A one-legged man (“wone”)
Examples:
● "He spilled the milk all over the floor" (some specific
milk, perhaps the milk you bought earlier that day) or
"He spilled milk all over the floor" (any milk).
USEFUL EXPRESSIONS
1. A COUPLE
● Two things or people of the same kind (same as: a few, a couple
of):
There are a
couple of girls
waiting for you.
You’ll be all
right in a
couple of days.
2. IN A COUPLE OF SHAKES/TWO SHAKES
● Very soon - informal.
I’ll be back in
two shakes
of a fist.
● Clean air outside., that you need after benign inside for a long
time.
Well done! Only the second sentence is correct. “Milk”, such as other
liquids, is impossible to count, but “glass” is countable, so you can
ask for a glass of milk, water, juice, etc.
COUNTABLE NOUNS
Used for things we can count using numbers. They have a singular
and a plural form.
Examples:
● She has three dogs. ● Are you friends?
● I own a house. ● I’ve got an idea.
● I read two books this week. ● I need two TVs.
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Emotions:
sadness, anger, enthusiasm, hesitation,
unease
Qualities:
bravery, shyness, cowardice, agility,
intelligence, pride
Ideas:
chaos, peace, anarchy, nihilism, capitalism
Foods:
water, milk, bread, honey, sugar, meat,
pork
Weather:
rain, snow, fog, hail, lightning, thunder,
sleet
Collective nouns:
furniture, clothing, equipment, machinery
Chemical elements:
hydrogen, oxygen, gold, uranium
Examples:
● There has been a lot of research into the causes of this disease.
● He gave me a great deal of advice before my interview.
● Can you give me some information about uncountable nouns?
● He did not have much sugar left.
● Measure 1 cup of water, 300g of flour, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
● How much rice do you want?
REMINDER!
Many words have multiple meanings so a noun may be an
uncountable noun or not depending on context.
Examples:
● I would like to give you some advice.
● How much bread should I bring?
● I didn't make much progress today.
● This looks like a lot of trouble to me.
● We did an hour of work yesterday.
A LOT OF
LOTS OF
Examples:
● Does she have a lot of money?
● Lots of people went to the game.
● We have lots of time to get it finished.
● A lot of snow falls in winter.
A LOT
In this case, it means intensity, that is, very often or very much. It is
used as an adverb. It often comes at the end of a sentence and never
before a noun.
Examples:
● I like basketball a lot.
● She's a lot happier now than she was.
● I don't go there a lot anymore.
● I don't like apples a lot.
Examples:
● I haven’t got much change. I’ve only got a ten euro note.
● Is there much unemployment in that area?
● It was pouring with rain but there wasn’t much wind.
● There is much concern about drug addiction in the US.
MANY
Examples:
Examples:
Real examples:
● “What are you going to do with what you have? I’m not talking
about how much you have .” - Denzel Washington's Speech
● “One afternoon I went to buy a cup of coffee.” - Simon Sinek,
Most Leaders Don’t Even Know the Game They’re In
Recommendations:
ANY
Are there any waiters available? I don't have any homework to do.
Examples:
● Did you bring any bread?
● Mr Jacobson refused to answer any questions.
● If I were able to travel back to any place and time in history, I
would go to ancient China..
Any as a determiner has two forms: a strong form and a weak form.
The forms have different meanings.
WEAK FORM
❏ We use any for indefinite quantities in questions and negative
sentences - (We use some in affirmative sentences).
❏ Indefinite quantities.
Examples:
● Call 0800675-437 for any information about the courses.
● When you make a late booking, you don’t know where you’re
going to go, do you? It could be any destination.
● Do we have any form of agreement with new staff when they
start?
● A: I don’t think I’ve ever seen you paint such a beautiful picture
before. Gosh! Did you choose the colors?
B: We could choose any colors we wanted.
“ANY” AS A PRONOUN
Any can be used as pronoun that is, without following a noun. I t
happens when the noun is understood.
In this case, it is
A: Have you got some £1 coins on you?
understood that
B: Sorry, I don’t think I have any. the person doesn’t
have any required
coins.
Examples:
● A: Do you find that Elizabeth gets lots of homework? Marie gets
a lot.
B: No, not really. She gets hardly any.
● A: What did you think of the cake? It was delicious, wasn’t it?
B: I don’t know. I didn’t get any.
ANY OF
We use any with of before articles (a/an, the), demonstratives (this,
these), pronouns (you, us) or possessives (his, their) We can also use it
to refer to a part of a whole.
Examples:
● Shall I keep any of these spices? I think they’re all out of date.
● Are any of you going to the meeting?
● I couldn’t answer any of these questions.
● I listen to Abba but I’ve never bought any of their music.
NOT ANY X NO
Any doesn’t have a negative meaning on its own. It must be used
with a negative word to mean the same as no.
No in the right-hand column give greater emphasis than the
examples with not any.
Examples:
● There aren’t any seats left. You’ll have to stand.
● Tell them I don’t want to see anyone.
● They refused to tell us anything about it.
Examples:
● Has anyone got a dictionary?
● Anybody is welcome to join. There aren’t any rules.
● Can I do anything to help?
● I don’t know anybody who speaks Portuguese here.
❏ We often use the plural pronoun they to refer back to (singular)
anyone when we do not know if the person is male or female.
❏ Remember: anything, anyone, anybody don’t have a negative
meaning on their own.
Examples:
● If anyone would like further information about the dogs, they
should call Canine Rescue on 0502 75257.
● We stayed in Seville for the rest of our holidays. No one wanted
to come back, but we had to.
ANYONE x ANYBODY
Real examples:
Recommendations:
Some, just as “any” also has its weak and strong form.
WEAK FORM
❏ Affirmative sentences + questions (usually expecting the answer
‘yes’).
Examples:
STRONG FORM
● The strong form of some is stressed. This form contrasts with
others or all or enough.
Examples:
● Why do some people live longer than other people?
● Some boys went to the front of the stage to get a better view.
The rest of us couldn’t see a thing.
● There were some cakes left, but not enough for everyone.
● There must be some way of opening this printer!
● Some £30 billion was needed to rebuild the hospital.
“SOME” AS A PRONOUN
We use some as a pronoun (i.e., without a noun following) when the
noun is understood:
Examples:
USEFUL QUESTIONS
● Would you like some more?
● What do you say about some...?
● Can I get you some more wine?
● Would you like me to get you some...?
● Would you like some dessert?
● How about some...?
● Can you give some information about the city?
● May I offer you some...?
Recommendations:
A LITTLE A LITTLE
● A small amount that is ● Refers to hardly any,
enough to do something. almost nothing.
● A little = some. ● Little = not much.
Both are used with singular uncountable nouns.
BE CAREFUL!
The difference between the two expressions in each phrase is purely
one of meaning, not of usage.
Examples:
● “Would you like some more wine?”. “No, thanks, I've had plenty.”
● Don't grab at the balloons, children - there are plenty for
everyone.
● We've got plenty of time before we need to leave for the airport.
● They've always had plenty of money.
● There's plenty to do here.
● If you have a fever, you should drink plenty of fluids.
● Eat healthily and take plenty of exercise.
● “There's plenty more cake if you'd like another piece”. “I don't
mind if I do.”
● There's plenty of cupboard space in the kitchen for all your pots
and pans.
● What's the hurry? We've got plenty of time.
Real examples:
Recommendations:
A FEW
You use a few simply to show that you are talking about a small
number of people or things.
A small amount, but it's enough.
A few = some.
Examples
● There are a few clouds in the sky.
● Let's sing a few songs.
● A few of my school friends live abroad.
● A few farms were dotted about in the valley.
● It's a few inches beyond my reach.
● She went aside for a few moments.
● He hastily stuffed a few pieces of cloth into a bag.
● They prolonged their visit by a few days.
FEW
Few emphasizes that there are only a small number of people or
things of a particular kind.
A small amount, but this time the amount is almost nothing.
“It's good to have nearly no problems.”
Examples
● Few cities anywhere in Europe can match the cultural richness
of Berlin.
● At that time, few people travelled who didn’t have to.
● Few members of the family leave their hometown each year.
● Few words to the wise suffice.
● I have many friends; I’ve known few of them since high school.
● I'm so pleased that I have few arguments with my family.
Notice that in the 5th example, the use of “few” implies that
although they have a lot of friends, they have not known
them for very long, that is, there’s only a small number of
them they have known since high school.
Real examples:
a)
b)
c)
d)
a) d)
b) e)
c) f)
4) Which sentence is incorrect?
a) c)
b) d)
11) Choose from the quantifiers: much, many, few, a few, little, a little
and fill in the blank spaces:
5) a. a few
b. few
a. much c. a few
b. many d. few
c. many e. a few
d. much f. few
e. much
f. many 11)
6)
a. much
b. many
a. any
b. any
c. a little
d. a few
e. much
f. little
g. few