Comparative word for few

What is the difference between fewer and less? — everything is simple

Few, a few, little and a little in English are pronouns indicating quantity, in order to indicate a lack of something. These pronouns can stand in a sentence as defined to a noun, or independently of it, independently.

Depending on the form of use — whether the article is used or not — quantitative pronouns have different meanings. These differences include, as a rule, not only the semantic load, but also a certain assessment, which is found in the translation.

Rules of Use

For nouns that have both singular and plural, as well as when a noun / pronoun is only thought of, its presence becomes apparent from the context, the pronouns few / a few are used.

In this case, it does not matter at all how the noun forms its plural — for all these cases, the rule will act the same.

For example:

She went to the USA for a few months… — She went to America for several months.

Few of her friends had been in the USA… — Few of her friends were in America.

The pronouns little / a little are used in sentences with uncountable nouns. The rules for their use and their semantic meaning are absolutely the same as for the pronouns few / a few, and their translation into Russian is also no different.

Example:

She stood in the USA a little last year… — Last year she spent a little time in America.

When she first came to the USA, she little thought that she would stay there so long. — When she first arrived in America, she never thought that she would stay there for so long.

Pronoun meaning (word translation)

As we noted, the pronouns few, little, a few, and a little are used to indicate not enough of something. The difference between them appears only in the context of their use with nouns.

So, few / a few is used with countable nouns, and little / a little — with those that have only a singular, or only a plural.

However, there are still some differences in meanings, which depend on the form in which the pronoun is used, and create some difference in translation.

The pronouns few, little, used without the indefinite article, express the meaning of «little», «not enough» or «not at all.» If they stand with an article, then the meaning is interpreted as «little, but enough» or «a little».

Moreover, in the first case, the sentence will most likely contain a somewhat negative connotation, in the second — neutral:

I can’t help you. I speak very little English… — I cannot help you, I know very little English.

I can help you, I speak a little English… — I can help you, I speak a little English.

It would seem that in both cases the first part of the sentence implies the same thing — I do not speak English very well, my knowledge is hardly enough.

However, if in the first sentence the evaluative fact is negative, then in the second it bears a positive connotation, and this already implies the use of the pronoun little with the indefinite article a:

• His English is intermediate, he forgets about his lessons. He has very little interest in languages… — His English is not above average, he forgets about his lessons. He has no interest in languages ​​at all.
• His English is intermediate, he coaches in it every weekends. He has a little interest in language. — His English is intermediate and he trains him every weekend. He has little interest in languages.
• I didn’t read this book in original, I can say very little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, I can say very little about it.
• I didn’t read this book in original, I can say a little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, but I can tell you a little about it.
• Very few of his friends can speak English… — Almost none of his friends speak English.
• A few of his friends can speak in English not bad at all. “Some of his friends don’t speak English bad at all.

Comparative and superlative

Like adjectives, quantitative pronouns in English can create degrees of comparison.

The pronouns few / a few form comparative and superlatives according to all the rules of the English language.

In the case of the pronouns little / a little, the situation is different:

• few ⇒ fewer ⇒ the fewis — few ⇒ less ⇒ least
• little ⇒ less ⇒ the least — little ⇒ less ⇒ least
• a few / a little ⇒ more ⇒ the most — a little ⇒ more ⇒ most

Source: https://vseprostdo.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less.html

What is the difference between fewer and less. use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Hey, folks! In this article, you will learn: when the English sentence uses «little» and when «few», what is the difference between «small» and «less», and when to use certain words with countable or uncountable nouns. Everything is accessible and understandable! Are you ready to be surprised? Let’s go then!

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

Here we are talking about the fact that a small number of family members leave their hometown. Of course, there are still not many of them, but the emphasis here is on the fact that there are some nearest & dearest (close and dear relatives) who are moving, and not on the fact that their number is small.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

I have many besties, I have known quite a few of them since high school.
I have a lot of best friends quite a few I know of them since high school. So many mosquitoes in this house! The fewestof them are in the living room though.
There are so many mosquitoes in this house! Although in their living room least of all.Mia made fewergrammar mistakes last time.
Last time Mia did less grammatical errors.

little / a little

«Little» [«lɪtl] and» a little «follow the same pattern as» few «with» a few «. The difference is that we use «few» and «a few» with plural nouns, while «little» and «a little» with nouns, which cannot be counted by the piece:

Unfortunately, we have littletime to prepare before the exam.
Sorry, not preparing for the exam with us very little time. Unfortunately, we have a littletime to prepare before we have to go today.
Unfortunately, for preparation today we have slightly time before we have to leave.

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

homer does lesshomework than I used to.
Homer does less homework than I once did.The least environmentallyhostile generator costs a fortune.
Leastdangerousfor the environment the energy source is worth a fortune.

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://film05.ru/bathroom/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

Countable and uncountable nouns — video tutorial

Let’s say you come to someone’s house, open the refrigerator, and there all the shelves are crammed with packs of butter from top to bottom. You will express surprise by exclaiming not Wow! That’s a lot of butters !, a

That’s a lot of butter! — How much oil is there

Finding hundreds of pencils in a desk drawer, you say no Wow! That’s a lot of pencil !, a

That’s a lot of pencils! — Wow, how many pencils!

Uncountable nouns

This is because oil is an uncountable noun in English, and a pencil is a countable noun. Uncountable means the whole class of a given substance — rain (rain), snow (snow), applause (applause), guilt (wine), liking (addiction). Most of the food is also incalculable: flour (flour), rice (rice).

They can be counted only in 3 cases:

— in the limitation of stick meters

a stick of butter — a pack of butter

— to distinguish between subspecies

3 butters — lime butter, pepper butter, chilly butter — 3 types of butter — lime, pepper, chili

— to mark packages in catering

Waiter, we need some more butters here — Waiter, more packs of butter here

Countable nouns

Countable nouns in English are subject-matter — they can always be counted, put in the plural, and numbered.

5 pencils — 5 pencils

2 cars — 2 cars

7 people — 7 people

3 children — 3 children

Quantitative nouns

There are quantitative nouns and pronouns that are combined with only 1 of 2 classes. So, an amount of requires an uncountable noun, and number of requires a countable noun.

a number of cows — several cows

Similarly, less is followed by an uncountable noun, and fewer is followed by a countable noun. However, less is also used with plural price tags — after all, we are not talking about a bill, but about the whole price.

less applause — less applause

less than 10 dollars — less than 10 dollars

In some illiterate supermarkets, you can see the inscription Less than 10 items express checkout. That’s right

Fewer than 10 items — Up to 10 purchases

Fun Facts

Dandelion root can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute.

Source: https://www.lovelylanguage.ru/grammar/video-lessons/count-and-mass-nouns

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes

It is the pearl of all grammatical mistakes. And all because the words are similar in meaning and sound. But still there are nuances. To lie is translated as «to lie», «to be located», «to lie down».

• I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

• The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is «to put».

• She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

• I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

But continuous is about something that lasts continuously.

• He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

• In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word has a second meaning: «annoyance because someone has what you yourself would like.» In other words, envy. It is how “envy” translates the second word, envy.

• He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
• Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

So what’s the difference? Linguists admit that if we are talking about envy, and not about jealousy, the differences have practically disappeared and the two words can be considered synonymous. Although earlier jealous meant a more serious, terrible and dramatic degree of envy.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we are talking about something abstract and uncountable, or when we don’t mention the exact amount.

• I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
• We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

• Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
• We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to impartial.

• A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

• He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

In Russian, the word “worry” can be used not only in the negative (“I’m terribly worried about you!”), But also in a positive way (“I was so excited when I received your letter!”). Perhaps that is why when we speak English, in similar cases we try to use anxious. But this word translates as «alarmed, worried, nervous.»

• It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

If you are happy to see friends, telling them that you are anxious to see them would be wrong. Excited is more appropriate here. By the way, the word anxious is also appropriate if we are impatient to do something or we are striving for something.

• I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «influence, cause, lead to something.»

• Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

• I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

• A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
• The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

• The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
• She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake between the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

It is clear that in both cases we are talking about faith, trust or assurances. But since the words sound and spelled almost the same, it’s easy to get confused. And here it is important to remember that assure is used when we want to assure or convince someone of something.

• She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

• Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

It is easy to confuse these words, but it is better not to do this, because then the sentence will lose its meaning. Just one letter — and what a difference in meaning! Then is an adverb that translates as «then» and «then».

• She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

• It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

Here, too, almost the same spelling and pronunciation are to blame for everything. The word «loser» is well known even to those who are not very good at English. Therefore, it seems that both lose and loose are about failures and losses. But it is important to remember that lose means “to lose”, “to lose”, “to lose”.

• I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

• A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

Here, in general, the difference is only in the article. But in English, even he can significantly change the meaning of a word. The noun lot together with the indefinite article a translates as «a lot», «a large number».

• I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

• I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

Here the story is similar to fewer and less. Both words refer to quantity, but amount is used when we are talking about something indefinite and uncountable, and number is used when we are talking about objects or people that can be counted.

• The project will take a huge amount of time and money — This project will take a huge amount of time and money.
• A small number of children are educated at home — A small number of children study at home.

UPD. Updated on October 25, 2019.

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

We learn English first at school, then at university, but the years go by — and we still make mistakes even in simple cases that do not apply to exceptions. We have prepared examples of common difficulties and rules for them. Having carefully studied and carefully understood the rules of spelling and pronunciation once, you will no longer make funny mistakes, and the level of English proficiency will be higher than that of some native speakers!

Incorrect use of apostrophes

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

Today we will look at the words with which we speak about a small amount of something or someone: few, little и a few, a little… In English, sometimes one small detail can completely change the meaning of what is said. Let’s find out how adding a before words few и little changes their meaning.

Use few

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

In this article, we will analyze when and how to use pronouns. few, a few, little, a little, a lot of, some, anycalled with a beautiful word — quantifiers (quantifiers). Often they have the same meaning, but their use in English depends on which object they describe — that is, with which noun — countable or uncountable they are used.

Scheme of using quantifiers:

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

In order not to miss new useful materials, subscribe to site updates

Have you noticed how often we use the words «a lot», «a little», «a few» in our speech and how we do not like to give exact numbers? Secretive by nature, the English also use these words very often in speech.

When we say «a lot» in English, we use the words many, much, a lot of, plenty of, and when we say «little» — few, a few, little, a little. These words are called determiners, they indicate an indefinite amount of something.

This article will show you when and where to use much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty of in English.

The noun plays a key role in the choice of the defining word. The determiner depends on which noun is in front of us, countable (countable) or uncountable (uncountable). Once again, we recall that we can count countable nouns and they have a plural form (a boy — boys). And uncountable nouns do not have a plural form (water — some water), and we cannot count them.

We have divided all words into three groups depending on which noun they are used with. We will consider each group separately.

Much / Little Many / Few A lot of / Plenty of

Uncountable nouns	Countable nouns	Countable and uncountable nouns
How much money have you got? — How much money do you have? — There is little ink left in my pen.	I have many friends. — He has got few friends. — He has few friends.	There is a lot of sugar there. — There are plenty of plants in the garden. — There are many plants in the garden.

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

Less / Fewer

Less / Fewer

«Less» and «fewer»Both words indicate quantitative indicators. «Less«- the comparative form of the word»little«, but «fewer«Is the comparative form»few».

Little [ˈLɪtəl] — a little, a little.
Few [fju] — a little, a little.

• we have less milk than I’d hoped. — We have less milk than I had hoped.
• There are fewer people than I expected. — Of people lessthan I expected.

Less

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Why is it so easy to get confused when using «less» and «fewer» — two pointers to many English languages?

This is because these words are translated the same way — «less», but they are used when discussing quantities of different types. In one case, the conversation is about objects that can be counted, in the other about things that require weighing.

An error in the use of both words, albeit noticeable, is not at all critical. If you are not a pedant, then perhaps you will not attach much importance to this lesson; for everyone else, it’s time to figure out how and what we consider as a smaller value. 

Difference between less and fewer in English

«Little» in English

«Little» in English

«Little» in English

How do you say «little» in English? Find out in this article!

Hello, friends! What lovely weather outside today, right? I don’t know about you, but I love warm spring and summer! This is definitely the best time of the year! So, put off all your business for the weekend and go outside to enjoy this sunny and wonderful day!

Source: https://enjoyenglish-blog.com/razgovornyj-anglijskij/malo-na-anglijskom.html

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

It doesn’t matter what level you have. Even native speakers are sometimes confused in these words.

1. Lay and lie

What is the difference between fewer and less? — everything is simple

Few, a few, little and a little in English are pronouns indicating quantity, in order to indicate a lack of something. These pronouns can stand in a sentence as defined to a noun, or independently of it, independently.

Depending on the form of use — whether the article is used or not — quantitative pronouns have different meanings. These differences include, as a rule, not only the semantic load, but also a certain assessment, which is found in the translation.

Rules of Use

What is the difference between fewer and less. use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Hey, folks! In this article, you will learn: when the English sentence uses «little» and when «few», what is the difference between «small» and «less», and when to use certain words with countable or uncountable nouns. Everything is accessible and understandable! Are you ready to be surprised? Let’s go then!

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

Here we are talking about the fact that a small number of family members leave their hometown. Of course, there are still not many of them, but the emphasis here is on the fact that there are some nearest & dearest (close and dear relatives) who are moving, and not on the fact that their number is small.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

I have many besties, I have known quite a few of them since high school.
I have a lot of best friends quite a few I know of them since high school. So many mosquitoes in this house! The fewestof them are in the living room though.
There are so many mosquitoes in this house! Although in their living room least of all.Mia made fewergrammar mistakes last time.
Last time Mia did less grammatical errors.

little / a little

Countable and uncountable nouns — video tutorial

Let’s say you come to someone’s house, open the refrigerator, and there all the shelves are crammed with packs of butter from top to bottom. You will express surprise by exclaiming not Wow! That’s a lot of butters !, a

That’s a lot of butter! — How much oil is there

Finding hundreds of pencils in a desk drawer, you say no Wow! That’s a lot of pencil !, a

That’s a lot of pencils! — Wow, how many pencils!

Uncountable nouns

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes

It is the pearl of all grammatical mistakes. And all because the words are similar in meaning and sound. But still there are nuances. To lie is translated as «to lie», «to be located», «to lie down».

• I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

• The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is «to put».

• She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

We learn English first at school, then at university, but the years go by — and we still make mistakes even in simple cases that do not apply to exceptions. We have prepared examples of common difficulties and rules for them. Having carefully studied and carefully understood the rules of spelling and pronunciation once, you will no longer make funny mistakes, and the level of English proficiency will be higher than that of some native speakers!

Incorrect use of apostrophes

Using apostrophes is not that difficult. Today, mistakes associated with the use of apostrophes are one of the most common in the English language. The apostrophe is used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something. To indicate that an object belongs to one person, the apostrophe must be placed before the ending «-s».

Example: «The girl’s horse» — the horse belongs to the girl.

To indicate that an object belongs to several persons, the apostrophe must be placed after the end of «-s».

Example: «The girls’ horse» — the horse belongs to girls.

Your or you’re

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

Today we will look at the words with which we speak about a small amount of something or someone: few, little и a few, a little… In English, sometimes one small detail can completely change the meaning of what is said. Let’s find out how adding a before words few и little changes their meaning.

Use few

Pronunciation and translation:
Few / [fyu] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Few is used with (people, chairs, flowers, apples).

This word is used to emphasize a small amount of something or someone. That is, we say that we have not enough of something or someonefor a specific business.

Few has a negative meaning, we say that something is not enough and we regret it. For example, she had littleacquaintances in this city, that is, she lacked communication and was lonely.

This country has few natural resources.
This country has little natural resources.

Few politicians admit their mistakes.
Little politicians admit their mistakes.

Little

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

In this article, we will analyze when and how to use pronouns. few, a few, little, a little, a lot of, some, anycalled with a beautiful word — quantifiers (quantifiers). Often they have the same meaning, but their use in English depends on which object they describe — that is, with which noun — countable or uncountable they are used.

Scheme of using quantifiers:

The details will help you master the audio lessons from the LingQ foreign language learning system, which is described in the article. For convenience, Russian translations are provided after each English text.

1. Little — few quantifiers

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

In order not to miss new useful materials, subscribe to site updates

Have you noticed how often we use the words «a lot», «a little», «a few» in our speech and how we do not like to give exact numbers? Secretive by nature, the English also use these words very often in speech.

When we say «a lot» in English, we use the words many, much, a lot of, plenty of, and when we say «little» — few, a few, little, a little. These words are called determiners, they indicate an indefinite amount of something.

This article will show you when and where to use much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty of in English.

The noun plays a key role in the choice of the defining word. The determiner depends on which noun is in front of us, countable (countable) or uncountable (uncountable). Once again, we recall that we can count countable nouns and they have a plural form (a boy — boys). And uncountable nouns do not have a plural form (water — some water), and we cannot count them.

We have divided all words into three groups depending on which noun they are used with. We will consider each group separately.

Much / Little Many / Few A lot of / Plenty of

Uncountable nouns	Countable nouns	Countable and uncountable nouns
How much money have you got? — How much money do you have? — There is little ink left in my pen.	I have many friends. — He has got few friends. — He has few friends.	There is a lot of sugar there. — There are plenty of plants in the garden. — There are many plants in the garden.

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

The words many (many), few (few), a few (several) are used with countable nouns. Many denotes a large number of something: many apples (many apples), many friends (many friends), many ideas (many ideas).

The opposite of many is few: few apples, few friends, few ideas. Few often have a negative meaning: very little, not enough, so little that practically none.

A few has an intermediate meaning between many and few, translated as «a few»: a few apples (a few apples), a few friends (a few friends), a few ideas (a few ideas).

— Do you have many friends in this part of the city? — At your place lot friends in this part of town?
— No, I don’t. I have few friends in this part of the city. — I do not have little friends in this part of town. (that is, not enough, I would like more)
— I have a few friends in the city center. — I have some friends in the city center.

Much, little, a little with uncountable nouns

Less / Fewer

«Less» and «fewer»Both words indicate quantitative indicators. «Less«- the comparative form of the word»little«, but «fewer«Is the comparative form»few».

Little [ˈLɪtəl] — a little, a little.
Few [fju] — a little, a little.

• we have less milk than I’d hoped. — We have less milk than I had hoped.
• There are fewer people than I expected. — Of people lessthan I expected.

Less

We use «less«With uncountable nouns such as: Pollution (pollution), traffic (traffic), News (news), freedom (freedom).

• there is less traffic and less pollution. — There less traffic and less pollution.
• We’ve been receiving a lot less news since we switched TV providers. — We get much less news since we changed TV providers.
• In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than they do here. — In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than here.

fewer

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Why is it so easy to get confused when using «less» and «fewer» — two pointers to many English languages?

This is because these words are translated the same way — «less», but they are used when discussing quantities of different types. In one case, the conversation is about objects that can be counted, in the other about things that require weighing.

An error in the use of both words, albeit noticeable, is not at all critical. If you are not a pedant, then perhaps you will not attach much importance to this lesson; for everyone else, it’s time to figure out how and what we consider as a smaller value. 

Difference between less and fewer in English

fewer

«Little» in English

How do you say «little» in English? Find out in this article!

Hello, friends! What lovely weather outside today, right? I don’t know about you, but I love warm spring and summer! This is definitely the best time of the year! So, put off all your business for the weekend and go outside to enjoy this sunny and wonderful day!

Source: https://enjoyenglish-blog.com/razgovornyj-anglijskij/malo-na-anglijskom.html

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

It doesn’t matter what level you have. Even native speakers are sometimes confused in these words.

1. Lay and lie

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

It doesn’t matter what level you have. Even native speakers are sometimes confused in these words.

1. Lay and lie

It is the pearl of all grammatical mistakes. And all because the words are similar in meaning and sound. But still there are nuances. To lie is translated as «to lie», «to be located», «to lie down».

• I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

• The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is “to put”.

• She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

What is the difference between fewer and less? — everything is simple

Few, a few, little and a little in English are pronouns indicating quantity, in order to indicate a lack of something. These pronouns can stand in a sentence as defined to a noun, or independently of it, independently.

Depending on the form of use — whether the article is used or not — quantitative pronouns have different meanings. These differences include, as a rule, not only the semantic load, but also a certain assessment, which is found in the translation.

Rules of Use

For nouns that have both singular and plural, as well as when a noun / pronoun is only thought of, its presence becomes apparent from the context, the pronouns few / a few are used.

In this case, it does not matter at all how the noun forms its plural — for all these cases, the rule will act the same.

For example:

She went to the USA for a few months… — She went to America for several months.

Few of her friends had been in the USA… — Few of her friends were in America.

The pronouns little / a little are used in sentences with uncountable nouns. The rules for their use and their semantic meaning are absolutely the same as for the pronouns few / a few, and their translation into Russian is also no different.

Example:

She stood in the USA a little last year… — Last year she spent a little time in America.

When she first came to the USA, she little thought that she would stay there so long. — When she first arrived in America, she never thought that she would stay there for so long.

Pronoun meaning (word translation)

As we noted, the pronouns few, little, a few, and a little are used to indicate not enough of something. The difference between them appears only in the context of their use with nouns.

So, few / a few is used with countable nouns, and little / a little — with those that have only a singular, or only a plural.

However, there are still some differences in meanings, which depend on the form in which the pronoun is used, and create some difference in translation.

The pronouns few, little, used without the indefinite article, express the meaning of «little», «not enough» or «not at all.» If they stand with an article, then the meaning is interpreted as «little, but enough» or «a little».

Moreover, in the first case, the sentence will most likely contain a somewhat negative connotation, in the second — neutral:

I can’t help you. I speak very little English… — I cannot help you, I know very little English.

I can help you, I speak a little English… — I can help you, I speak a little English.

It would seem that in both cases the first part of the sentence implies the same thing — I do not speak English very well, my knowledge is hardly enough.

However, if in the first sentence the evaluative fact is negative, then in the second it bears a positive connotation, and this already implies the use of the pronoun little with the indefinite article a:

• His English is intermediate, he forgets about his lessons. He has very little interest in languages… — His English is not above average, he forgets about his lessons. He has no interest in languages ​​at all.
• His English is intermediate, he coaches in it every weekends. He has a little interest in language. — His English is intermediate and he trains him every weekend. He has little interest in languages.
• I didn’t read this book in original, I can say very little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, I can say very little about it.
• I didn’t read this book in original, I can say a little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, but I can tell you a little about it.
• Very few of his friends can speak English… — Almost none of his friends speak English.
• A few of his friends can speak in English not bad at all. “Some of his friends don’t speak English bad at all.

Comparative and superlative

Like adjectives, quantitative pronouns in English can create degrees of comparison.

The pronouns few / a few form comparative and superlatives according to all the rules of the English language.

In the case of the pronouns little / a little, the situation is different:

• few ⇒ fewer ⇒ the fewis — few ⇒ less ⇒ least
• little ⇒ less ⇒ the least — little ⇒ less ⇒ least
• a few / a little ⇒ more ⇒ the most — a little ⇒ more ⇒ most

Source: https://vseprostdo.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less.html

What is the difference between fewer and less. use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Hey, folks! In this article, you will learn: when the English sentence uses «little» and when «few», what is the difference between «small» and «less», and when to use certain words with countable or uncountable nouns. Everything is accessible and understandable! Are you ready to be surprised? Let’s go then!

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

Here we are talking about the fact that a small number of family members leave their hometown. Of course, there are still not many of them, but the emphasis here is on the fact that there are some nearest & dearest (close and dear relatives) who are moving, and not on the fact that their number is small.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

I have many besties, I have known quite a few of them since high school.
I have a lot of best friends quite a few I know of them since high school. So many mosquitoes in this house! The fewestof them are in the living room though.
There are so many mosquitoes in this house! Although in their living room least of all.Mia made fewergrammar mistakes last time.
Last time Mia did less grammatical errors.

little / a little

«Little» [«lɪtl] and» a little «follow the same pattern as» few «with» a few «. The difference is that we use «few» and «a few» with plural nouns, while «little» and «a little» with nouns, which cannot be counted by the piece:

Unfortunately, we have littletime to prepare before the exam.
Sorry, not preparing for the exam with us very little time. Unfortunately, we have a littletime to prepare before we have to go today.
Unfortunately, for preparation today we have slightly time before we have to leave.

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

homer does lesshomework than I used to.
Homer does less homework than I once did.The least environmentallyhostile generator costs a fortune.
Leastdangerousfor the environment the energy source is worth a fortune.

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://film05.ru/bathroom/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

Countable and uncountable nouns — video tutorial

Let’s say you come to someone’s house, open the refrigerator, and there all the shelves are crammed with packs of butter from top to bottom. You will express surprise by exclaiming not Wow! That’s a lot of butters !, a

That’s a lot of butter! — How much oil is there

Finding hundreds of pencils in a desk drawer, you say no Wow! That’s a lot of pencil !, a

That’s a lot of pencils! — Wow, how many pencils!

Uncountable nouns

This is because oil is an uncountable noun in English, and a pencil is a countable noun. Uncountable means the whole class of a given substance — rain (rain), snow (snow), applause (applause), guilt (wine), liking (addiction). Most of the food is also incalculable: flour (flour), rice (rice).

They can be counted only in 3 cases:

— in the limitation of stick meters

a stick of butter — a pack of butter

— to distinguish between subspecies

3 butters — lime butter, pepper butter, chilly butter — 3 types of butter — lime, pepper, chili

— to mark packages in catering

Waiter, we need some more butters here — Waiter, more packs of butter here

Countable nouns

Countable nouns in English are subject-matter — they can always be counted, put in the plural, and numbered.

5 pencils — 5 pencils

2 cars — 2 cars

7 people — 7 people

3 children — 3 children

Quantitative nouns

There are quantitative nouns and pronouns that are combined with only 1 of 2 classes. So, an amount of requires an uncountable noun, and number of requires a countable noun.

a number of cows — several cows

Similarly, less is followed by an uncountable noun, and fewer is followed by a countable noun. However, less is also used with plural price tags — after all, we are not talking about a bill, but about the whole price.

less applause — less applause

less than 10 dollars — less than 10 dollars

In some illiterate supermarkets, you can see the inscription Less than 10 items express checkout. That’s right

Fewer than 10 items — Up to 10 purchases

Fun Facts

Dandelion root can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute.

Source: https://www.lovelylanguage.ru/grammar/video-lessons/count-and-mass-nouns

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes

It is the pearl of all grammatical mistakes. And all because the words are similar in meaning and sound. But still there are nuances. To lie is translated as «to lie», «to be located», «to lie down».

• I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

• The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is «to put».

• She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

• I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

But continuous is about something that lasts continuously.

• He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

• In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word has a second meaning: «annoyance because someone has what you yourself would like.» In other words, envy. It is how “envy” translates the second word, envy.

• He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
• Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

So what’s the difference? Linguists admit that if we are talking about envy, and not about jealousy, the differences have practically disappeared and the two words can be considered synonymous. Although earlier jealous meant a more serious, terrible and dramatic degree of envy.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we are talking about something abstract and uncountable, or when we don’t mention the exact amount.

• I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
• We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

• Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
• We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to impartial.

• A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

• He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

In Russian, the word “worry” can be used not only in the negative (“I’m terribly worried about you!”), But also in a positive way (“I was so excited when I received your letter!”). Perhaps that is why when we speak English, in similar cases we try to use anxious. But this word translates as «alarmed, worried, nervous.»

• It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

If you are happy to see friends, telling them that you are anxious to see them would be wrong. Excited is more appropriate here. By the way, the word anxious is also appropriate if we are impatient to do something or we are striving for something.

• I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «influence, cause, lead to something.»

• Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

• I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

• A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
• The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

• The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
• She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake between the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

It is clear that in both cases we are talking about faith, trust or assurances. But since the words sound and spelled almost the same, it’s easy to get confused. And here it is important to remember that assure is used when we want to assure or convince someone of something.

• She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

• Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

It is easy to confuse these words, but it is better not to do this, because then the sentence will lose its meaning. Just one letter — and what a difference in meaning! Then is an adverb that translates as «then» and «then».

• She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

• It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

Here, too, almost the same spelling and pronunciation are to blame for everything. The word «loser» is well known even to those who are not very good at English. Therefore, it seems that both lose and loose are about failures and losses. But it is important to remember that lose means “to lose”, “to lose”, “to lose”.

• I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

• A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

Here, in general, the difference is only in the article. But in English, even he can significantly change the meaning of a word. The noun lot together with the indefinite article a translates as «a lot», «a large number».

• I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

• I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

Here the story is similar to fewer and less. Both words refer to quantity, but amount is used when we are talking about something indefinite and uncountable, and number is used when we are talking about objects or people that can be counted.

• The project will take a huge amount of time and money — This project will take a huge amount of time and money.
• A small number of children are educated at home — A small number of children study at home.

UPD. Updated on October 25, 2019.

Source: https://lifehacker.ru/20-oshibok-v-anglijskom-yazyke-kotorye-delaet-kazhdyj-iz-nas/

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

We learn English first at school, then at university, but the years go by — and we still make mistakes even in simple cases that do not apply to exceptions. We have prepared examples of common difficulties and rules for them. Having carefully studied and carefully understood the rules of spelling and pronunciation once, you will no longer make funny mistakes, and the level of English proficiency will be higher than that of some native speakers!

Incorrect use of apostrophes

Incorrect use of apostrophes

Using apostrophes is not that difficult. Today, mistakes associated with the use of apostrophes are one of the most common in the English language. The apostrophe is used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something. To indicate that an object belongs to one person, the apostrophe must be placed before the ending «-s».

Example: «The girl’s horse» — the horse belongs to the girl.

To indicate that an object belongs to several persons, the apostrophe must be placed after the end of «-s».

Example: «The girls’ horse» — the horse belongs to girls.

Your or you’re

Your or you’re

“Your” is used when an object belongs to you.

Example: «Today is your lucky day» — Today is your lucky day.

“You’re” is used only as a shorthand for “you are”: pronoun “you” + verb “are”.

Example: “You’re beautiful” — You are beautiful.

There, their and they’re

There, their and they’re

And again these words, which sound almost the same. The word “there” is used to contrast “here”. “There” can also be used at the beginning of statements: There are no cakes left — There are no cakes left.

“Their” indicates that the object belongs to others.

Example: «Can we use their boat?» — Can we use their boat?

“They’re” is a shorthand for “they are”: the pronoun “they” + the verb “are”.

Example: «They’re going to be here soon» — They will be here soon.

Fewer or less

Fewer or less

Even native speakers do not always understand the difference between “fewer” and “less”, mistakes are found even in advertisements of some supermarkets in English-speaking countries. Cases where people use “less” to mean “fewer” are very common.

“Fewer” is used with countable nouns, that is, words that can be counted: cake, piece, grains of sand.

Example: «Fewer grains of sand» — Fewer grains of sand.

“Less” is used with uncountable nouns, that is, those that cannot be counted: coffee, water, sand.

Example: «Less sand» — less sand.

Amount or number

Amount or number

The same rule applies here as in the previous example. “Number” is used with countable nouns: birds, tables, chairs.

Example: «A greater number of people» — More and more people.

“Amount” is used with uncountable nouns: water, sugar, sand.

Example: «A larger amount of water» — More water.

To, two and too

To, two and too

The words sound identical, which is confusing for English learners. By ear, you can distinguish them by understanding other words from the context and the general meaning of the statements.

“To” is the particle that is used to form the initial form of the verb: “to talk” — to speak. “To” is also used to mean “towards something”.

Example: «I’m going to town» — I’m going to town.

“Too” means “too”, “also”, “too”.

Example: «I’m too hot» — I’m too hot.

“Two” means “two”.

Example: «He bought two cakes» — He bought two cakes.

Then or than

Then or than

“Then” and “than” are often confused not only because they sound similar, but also because they are written almost the same.

“Than” is used when we want to compare two objects.

Example: This dress is more beautiful than that one — This dress is more beautiful than that.

“Then” is used to indicate an event that will follow another, such as when making a plan or schedule.

Example: We’ll go to the cinema and then to the cafe — We will go to the cinema and then to the cafe.

Me, myself, I

Me, myself, I

Here’s an easy way to remember the difference between “me”, “myself” and “I”. When you talk about yourself and another person in the same sentence, their name should appear at the beginning of the sentence.

To check which pronoun you need at the moment, “me” or “I”, remove the name of the person you are talking about and see which pronoun sounds more correct.

In the sentence “John and I are off to the circus” — “John and I are going to the circus” you are not only talking about yourself, so it is better to use the pronoun “I”.

«Me» can only be used when you talk about yourself as an object, that is, when an action is directed at you. Also, «me» is placed after the preposition, that is, you cannot say «with I», we say «with me».

Use the pronoun “myself” if you have already used the pronoun “I” or if you want to emphasize that you are doing an action on your own or in relation to only yourself.

Who or whom

Who or whom

Another tricky moment for people learning English.

“Who” refers to the one who performs the action.

Example: “Who did this? He did ”- Who did it? — He did it.

Whereas “whom” is used to refer to the object to which the action is directed.

Example: “Whom should I invite? Invite him ”. Who should I invite? — Invite him.

Who and that

Who and that

Often, English learners use “that” instead of “who” or “whom,” which is incorrect. You cannot use “that” when you are talking about a person.

Example: “He was the only person who wanted to come” — He was the only one who wanted to come.

Affect or effect

Affect or effect

The words are easy to get confused because they sound and spelled almost the same. But there is a simple rule to help you remember the difference between the two.

“Affect” is a verb meaning “to influence, to influence something”. You can draw a parallel with the expression in Russian «state of passion»: he committed a crime in a state of passion, that is, under the influence of some sudden process.

Example: “They were directly affected by the flooding” — The flood directly affected them.

“Effect” is a noun meaning the result or effect of the influence exerted. You can also draw a parallel with the use of a word in Russian, for example, «negative effect of the statement», that is, there was some statement that subsequently caused a negative effect.

Example: “He waited for the medicine to have an effect” — He expected the drug to be effective.

Ie or Eg

Ie or Eg

English learners often do not know the decoding of these abbreviations, so they use them incorrectly when writing.

Ie means “that is” or “in other words”, comes from the Latin expression “id est”.

Example: «He objects to the changes — ie he won’t be accepting them» — He objects to the changes, that is, he won’t accept them.

Eg means “for example,” comes from the Latin expression “exempli gratia”.

Example: “He d many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie” — He liked many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie.

Use these abbreviations only in informal correspondence. In official documents, it is better to write their values ​​in expanded form: “for example” and “that is”.

Its or it’s

Its or it’s

We wrote above that apostrophes are used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something, but there is an exception to the rule — the pronoun “it”.

“It’s” is used only as a shorthand for “it is” or “it has”. Example: “It’s snowing outside” — It is snowing outside.

“Its” denotes the belonging of an object to an inanimate object, animal or plant. As with “his” and “hers,” there is no apostrophe here.

Example: «The sofa looks great with its new cover» — The sofa looks great with its new cover.

We hope that this article has explained some of the difficulties of the English language and will serve you as an assistant in learning it!

Source: https://blog.teachmeplease.ru/posts/13-trudnostey-angliyskogo-yazyka

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

Today we will look at the words with which we speak about a small amount of something or someone: few, little и a few, a little… In English, sometimes one small detail can completely change the meaning of what is said. Let’s find out how adding a before words few и little changes their meaning.

Use few

Use few

Pronunciation and translation:
Few / [fyu] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Few is used with (people, chairs, flowers, apples).

This word is used to emphasize a small amount of something or someone. That is, we say that we have not enough of something or someonefor a specific business.

Few has a negative meaning, we say that something is not enough and we regret it. For example, she had littleacquaintances in this city, that is, she lacked communication and was lonely.

This country has few natural resources.
This country has little natural resources.

Few politicians admit their mistakes.
Little politicians admit their mistakes.

Little

Little

Pronunciation and translation:
Little [? L? Tl] / [little] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Little we use with items that we cannot count(time, money, water, sugar, salt).

This word has the same meaning as few, says that something or someone is not enough for some purpose. And a person is upset by such a small amount.

For example, he has little money, that is, he does not have enough money to buy groceries.

Addicting a few

Addicting a few

Pronunciation and translation:
A few [? fju?] / [e fyu] — several

Meaning of the word:
A small amount of

A few, just like few is used with items that we can count.

However, when we say a few, the sentence takes on a positive meaning, that is, the speaking person, is not at all upset by a small amount of something. He believes that this amount is quite enough.

For example, she had someacquaintances in this city, that is, she had someone to spend time with, this number of acquaintances was quite enough.

I have got a few suggestions.
I have some offers.

Source: https://draftee.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-primery-predlozhenii-c-a-little-upotreblenie-few-a-few/

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

In this article, we will analyze when and how to use pronouns. few, a few, little, a little, a lot of, some, anycalled with a beautiful word — quantifiers (quantifiers). Often they have the same meaning, but their use in English depends on which object they describe — that is, with which noun — countable or uncountable they are used.

Scheme of using quantifiers:

Scheme of using quantifiers:

The details will help you master the audio lessons from the LingQ foreign language learning system, which is described in the article. For convenience, Russian translations are provided after each English text.

1. Little — few quantifiers

1. Little — few quantifiers

We use «a little»With uncountable nouns, for example: I have some money. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We use «a few»With countable plural nouns, for example:

I know a few words of French. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We can use «little» and «few» without «a«, But in this case it means» almost no «or» almost nothing «, for example: We must hurry, we have little time.

His English is very good and he makes few mistakes.

We can also say “very little» or «very few«(Very little), for example:

She is very thin because she eats very little. I made very few mistakes in the test.

And here are some more examples using «a little» and «a few«:

I cannot buy this coat today: I have very little money. She left and returned a few minutes later. There are very few old houses left on our street. She gave us some water to wash our hands. They are very poor and they have very little money. I speak good German and also a little Spanish. There were very few people in the park: it was almost empty. Can I have some milk in my coffee, please?

I hope you think these sentences will ensure that you will make very few mistakes when speaking English.

2. Quantifiers much — many — a lot of

2. Quantifiers much — many — a lot of

USING much, many, a lot of. We use much with uncountable nouns, for example: a lot of time, a lot of coffee, a lot of money, a lot of sugar.

We use many with countable nouns, for example: many books, many months, many years, many friends.

We use a lot of both uncountable and countable nouns, for example: a lot of friends, a lot of sugar, a lot of photos, a lot of time. However, it is important to note that:

1. We use a lot of mostly in positive sentences, for example: I drink a lot of tea. She carries many books.

2. We use much и many mostly in questions and negative suggestions, for example: How much money do you have? I don’t have a lot of money today. How many mistakes did you make in the test? I didn’t make many mistakes, only a few.

3. We can use lots of instead a lot of before countable nouns, for example: She has many friends.

4. We can use a lot without the noun and in this case we use it without a particle offor example: I ate a lot yesterday.

5. Sometimes much и a lot mean often, for example: Do you often go to the movies? — Not, no so much. Yes, I love movies; I go to the movies often.

More examples using much, many и a lot: I drink a lot of coffee and my sister drinks a lot of tea. What about you, do you drink a lot of coffee? I don’t know many people here. She made a lot of mistakes. There was a lot of food on the table. He talks a lot but does little. There is not much milk in the fridge. How many foreign languages ​​can you speak? There are many trees in our park. I have money, but not much. I have read many English books.

What about you: have you read a lot of English books?

3. Quantifiers some — any

3. Quantifiers some — any

USING some и Any… We use some in positive sentences with both countable and uncountable nouns, for example: I need a little flour and a little butter to make a cake. They made several mistakes.

But the meaning may be different: using some with uncountable nouns it means «a little»; but using some with countable nouns means ‘several’, for example: Not a lot of sugar, a few books. We use Any in negative sentences, for example: We don’t have any milk. They didn’t make a single mistake.

We can also use Any in most (but not all) questions, for example: Do you have any dictionaries? Was there any water in the glass? But we usually use some not Any in questions when we offer things, for example: Would you like coffee? Or when we ask for things, like: can you lend me some money?

And here are some more examples of use Any и some: There is some oil in the refrigerator, but no milk at all. Are there eggs? — No, there are no eggs left. There are some pictures on the wall.

Do you want some tea? Do you have any brothers or sisters? Can I have some water please? Can you speak any foreign languages? I have English books, but not many. Are there shops on this street? — Yes, there are several shops on this street.

They didn’t make a single mistake. And what about you? Have you made mistakes? I hope you haven’t made any mistakes.

Hey, folks! In this article, you will learn: when the English sentence uses «little» and when «few», what is the difference between «small» and «less», and when to use certain words with countable or uncountable nouns. Everything is accessible and understandable! Are you ready to be surprised? Let’s go then!

Few / few

Few / few

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

Here we are talking about the fact that a small number of family members leave their hometown. Of course, there are still not many of them, but the emphasis here is on the fact that there are some nearest & dearest (close and dear relatives) who are moving, and not on the fact that their number is small.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

I have many besties, I have known quite a few of them since high school.
I have a lot of best friends quite a few I know of them since high school. So many mosquitoes in this house! The fewestof them are in the living room though.
There are so many mosquitoes in this house! Although in their living room least of all.Mia made fewergrammar mistakes last time.
Last time Mia did less grammatical errors.

little / a little

little / a little

«Little» [«lɪtl] and» a little «follow the same pattern as» few «with» a few «. The difference is that we use «few» and «a few» with plural nouns, while «little» and «a little» with nouns, which cannot be counted by the piece:

Unfortunately, we have littletime to prepare before the exam.
Sorry, not preparing for the exam with us very little time. Unfortunately, we have a littletime to prepare before we have to go today.
Unfortunately, for preparation today we have slightly time before we have to leave.

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

homer does lesshomework than I used to.
Homer does less homework than I once did.The least environmentallyhostile generator costs a fortune.
Leastdangerousfor the environment the energy source is worth a fortune.

Small

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://chaos-heart.ru/upotreblenie-less-i-fewer-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

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Have you noticed how often we use the words «a lot», «a little», «a few» in our speech and how we do not like to give exact numbers? Secretive by nature, the English also use these words very often in speech.

When we say «a lot» in English, we use the words many, much, a lot of, plenty of, and when we say «little» — few, a few, little, a little. These words are called determiners, they indicate an indefinite amount of something.

This article will show you when and where to use much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty of in English.

The noun plays a key role in the choice of the defining word. The determiner depends on which noun is in front of us, countable (countable) or uncountable (uncountable). Once again, we recall that we can count countable nouns and they have a plural form (a boy — boys). And uncountable nouns do not have a plural form (water — some water), and we cannot count them.

We have divided all words into three groups depending on which noun they are used with. We will consider each group separately.

Much / Little Many / Few A lot of / Plenty of

Uncountable nouns	Countable nouns	Countable and uncountable nouns
How much money have you got? — How much money do you have? — There is little ink left in my pen.	I have many friends. — He has got few friends. — He has few friends.	There is a lot of sugar there. — There are plenty of plants in the garden. — There are many plants in the garden.

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

The words many (many), few (few), a few (several) are used with countable nouns. Many denotes a large number of something: many apples (many apples), many friends (many friends), many ideas (many ideas).

The opposite of many is few: few apples, few friends, few ideas. Few often have a negative meaning: very little, not enough, so little that practically none.

A few has an intermediate meaning between many and few, translated as «a few»: a few apples (a few apples), a few friends (a few friends), a few ideas (a few ideas).

— Do you have many friends in this part of the city? — At your place lot friends in this part of town?
— No, I don’t. I have few friends in this part of the city. — I do not have little friends in this part of town. (that is, not enough, I would like more)
— I have a few friends in the city center. — I have some friends in the city center.

Much, little, a little with uncountable nouns

Much, little, a little with uncountable nouns

The words much, little, and little are used with uncountable nouns. Usually, the uncountable include liquids (water — water, oil — oil), objects that are too small that cannot be counted (sand — sand, flour — flour), or abstract concepts, since they cannot be seen or touched by hands (knowledge — knowledge, work — Work).

Much stands for a large amount of something uncountable: much sugar, much milk, much time.

The opposite of much is little: little sugar, little milk, little time. Little, like few, means that something is not enough, very little.

A little means a small amount of something that cannot be counted: a little sugar, a little milk, a little time.

— Did she put much salt in the soup? — She lot put salt in the soup?
— No, she didn’t. She put little salt in the soup. — No, she put little salt in the soup. (more could have been)
— I added a little salt in her soup. — I added slightly salt in her soup.

A lot of, plenty of — universal words

A lot of, plenty of — universal words

The words a lot of (many) and plenty of (many) are the most «convenient»: we can use them with both countable nouns and uncountable ones.

A lot of (lots of) replaces much and many: a lot of people (many people), lots of tea (lots of tea). Plenty of means that there is a lot of something, that is, enough or even more than necessary: ​​plenty of people (a lot of people), plenty of tea (a lot of tea).

We bought lots of souvenirs and plenty of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka. — We bought lot souvenirs and lots of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka.

Features and exceptions

Features and exceptions

1. Much, many, few, little, a lot of with uncountable nouns

   There are a number of nouns that seem to be countable, but in fact are not. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine the «countability» of a noun.

   If you are not sure which noun is in front of you, it is better to check it in the dictionary.

   Please note that in English, uncountable includes advice, news, work, money, research, travel, furniture.

   They have much work to do. — They have lot work.

Source: https://engblog.ru/much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-plenty-usage

Less / Fewer

Less / Fewer

«Less» and «fewer»Both words indicate quantitative indicators. «Less«- the comparative form of the word»little«, but «fewer«Is the comparative form»few».

Little [ˈLɪtəl] — a little, a little.
Few [fju] — a little, a little.

• we have less milk than I’d hoped. — We have less milk than I had hoped.
• There are fewer people than I expected. — Of people lessthan I expected.

Less

Less

We use «less«With uncountable nouns such as: Pollution (pollution), traffic (traffic), News (news), freedom (freedom).

• there is less traffic and less pollution. — There less traffic and less pollution.
• We’ve been receiving a lot less news since we switched TV providers. — We get much less news since we changed TV providers.
• In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than they do here. — In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than here.

fewer

fewer

We use «fewer«With quantifiable nouns such as: restaurants (restaurants), cafes (Cafe), people (people), bags (bags).

• There are fewer restaurants and fewer cafes. — Here less restaurants and cafes.
• Fewer people came to the opening than we had expected! — It came to the opening less people than we expected!
• There are new pills with fewer side effects. — There are new drugs with smaller the number of side effects.

An exception

An exception

When we talk about measurements of time, distance, weight and money, we use “less«.

• It is less than six hours until my essay is due. — Until the delivery of the essay is left less six hours.
• i live less than fifty miles from London. “I live less than fifty miles from London.

More articles about English

Source: https://english5minutes.ru/less-fewer/

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Why is it so easy to get confused when using «less» and «fewer» — two pointers to many English languages?

This is because these words are translated the same way — «less», but they are used when discussing quantities of different types. In one case, the conversation is about objects that can be counted, in the other about things that require weighing.

An error in the use of both words, albeit noticeable, is not at all critical. If you are not a pedant, then perhaps you will not attach much importance to this lesson; for everyone else, it’s time to figure out how and what we consider as a smaller value. 

Difference between less and fewer in English

Difference between less and fewer in English

fewer

fewer

This is the comparative form of the demonstrative pronoun «few«- few; little, little. Used before countable nouns when indicating the reduction of the number of objects (elements).

Countable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which can be counted. It is expressed in pieces, units (pieces, bottles, packs, boxes) and has the plural:

• 3 packets of yeast;
• 2 watermelons;
• 8 eggs;
• 6 tomatoes.

An amazing selection of products for a wonderful dinner.

Fewer people today carry cash. — Fewer people nowadays carry cash with them.

Less

Less

This is the comparative form of the adverb «little«- a little, a little.

Used by:

• when indicating a reduction in the number of items;
• before uncountable nouns in the singular.

Uncountable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which cannot be counted. It is expressed in terms of mass, volume, but in some cases it does not have a clear definition at all:

• liquids: water (water), milk (milk), oil (oil), beer (beer);
• products: cheese, bread, meat;
• gaseous substances: smoke (smoke), air (air), oxygen (oxygen), hydrogen (hydrogen), nitrogen (nitrogen);
• substances consisting of many small particles: flour (flour), rice (rice), dust (dust), ash (dust, ash, ash);
• natural phenomena: snow (snow), light (light), rain (rain), wind (wind), fog (fog), heat (heat);
• abstractions: happiness, health, education, space, work, energy, truth.

there is less privacy today because of social media. — Due to the proliferation of social networks, there is less privacy in our lives today.

Less and fewer in life

Less and fewer in life

In everyday life in the United States, the word «less» is regularly misused. It applies not only to uncountable, but also countable nouns.

Films, serials, programs, advertising, news. Everything becomes a victim of simplicity and laziness. Americans concentrate on the qualitative aspect — the very fact of the reduction, and not the approach to assessing this reduction — volume, quantity.

Even big politicians who claim to be the head of state sometimes use the more widespread less in places that were not intended for that. Meath Romney — the US presidential candidate from the Republican Party in the 2012 elections said (from 02:58):

And this way you get more debt. So more debt and less work. Mitt Romney

The candidate made a reservation and used «less jobs» instead of «fewer jobs «(Less work, jobs).

Similarities between less and fewer

Similarities between less and fewer

Less and fewer with of

Less and fewer with of

It is necessary to substitute the preposition “of«Before defining words:

• articles (a / an, the);
• pronouns (him, it);
• demonstrative pronouns (this, that);
• possessive pronouns (my, her, our).

I have to spend less of my time playing computer games. — I should spend less time playing computer games.

Less without a noun

Less without a noun

The noun after «less» or «fewer» can be omitted if it is clear what is meant.

— You bought 10 bottles of juice. — You bought 10 bottles of juice.

— No way! I am sure I bought fewer… — Can not be! I’m sure I bought less.

Use cases for less and fewer

Use cases for less and fewer

Less, fewer and weight

Less, fewer and weight

The whole can also be calculated using grams, kilograms, but the habit is second nature and it tells native English speakers to use “less«Instead of» fewer «.

My weight was less than 8 pounds at birth. — At birth, my weight was less than 8 pounds.

Less, fewer and money

Less, fewer and money

Money is a thing that can be easily calculated. But, in life, we think of money as a whole, as an aggregate, about a mass, and not separate units, presented in the form of banknotes and coins. Therefore, when talking about money, use “less«, Not» fewer «.

I have less than 50 bucks left in my account. — I have less than $ 50 left in my account.

You can still say — fewer than 50 bucks, but it will sound strange and unexpected to those around you.

Less, fewer and percent

Less, fewer and percent

Determining the right word for percentages can be problematic. To do this, you need to evaluate the whole picture and ask yourself «Is it possible to calculate what we are describing?»

Fewer than 13 percent of the US citizens have black skin. — Less than 13% of the US population is black.

Counting all citizens with a dark skin color is difficult, but doable. This means 13% is a calculated value.

On the other hand, it is impossible to count the unfinished juice.

It has left less than 30 percent juice in the pack. — The package contains less than 30% of the juice.

Less, fewer and time

Less, fewer and time

It will also be common to use «less«When mentioning the time. We can count the time in seconds, minutes, hours, etc., but sentences are still built with «less».

I think they could spend less time at work. — I think they could spend less time at work.

I think they could spend fewer hours at work. — I think they could spend less hours at work.

Less or Fewer? — Short video tutorial

Less or Fewer? — Short video tutorial

English subtitles are available in the video.

Less & Fewer.

Source: https://englishboost.ru/less-fewer-raznitsa/

«Little» in English

«Little» in English

How do you say «little» in English? Find out in this article!

Hello, friends! What lovely weather outside today, right? I don’t know about you, but I love warm spring and summer! This is definitely the best time of the year! So, put off all your business for the weekend and go outside to enjoy this sunny and wonderful day!

Source: https://enjoyenglish-blog.com/razgovornyj-anglijskij/malo-na-anglijskom.html

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

It doesn’t matter what level you have. Even native speakers are sometimes confused in these words.

1. Lay and lie

1. Lay and lie

It is the pearl of all grammatical mistakes. And all because the words are similar in meaning and sound. But still there are nuances. To lie is translated as «to lie», «to be located», «to lie down».

• I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

• The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is “to put”.

• She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

• I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

Continuous, on the other hand, is about something that lasts continuously.

• He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

• In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word also has a second meaning: “annoyance that someone has what you yourself would like”. In other words, envy. The second word, envy, is also translated as “envy”.

• He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
• Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

So what’s the difference? Linguists admit that if we are talking about envy, and not about jealousy, the differences have practically disappeared and the two words can be considered synonymous. Although earlier jealous meant a more serious, terrible and dramatic degree of envy.

4. Fewer and less

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we talk about something abstract and uncountable, or we don’t mention the exact amount.

• I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
• We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

• Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
• We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to the Cambridge Dictionary: disinterested as «impartial.»

• A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

• He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

6. Anxious and excited

In Russian, the word “worry” can be used not only in a negative way (“I’m terribly worried about you!”), But also in a positive way (“I was so excited when I received your letter!”). Perhaps this is why, when we speak English, we try to use anxious in similar cases. But this word is translated as «anxious, worried, nervous.»

• It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

If you are happy to see your friends, telling them that you are anxious to see them would be wrong. Excited is more appropriate here. By the way, the word anxious is also appropriate if we are impatient to do something or we are striving for something.

• I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «to influence, cause, lead to something.»

• Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

• I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

• A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
• The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

• The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
• She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake among the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

9. Assure and ensure

It is clear that in both cases we are talking about faith, trust or assurances. But since the words sound and spelled almost the same, it’s easy to get confused. And here it is important to remember that assure is used when we want to assure or convince someone of something.

• She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

• Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

10. Then and than

It is easy to confuse these words, but it is better not to do this, because then the sentence will lose its meaning. Just one letter — and what a difference in meaning! Then is an adverb that translates as «then» and «then».

• She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

• It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

11. Lose and loose

Here, too, almost the same spelling and pronunciation are to blame for everything. The word «loser» is well known even to those who are not very good at English. Therefore, it seems that both lose and loose are about failures and losses. But it is important to remember that lose means “to lose”, “to lose”, “to lose”.

• I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

• A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

12. A lot and the lot

Here, in general, the difference is only in the article. But in English, even he can significantly change the meaning of a word. The noun lot together with the indefinite article a can be translated as «a lot», «a large number».

• I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

• I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

What is the difference between fewer and less? — everything is simple

Few, a few, little and a little in English are pronouns indicating quantity, in order to indicate a lack of something. These pronouns can stand in a sentence as defined to a noun, or independently of it, independently.

Depending on the form of use — whether the article is used or not — quantitative pronouns have different meanings. These differences include, as a rule, not only the semantic load, but also a certain assessment, which is found in the translation.

Rules of Use

For nouns that have both singular and plural, as well as when a noun / pronoun is only thought of, its presence becomes apparent from the context, the pronouns few / a few are used.

In this case, it does not matter at all how the noun forms its plural — for all these cases, the rule will act the same.

For example:

She went to the USA for a few months… — She went to America for several months.

Few of her friends had been in the USA… — Few of her friends were in America.

The pronouns little / a little are used in sentences with uncountable nouns. The rules for their use and their semantic meaning are absolutely the same as for the pronouns few / a few, and their translation into Russian is also no different.

Example:

She stood in the USA a little last year… — Last year she spent a little time in America.

When she first came to the USA, she little thought that she would stay there so long. — When she first arrived in America, she never thought that she would stay there for so long.

Pronoun meaning (word translation)

As we noted, the pronouns few, little, a few, and a little are used to indicate not enough of something. The difference between them appears only in the context of their use with nouns.

So, few / a few is used with countable nouns, and little / a little — with those that have only a singular, or only a plural.

However, there are still some differences in meanings, which depend on the form in which the pronoun is used, and create some difference in translation.

The pronouns few, little, used without the indefinite article, express the meaning of «little», «not enough» or «not at all.» If they stand with an article, then the meaning is interpreted as «little, but enough» or «a little».

Moreover, in the first case, the sentence will most likely contain a somewhat negative connotation, in the second — neutral:

I can’t help you. I speak very little English… — I cannot help you, I know very little English.

I can help you, I speak a little English… — I can help you, I speak a little English.

It would seem that in both cases the first part of the sentence implies the same thing — I do not speak English very well, my knowledge is hardly enough.

However, if in the first sentence the evaluative fact is negative, then in the second it bears a positive connotation, and this already implies the use of the pronoun little with the indefinite article a:

• His English is intermediate, he forgets about his lessons. He has very little interest in languages… — His English is not above average, he forgets about his lessons. He has no interest in languages ​​at all.
• His English is intermediate, he coaches in it every weekends. He has a little interest in language. — His English is intermediate and he trains him every weekend. He has little interest in languages.
• I didn’t read this book in original, I can say very little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, I can say very little about it.
• I didn’t read this book in original, I can say a little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, but I can tell you a little about it.
• Very few of his friends can speak English… — Almost none of his friends speak English.
• A few of his friends can speak in English not bad at all. “Some of his friends don’t speak English bad at all.

Comparative and superlative

Like adjectives, quantitative pronouns in English can create degrees of comparison.

The pronouns few / a few form comparative and superlatives according to all the rules of the English language.

In the case of the pronouns little / a little, the situation is different:

• few ⇒ fewer ⇒ the fewis — few ⇒ less ⇒ least
• little ⇒ less ⇒ the least — little ⇒ less ⇒ least
• a few / a little ⇒ more ⇒ the most — a little ⇒ more ⇒ most

Source: https://vseprostdo.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less.html

What is the difference between fewer and less. use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Hey, folks! In this article, you will learn: when the English sentence uses «little» and when «few», what is the difference between «small» and «less», and when to use certain words with countable or uncountable nouns. Everything is accessible and understandable! Are you ready to be surprised? Let’s go then!

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

Here we are talking about the fact that a small number of family members leave their hometown. Of course, there are still not many of them, but the emphasis here is on the fact that there are some nearest & dearest (close and dear relatives) who are moving, and not on the fact that their number is small.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

I have many besties, I have known quite a few of them since high school.
I have a lot of best friends quite a few I know of them since high school. So many mosquitoes in this house! The fewestof them are in the living room though.
There are so many mosquitoes in this house! Although in their living room least of all.Mia made fewergrammar mistakes last time.
Last time Mia did less grammatical errors.

little / a little

«Little» [«lɪtl] and» a little «follow the same pattern as» few «with» a few «. The difference is that we use «few» and «a few» with plural nouns, while «little» and «a little» with nouns, which cannot be counted by the piece:

Unfortunately, we have littletime to prepare before the exam.
Sorry, not preparing for the exam with us very little time. Unfortunately, we have a littletime to prepare before we have to go today.
Unfortunately, for preparation today we have slightly time before we have to leave.

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

homer does lesshomework than I used to.
Homer does less homework than I once did.The least environmentallyhostile generator costs a fortune.
Leastdangerousfor the environment the energy source is worth a fortune.

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://film05.ru/bathroom/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

Countable and uncountable nouns — video tutorial

Let’s say you come to someone’s house, open the refrigerator, and there all the shelves are crammed with packs of butter from top to bottom. You will express surprise by exclaiming not Wow! That’s a lot of butters !, a

That’s a lot of butter! — How much oil is there

Finding hundreds of pencils in a desk drawer, you say no Wow! That’s a lot of pencil !, a

That’s a lot of pencils! — Wow, how many pencils!

Uncountable nouns

This is because oil is an uncountable noun in English, and a pencil is a countable noun. Uncountable means the whole class of a given substance — rain (rain), snow (snow), applause (applause), guilt (wine), liking (addiction). Most of the food is also incalculable: flour (flour), rice (rice).

They can be counted only in 3 cases:

— in the limitation of stick meters

a stick of butter — a pack of butter

— to distinguish between subspecies

3 butters — lime butter, pepper butter, chilly butter — 3 types of butter — lime, pepper, chili

— to mark packages in catering

Waiter, we need some more butters here — Waiter, more packs of butter here

Countable nouns

Countable nouns in English are subject-matter — they can always be counted, put in the plural, and numbered.

5 pencils — 5 pencils

2 cars — 2 cars

7 people — 7 people

3 children — 3 children

Quantitative nouns

There are quantitative nouns and pronouns that are combined with only 1 of 2 classes. So, an amount of requires an uncountable noun, and number of requires a countable noun.

a number of cows — several cows

Similarly, less is followed by an uncountable noun, and fewer is followed by a countable noun. However, less is also used with plural price tags — after all, we are not talking about a bill, but about the whole price.

less applause — less applause

less than 10 dollars — less than 10 dollars

In some illiterate supermarkets, you can see the inscription Less than 10 items express checkout. That’s right

Fewer than 10 items — Up to 10 purchases

Fun Facts

Dandelion root can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute.

Source: https://www.lovelylanguage.ru/grammar/video-lessons/count-and-mass-nouns

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes

It is the pearl of all grammatical mistakes. And all because the words are similar in meaning and sound. But still there are nuances. To lie is translated as «to lie», «to be located», «to lie down».

• I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

• The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is «to put».

• She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

• I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

But continuous is about something that lasts continuously.

• He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

• In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word has a second meaning: «annoyance because someone has what you yourself would like.» In other words, envy. It is how “envy” translates the second word, envy.

• He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
• Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

So what’s the difference? Linguists admit that if we are talking about envy, and not about jealousy, the differences have practically disappeared and the two words can be considered synonymous. Although earlier jealous meant a more serious, terrible and dramatic degree of envy.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we are talking about something abstract and uncountable, or when we don’t mention the exact amount.

• I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
• We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

• Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
• We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to impartial.

• A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

• He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

In Russian, the word “worry” can be used not only in the negative (“I’m terribly worried about you!”), But also in a positive way (“I was so excited when I received your letter!”). Perhaps that is why when we speak English, in similar cases we try to use anxious. But this word translates as «alarmed, worried, nervous.»

• It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

If you are happy to see friends, telling them that you are anxious to see them would be wrong. Excited is more appropriate here. By the way, the word anxious is also appropriate if we are impatient to do something or we are striving for something.

• I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «influence, cause, lead to something.»

• Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

• I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

• A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
• The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

• The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
• She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake between the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

It is clear that in both cases we are talking about faith, trust or assurances. But since the words sound and spelled almost the same, it’s easy to get confused. And here it is important to remember that assure is used when we want to assure or convince someone of something.

• She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

• Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

It is easy to confuse these words, but it is better not to do this, because then the sentence will lose its meaning. Just one letter — and what a difference in meaning! Then is an adverb that translates as «then» and «then».

• She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

• It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

Here, too, almost the same spelling and pronunciation are to blame for everything. The word «loser» is well known even to those who are not very good at English. Therefore, it seems that both lose and loose are about failures and losses. But it is important to remember that lose means “to lose”, “to lose”, “to lose”.

• I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

• A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

Here, in general, the difference is only in the article. But in English, even he can significantly change the meaning of a word. The noun lot together with the indefinite article a translates as «a lot», «a large number».

• I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

• I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

Here the story is similar to fewer and less. Both words refer to quantity, but amount is used when we are talking about something indefinite and uncountable, and number is used when we are talking about objects or people that can be counted.

• The project will take a huge amount of time and money — This project will take a huge amount of time and money.
• A small number of children are educated at home — A small number of children study at home.

UPD. Updated on October 25, 2019.

Source: https://lifehacker.ru/20-oshibok-v-anglijskom-yazyke-kotorye-delaet-kazhdyj-iz-nas/

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

We learn English first at school, then at university, but the years go by — and we still make mistakes even in simple cases that do not apply to exceptions. We have prepared examples of common difficulties and rules for them. Having carefully studied and carefully understood the rules of spelling and pronunciation once, you will no longer make funny mistakes, and the level of English proficiency will be higher than that of some native speakers!

Incorrect use of apostrophes

Using apostrophes is not that difficult. Today, mistakes associated with the use of apostrophes are one of the most common in the English language. The apostrophe is used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something. To indicate that an object belongs to one person, the apostrophe must be placed before the ending «-s».

Example: «The girl’s horse» — the horse belongs to the girl.

To indicate that an object belongs to several persons, the apostrophe must be placed after the end of «-s».

Example: «The girls’ horse» — the horse belongs to girls.

Your or you’re

“Your” is used when an object belongs to you.

Example: «Today is your lucky day» — Today is your lucky day.

“You’re” is used only as a shorthand for “you are”: pronoun “you” + verb “are”.

Example: “You’re beautiful” — You are beautiful.

There, their and they’re

And again these words, which sound almost the same. The word “there” is used to contrast “here”. “There” can also be used at the beginning of statements: There are no cakes left — There are no cakes left.

“Their” indicates that the object belongs to others.

Example: «Can we use their boat?» — Can we use their boat?

“They’re” is a shorthand for “they are”: the pronoun “they” + the verb “are”.

Example: «They’re going to be here soon» — They will be here soon.

Fewer or less

Even native speakers do not always understand the difference between “fewer” and “less”, mistakes are found even in advertisements of some supermarkets in English-speaking countries. Cases where people use “less” to mean “fewer” are very common.

“Fewer” is used with countable nouns, that is, words that can be counted: cake, piece, grains of sand.

Example: «Fewer grains of sand» — Fewer grains of sand.

“Less” is used with uncountable nouns, that is, those that cannot be counted: coffee, water, sand.

Example: «Less sand» — less sand.

Amount or number

The same rule applies here as in the previous example. “Number” is used with countable nouns: birds, tables, chairs.

Example: «A greater number of people» — More and more people.

“Amount” is used with uncountable nouns: water, sugar, sand.

Example: «A larger amount of water» — More water.

To, two and too

The words sound identical, which is confusing for English learners. By ear, you can distinguish them by understanding other words from the context and the general meaning of the statements.

“To” is the particle that is used to form the initial form of the verb: “to talk” — to speak. “To” is also used to mean “towards something”.

Example: «I’m going to town» — I’m going to town.

“Too” means “too”, “also”, “too”.

Example: «I’m too hot» — I’m too hot.

“Two” means “two”.

Example: «He bought two cakes» — He bought two cakes.

Then or than

“Then” and “than” are often confused not only because they sound similar, but also because they are written almost the same.

“Than” is used when we want to compare two objects.

Example: This dress is more beautiful than that one — This dress is more beautiful than that.

“Then” is used to indicate an event that will follow another, such as when making a plan or schedule.

Example: We’ll go to the cinema and then to the cafe — We will go to the cinema and then to the cafe.

Me, myself, I

Here’s an easy way to remember the difference between “me”, “myself” and “I”. When you talk about yourself and another person in the same sentence, their name should appear at the beginning of the sentence.

To check which pronoun you need at the moment, “me” or “I”, remove the name of the person you are talking about and see which pronoun sounds more correct.

In the sentence “John and I are off to the circus” — “John and I are going to the circus” you are not only talking about yourself, so it is better to use the pronoun “I”.

«Me» can only be used when you talk about yourself as an object, that is, when an action is directed at you. Also, «me» is placed after the preposition, that is, you cannot say «with I», we say «with me».

Use the pronoun “myself” if you have already used the pronoun “I” or if you want to emphasize that you are doing an action on your own or in relation to only yourself.

Who or whom

Another tricky moment for people learning English.

“Who” refers to the one who performs the action.

Example: “Who did this? He did ”- Who did it? — He did it.

Whereas “whom” is used to refer to the object to which the action is directed.

Example: “Whom should I invite? Invite him ”. Who should I invite? — Invite him.

Who and that

Often, English learners use “that” instead of “who” or “whom,” which is incorrect. You cannot use “that” when you are talking about a person.

Example: “He was the only person who wanted to come” — He was the only one who wanted to come.

Affect or effect

The words are easy to get confused because they sound and spelled almost the same. But there is a simple rule to help you remember the difference between the two.

“Affect” is a verb meaning “to influence, to influence something”. You can draw a parallel with the expression in Russian «state of passion»: he committed a crime in a state of passion, that is, under the influence of some sudden process.

Example: “They were directly affected by the flooding” — The flood directly affected them.

“Effect” is a noun meaning the result or effect of the influence exerted. You can also draw a parallel with the use of a word in Russian, for example, «negative effect of the statement», that is, there was some statement that subsequently caused a negative effect.

Example: “He waited for the medicine to have an effect” — He expected the drug to be effective.

Ie or Eg

English learners often do not know the decoding of these abbreviations, so they use them incorrectly when writing.

Ie means “that is” or “in other words”, comes from the Latin expression “id est”.

Example: «He objects to the changes — ie he won’t be accepting them» — He objects to the changes, that is, he won’t accept them.

Eg means “for example,” comes from the Latin expression “exempli gratia”.

Example: “He d many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie” — He liked many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie.

Use these abbreviations only in informal correspondence. In official documents, it is better to write their values ​​in expanded form: “for example” and “that is”.

Its or it’s

We wrote above that apostrophes are used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something, but there is an exception to the rule — the pronoun “it”.

“It’s” is used only as a shorthand for “it is” or “it has”. Example: “It’s snowing outside” — It is snowing outside.

“Its” denotes the belonging of an object to an inanimate object, animal or plant. As with “his” and “hers,” there is no apostrophe here.

Example: «The sofa looks great with its new cover» — The sofa looks great with its new cover.

We hope that this article has explained some of the difficulties of the English language and will serve you as an assistant in learning it!

Source: https://blog.teachmeplease.ru/posts/13-trudnostey-angliyskogo-yazyka

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

Today we will look at the words with which we speak about a small amount of something or someone: few, little и a few, a little… In English, sometimes one small detail can completely change the meaning of what is said. Let’s find out how adding a before words few и little changes their meaning.

Use few

Pronunciation and translation:
Few / [fyu] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Few is used with (people, chairs, flowers, apples).

This word is used to emphasize a small amount of something or someone. That is, we say that we have not enough of something or someonefor a specific business.

Few has a negative meaning, we say that something is not enough and we regret it. For example, she had littleacquaintances in this city, that is, she lacked communication and was lonely.

This country has few natural resources.
This country has little natural resources.

Few politicians admit their mistakes.
Little politicians admit their mistakes.

Little

Pronunciation and translation:
Little [? L? Tl] / [little] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Little we use with items that we cannot count(time, money, water, sugar, salt).

This word has the same meaning as few, says that something or someone is not enough for some purpose. And a person is upset by such a small amount.

For example, he has little money, that is, he does not have enough money to buy groceries.

Addicting a few

Pronunciation and translation:
A few [? fju?] / [e fyu] — several

Meaning of the word:
A small amount of

A few, just like few is used with items that we can count.

However, when we say a few, the sentence takes on a positive meaning, that is, the speaking person, is not at all upset by a small amount of something. He believes that this amount is quite enough.

For example, she had someacquaintances in this city, that is, she had someone to spend time with, this number of acquaintances was quite enough.

I have got a few suggestions.
I have some offers.

Source: https://draftee.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-primery-predlozhenii-c-a-little-upotreblenie-few-a-few/

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

In this article, we will analyze when and how to use pronouns. few, a few, little, a little, a lot of, some, anycalled with a beautiful word — quantifiers (quantifiers). Often they have the same meaning, but their use in English depends on which object they describe — that is, with which noun — countable or uncountable they are used.

Scheme of using quantifiers:

The details will help you master the audio lessons from the LingQ foreign language learning system, which is described in the article. For convenience, Russian translations are provided after each English text.

1. Little — few quantifiers

We use «a little»With uncountable nouns, for example: I have some money. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We use «a few»With countable plural nouns, for example:

I know a few words of French. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We can use «little» and «few» without «a«, But in this case it means» almost no «or» almost nothing «, for example: We must hurry, we have little time.

His English is very good and he makes few mistakes.

We can also say “very little» or «very few«(Very little), for example:

She is very thin because she eats very little. I made very few mistakes in the test.

And here are some more examples using «a little» and «a few«:

I cannot buy this coat today: I have very little money. She left and returned a few minutes later. There are very few old houses left on our street. She gave us some water to wash our hands. They are very poor and they have very little money. I speak good German and also a little Spanish. There were very few people in the park: it was almost empty. Can I have some milk in my coffee, please?

I hope you think these sentences will ensure that you will make very few mistakes when speaking English.

2. Quantifiers much — many — a lot of

USING much, many, a lot of. We use much with uncountable nouns, for example: a lot of time, a lot of coffee, a lot of money, a lot of sugar.

We use many with countable nouns, for example: many books, many months, many years, many friends.

We use a lot of both uncountable and countable nouns, for example: a lot of friends, a lot of sugar, a lot of photos, a lot of time. However, it is important to note that:

1. We use a lot of mostly in positive sentences, for example: I drink a lot of tea. She carries many books.

2. We use much и many mostly in questions and negative suggestions, for example: How much money do you have? I don’t have a lot of money today. How many mistakes did you make in the test? I didn’t make many mistakes, only a few.

3. We can use lots of instead a lot of before countable nouns, for example: She has many friends.

4. We can use a lot without the noun and in this case we use it without a particle offor example: I ate a lot yesterday.

5. Sometimes much и a lot mean often, for example: Do you often go to the movies? — Not, no so much. Yes, I love movies; I go to the movies often.

More examples using much, many и a lot: I drink a lot of coffee and my sister drinks a lot of tea. What about you, do you drink a lot of coffee? I don’t know many people here. She made a lot of mistakes. There was a lot of food on the table. He talks a lot but does little. There is not much milk in the fridge. How many foreign languages ​​can you speak? There are many trees in our park. I have money, but not much. I have read many English books.

What about you: have you read a lot of English books?

3. Quantifiers some — any

USING some и Any… We use some in positive sentences with both countable and uncountable nouns, for example: I need a little flour and a little butter to make a cake. They made several mistakes.

But the meaning may be different: using some with uncountable nouns it means «a little»; but using some with countable nouns means ‘several’, for example: Not a lot of sugar, a few books. We use Any in negative sentences, for example: We don’t have any milk. They didn’t make a single mistake.

We can also use Any in most (but not all) questions, for example: Do you have any dictionaries? Was there any water in the glass? But we usually use some not Any in questions when we offer things, for example: Would you like coffee? Or when we ask for things, like: can you lend me some money?

And here are some more examples of use Any и some: There is some oil in the refrigerator, but no milk at all. Are there eggs? — No, there are no eggs left. There are some pictures on the wall.

Do you want some tea? Do you have any brothers or sisters? Can I have some water please? Can you speak any foreign languages? I have English books, but not many. Are there shops on this street? — Yes, there are several shops on this street.

They didn’t make a single mistake. And what about you? Have you made mistakes? I hope you haven’t made any mistakes.

Hey, folks! In this article, you will learn: when the English sentence uses «little» and when «few», what is the difference between «small» and «less», and when to use certain words with countable or uncountable nouns. Everything is accessible and understandable! Are you ready to be surprised? Let’s go then!

Few / few

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

Here we are talking about the fact that a small number of family members leave their hometown. Of course, there are still not many of them, but the emphasis here is on the fact that there are some nearest & dearest (close and dear relatives) who are moving, and not on the fact that their number is small.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

I have many besties, I have known quite a few of them since high school.
I have a lot of best friends quite a few I know of them since high school. So many mosquitoes in this house! The fewestof them are in the living room though.
There are so many mosquitoes in this house! Although in their living room least of all.Mia made fewergrammar mistakes last time.
Last time Mia did less grammatical errors.

little / a little

«Little» [«lɪtl] and» a little «follow the same pattern as» few «with» a few «. The difference is that we use «few» and «a few» with plural nouns, while «little» and «a little» with nouns, which cannot be counted by the piece:

Unfortunately, we have littletime to prepare before the exam.
Sorry, not preparing for the exam with us very little time. Unfortunately, we have a littletime to prepare before we have to go today.
Unfortunately, for preparation today we have slightly time before we have to leave.

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

homer does lesshomework than I used to.
Homer does less homework than I once did.The least environmentallyhostile generator costs a fortune.
Leastdangerousfor the environment the energy source is worth a fortune.

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://chaos-heart.ru/upotreblenie-less-i-fewer-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

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Have you noticed how often we use the words «a lot», «a little», «a few» in our speech and how we do not like to give exact numbers? Secretive by nature, the English also use these words very often in speech.

When we say «a lot» in English, we use the words many, much, a lot of, plenty of, and when we say «little» — few, a few, little, a little. These words are called determiners, they indicate an indefinite amount of something.

This article will show you when and where to use much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty of in English.

The noun plays a key role in the choice of the defining word. The determiner depends on which noun is in front of us, countable (countable) or uncountable (uncountable). Once again, we recall that we can count countable nouns and they have a plural form (a boy — boys). And uncountable nouns do not have a plural form (water — some water), and we cannot count them.

We have divided all words into three groups depending on which noun they are used with. We will consider each group separately.

Much / Little Many / Few A lot of / Plenty of

Uncountable nouns	Countable nouns	Countable and uncountable nouns
How much money have you got? — How much money do you have? — There is little ink left in my pen.	I have many friends. — He has got few friends. — He has few friends.	There is a lot of sugar there. — There are plenty of plants in the garden. — There are many plants in the garden.

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

The words many (many), few (few), a few (several) are used with countable nouns. Many denotes a large number of something: many apples (many apples), many friends (many friends), many ideas (many ideas).

The opposite of many is few: few apples, few friends, few ideas. Few often have a negative meaning: very little, not enough, so little that practically none.

A few has an intermediate meaning between many and few, translated as «a few»: a few apples (a few apples), a few friends (a few friends), a few ideas (a few ideas).

— Do you have many friends in this part of the city? — At your place lot friends in this part of town?
— No, I don’t. I have few friends in this part of the city. — I do not have little friends in this part of town. (that is, not enough, I would like more)
— I have a few friends in the city center. — I have some friends in the city center.

Much, little, a little with uncountable nouns

The words much, little, and little are used with uncountable nouns. Usually, the uncountable include liquids (water — water, oil — oil), objects that are too small that cannot be counted (sand — sand, flour — flour), or abstract concepts, since they cannot be seen or touched by hands (knowledge — knowledge, work — Work).

Much stands for a large amount of something uncountable: much sugar, much milk, much time.

The opposite of much is little: little sugar, little milk, little time. Little, like few, means that something is not enough, very little.

A little means a small amount of something that cannot be counted: a little sugar, a little milk, a little time.

— Did she put much salt in the soup? — She lot put salt in the soup?
— No, she didn’t. She put little salt in the soup. — No, she put little salt in the soup. (more could have been)
— I added a little salt in her soup. — I added slightly salt in her soup.

A lot of, plenty of — universal words

The words a lot of (many) and plenty of (many) are the most «convenient»: we can use them with both countable nouns and uncountable ones.

A lot of (lots of) replaces much and many: a lot of people (many people), lots of tea (lots of tea). Plenty of means that there is a lot of something, that is, enough or even more than necessary: ​​plenty of people (a lot of people), plenty of tea (a lot of tea).

We bought lots of souvenirs and plenty of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka. — We bought lot souvenirs and lots of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka.

Features and exceptions

1. Much, many, few, little, a lot of with uncountable nouns

   There are a number of nouns that seem to be countable, but in fact are not. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine the «countability» of a noun.

   If you are not sure which noun is in front of you, it is better to check it in the dictionary.

   Please note that in English, uncountable includes advice, news, work, money, research, travel, furniture.

   They have much work to do. — They have lot work.

Source: https://engblog.ru/much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-plenty-usage

Less / Fewer

«Less» and «fewer»Both words indicate quantitative indicators. «Less«- the comparative form of the word»little«, but «fewer«Is the comparative form»few».

Little [ˈLɪtəl] — a little, a little.
Few [fju] — a little, a little.

• we have less milk than I’d hoped. — We have less milk than I had hoped.
• There are fewer people than I expected. — Of people lessthan I expected.

Less

We use «less«With uncountable nouns such as: Pollution (pollution), traffic (traffic), News (news), freedom (freedom).

• there is less traffic and less pollution. — There less traffic and less pollution.
• We’ve been receiving a lot less news since we switched TV providers. — We get much less news since we changed TV providers.
• In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than they do here. — In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than here.

fewer

We use «fewer«With quantifiable nouns such as: restaurants (restaurants), cafes (Cafe), people (people), bags (bags).

• There are fewer restaurants and fewer cafes. — Here less restaurants and cafes.
• Fewer people came to the opening than we had expected! — It came to the opening less people than we expected!
• There are new pills with fewer side effects. — There are new drugs with smaller the number of side effects.

An exception

When we talk about measurements of time, distance, weight and money, we use “less«.

• It is less than six hours until my essay is due. — Until the delivery of the essay is left less six hours.
• i live less than fifty miles from London. “I live less than fifty miles from London.

More articles about English

Source: https://english5minutes.ru/less-fewer/

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Why is it so easy to get confused when using «less» and «fewer» — two pointers to many English languages?

This is because these words are translated the same way — «less», but they are used when discussing quantities of different types. In one case, the conversation is about objects that can be counted, in the other about things that require weighing.

An error in the use of both words, albeit noticeable, is not at all critical. If you are not a pedant, then perhaps you will not attach much importance to this lesson; for everyone else, it’s time to figure out how and what we consider as a smaller value. 

Difference between less and fewer in English

fewer

This is the comparative form of the demonstrative pronoun «few«- few; little, little. Used before countable nouns when indicating the reduction of the number of objects (elements).

Countable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which can be counted. It is expressed in pieces, units (pieces, bottles, packs, boxes) and has the plural:

• 3 packets of yeast;
• 2 watermelons;
• 8 eggs;
• 6 tomatoes.

An amazing selection of products for a wonderful dinner.

Fewer people today carry cash. — Fewer people nowadays carry cash with them.

Less

This is the comparative form of the adverb «little«- a little, a little.

Used by:

• when indicating a reduction in the number of items;
• before uncountable nouns in the singular.

Uncountable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which cannot be counted. It is expressed in terms of mass, volume, but in some cases it does not have a clear definition at all:

• liquids: water (water), milk (milk), oil (oil), beer (beer);
• products: cheese, bread, meat;
• gaseous substances: smoke (smoke), air (air), oxygen (oxygen), hydrogen (hydrogen), nitrogen (nitrogen);
• substances consisting of many small particles: flour (flour), rice (rice), dust (dust), ash (dust, ash, ash);
• natural phenomena: snow (snow), light (light), rain (rain), wind (wind), fog (fog), heat (heat);
• abstractions: happiness, health, education, space, work, energy, truth.

there is less privacy today because of social media. — Due to the proliferation of social networks, there is less privacy in our lives today.

Less and fewer in life

In everyday life in the United States, the word «less» is regularly misused. It applies not only to uncountable, but also countable nouns.

Films, serials, programs, advertising, news. Everything becomes a victim of simplicity and laziness. Americans concentrate on the qualitative aspect — the very fact of the reduction, and not the approach to assessing this reduction — volume, quantity.

Even big politicians who claim to be the head of state sometimes use the more widespread less in places that were not intended for that. Meath Romney — the US presidential candidate from the Republican Party in the 2012 elections said (from 02:58):

And this way you get more debt. So more debt and less work. Mitt Romney

The candidate made a reservation and used «less jobs» instead of «fewer jobs «(Less work, jobs).

Similarities between less and fewer

Less and fewer with of

It is necessary to substitute the preposition “of«Before defining words:

• articles (a / an, the);
• pronouns (him, it);
• demonstrative pronouns (this, that);
• possessive pronouns (my, her, our).

I have to spend less of my time playing computer games. — I should spend less time playing computer games.

Less without a noun

The noun after «less» or «fewer» can be omitted if it is clear what is meant.

— You bought 10 bottles of juice. — You bought 10 bottles of juice.

— No way! I am sure I bought fewer… — Can not be! I’m sure I bought less.

Use cases for less and fewer

Less, fewer and weight

The whole can also be calculated using grams, kilograms, but the habit is second nature and it tells native English speakers to use “less«Instead of» fewer «.

My weight was less than 8 pounds at birth. — At birth, my weight was less than 8 pounds.

Less, fewer and money

Money is a thing that can be easily calculated. But, in life, we think of money as a whole, as an aggregate, about a mass, and not separate units, presented in the form of banknotes and coins. Therefore, when talking about money, use “less«, Not» fewer «.

I have less than 50 bucks left in my account. — I have less than $ 50 left in my account.

You can still say — fewer than 50 bucks, but it will sound strange and unexpected to those around you.

Less, fewer and percent

Determining the right word for percentages can be problematic. To do this, you need to evaluate the whole picture and ask yourself «Is it possible to calculate what we are describing?»

Fewer than 13 percent of the US citizens have black skin. — Less than 13% of the US population is black.

Counting all citizens with a dark skin color is difficult, but doable. This means 13% is a calculated value.

On the other hand, it is impossible to count the unfinished juice.

It has left less than 30 percent juice in the pack. — The package contains less than 30% of the juice.

Less, fewer and time

It will also be common to use «less«When mentioning the time. We can count the time in seconds, minutes, hours, etc., but sentences are still built with «less».

I think they could spend less time at work. — I think they could spend less time at work.

I think they could spend fewer hours at work. — I think they could spend less hours at work.

Less or Fewer? — Short video tutorial

English subtitles are available in the video.

Less & Fewer.

Source: https://englishboost.ru/less-fewer-raznitsa/

«Little» in English

How do you say «little» in English? Find out in this article!

Hello, friends! What lovely weather outside today, right? I don’t know about you, but I love warm spring and summer! This is definitely the best time of the year! So, put off all your business for the weekend and go outside to enjoy this sunny and wonderful day!

Source: https://enjoyenglish-blog.com/razgovornyj-anglijskij/malo-na-anglijskom.html

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

It doesn’t matter what level you have. Even native speakers are sometimes confused in these words.

1. Lay and lie

It is the pearl of all grammatical mistakes. And all because the words are similar in meaning and sound. But still there are nuances. To lie is translated as «to lie», «to be located», «to lie down».

• I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

• The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is “to put”.

• She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

• I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

Continuous, on the other hand, is about something that lasts continuously.

• He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

• In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word also has a second meaning: “annoyance that someone has what you yourself would like”. In other words, envy. The second word, envy, is also translated as “envy”.

• He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
• Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

So what’s the difference? Linguists admit that if we are talking about envy, and not about jealousy, the differences have practically disappeared and the two words can be considered synonymous. Although earlier jealous meant a more serious, terrible and dramatic degree of envy.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we talk about something abstract and uncountable, or we don’t mention the exact amount.

• I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
• We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

• Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
• We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to the Cambridge Dictionary: disinterested as «impartial.»

• A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

• He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

In Russian, the word “worry” can be used not only in a negative way (“I’m terribly worried about you!”), But also in a positive way (“I was so excited when I received your letter!”). Perhaps this is why, when we speak English, we try to use anxious in similar cases. But this word is translated as «anxious, worried, nervous.»

• It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

If you are happy to see your friends, telling them that you are anxious to see them would be wrong. Excited is more appropriate here. By the way, the word anxious is also appropriate if we are impatient to do something or we are striving for something.

• I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «to influence, cause, lead to something.»

• Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

• I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

• A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
• The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

• The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
• She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake among the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

It is clear that in both cases we are talking about faith, trust or assurances. But since the words sound and spelled almost the same, it’s easy to get confused. And here it is important to remember that assure is used when we want to assure or convince someone of something.

• She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

• Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

It is easy to confuse these words, but it is better not to do this, because then the sentence will lose its meaning. Just one letter — and what a difference in meaning! Then is an adverb that translates as «then» and «then».

• She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

• It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

Here, too, almost the same spelling and pronunciation are to blame for everything. The word «loser» is well known even to those who are not very good at English. Therefore, it seems that both lose and loose are about failures and losses. But it is important to remember that lose means “to lose”, “to lose”, “to lose”.

• I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

• A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

Here, in general, the difference is only in the article. But in English, even he can significantly change the meaning of a word. The noun lot together with the indefinite article a can be translated as «a lot», «a large number».

• I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

• I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

What is the difference between fewer and less? — everything is simple

Few, a few, little and a little in English are pronouns indicating quantity, in order to indicate a lack of something. These pronouns can stand in a sentence as defined to a noun, or independently of it, independently.

Depending on the form of use — whether the article is used or not — quantitative pronouns have different meanings. These differences include, as a rule, not only the semantic load, but also a certain assessment, which is found in the translation.

Rules of Use

For nouns that have both singular and plural, as well as when a noun / pronoun is only thought of, its presence becomes apparent from the context, the pronouns few / a few are used.

In this case, it does not matter at all how the noun forms its plural — for all these cases, the rule will act the same.

For example:

She went to the USA for a few months… — She went to America for several months.

Few of her friends had been in the USA… — Few of her friends were in America.

The pronouns little / a little are used in sentences with uncountable nouns. The rules for their use and their semantic meaning are absolutely the same as for the pronouns few / a few, and their translation into Russian is also no different.

Example:

She stood in the USA a little last year… — Last year she spent a little time in America.

When she first came to the USA, she little thought that she would stay there so long. — When she first arrived in America, she never thought that she would stay there for so long.

Pronoun meaning (word translation)

As we noted, the pronouns few, little, a few, and a little are used to indicate not enough of something. The difference between them appears only in the context of their use with nouns.

So, few / a few is used with countable nouns, and little / a little — with those that have only a singular, or only a plural.

However, there are still some differences in meanings, which depend on the form in which the pronoun is used, and create some difference in translation.

The pronouns few, little, used without the indefinite article, express the meaning of «little», «not enough» or «not at all.» If they stand with an article, then the meaning is interpreted as «little, but enough» or «a little».

Moreover, in the first case, the sentence will most likely contain a somewhat negative connotation, in the second — neutral:

I can’t help you. I speak very little English… — I cannot help you, I know very little English.

I can help you, I speak a little English… — I can help you, I speak a little English.

It would seem that in both cases the first part of the sentence implies the same thing — I do not speak English very well, my knowledge is hardly enough.

However, if in the first sentence the evaluative fact is negative, then in the second it bears a positive connotation, and this already implies the use of the pronoun little with the indefinite article a:

• His English is intermediate, he forgets about his lessons. He has very little interest in languages… — His English is not above average, he forgets about his lessons. He has no interest in languages ​​at all.
• His English is intermediate, he coaches in it every weekends. He has a little interest in language. — His English is intermediate and he trains him every weekend. He has little interest in languages.
• I didn’t read this book in original, I can say very little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, I can say very little about it.
• I didn’t read this book in original, I can say a little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, but I can tell you a little about it.
• Very few of his friends can speak English… — Almost none of his friends speak English.
• A few of his friends can speak in English not bad at all. “Some of his friends don’t speak English bad at all.

Comparative and superlative

Like adjectives, quantitative pronouns in English can create degrees of comparison.

The pronouns few / a few form comparative and superlatives according to all the rules of the English language.

In the case of the pronouns little / a little, the situation is different:

• few ⇒ fewer ⇒ the fewis — few ⇒ less ⇒ least
• little ⇒ less ⇒ the least — little ⇒ less ⇒ least
• a few / a little ⇒ more ⇒ the most — a little ⇒ more ⇒ most

Source: https://vseprostdo.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less.html

What is the difference between fewer and less. use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Hey, folks! In this article, you will learn: when the English sentence uses «little» and when «few», what is the difference between «small» and «less», and when to use certain words with countable or uncountable nouns. Everything is accessible and understandable! Are you ready to be surprised? Let’s go then!

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

Here we are talking about the fact that a small number of family members leave their hometown. Of course, there are still not many of them, but the emphasis here is on the fact that there are some nearest & dearest (close and dear relatives) who are moving, and not on the fact that their number is small.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

I have many besties, I have known quite a few of them since high school.
I have a lot of best friends quite a few I know of them since high school. So many mosquitoes in this house! The fewestof them are in the living room though.
There are so many mosquitoes in this house! Although in their living room least of all.Mia made fewergrammar mistakes last time.
Last time Mia did less grammatical errors.

little / a little

«Little» [«lɪtl] and» a little «follow the same pattern as» few «with» a few «. The difference is that we use «few» and «a few» with plural nouns, while «little» and «a little» with nouns, which cannot be counted by the piece:

Unfortunately, we have littletime to prepare before the exam.
Sorry, not preparing for the exam with us very little time. Unfortunately, we have a littletime to prepare before we have to go today.
Unfortunately, for preparation today we have slightly time before we have to leave.

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

homer does lesshomework than I used to.
Homer does less homework than I once did.The least environmentallyhostile generator costs a fortune.
Leastdangerousfor the environment the energy source is worth a fortune.

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://film05.ru/bathroom/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

Countable and uncountable nouns — video tutorial

Let’s say you come to someone’s house, open the refrigerator, and there all the shelves are crammed with packs of butter from top to bottom. You will express surprise by exclaiming not Wow! That’s a lot of butters !, a

That’s a lot of butter! — How much oil is there

Finding hundreds of pencils in a desk drawer, you say no Wow! That’s a lot of pencil !, a

That’s a lot of pencils! — Wow, how many pencils!

Uncountable nouns

This is because oil is an uncountable noun in English, and a pencil is a countable noun. Uncountable means the whole class of a given substance — rain (rain), snow (snow), applause (applause), guilt (wine), liking (addiction). Most of the food is also incalculable: flour (flour), rice (rice).

They can be counted only in 3 cases:

— in the limitation of stick meters

a stick of butter — a pack of butter

— to distinguish between subspecies

3 butters — lime butter, pepper butter, chilly butter — 3 types of butter — lime, pepper, chili

— to mark packages in catering

Waiter, we need some more butters here — Waiter, more packs of butter here

Countable nouns

Countable nouns in English are subject-matter — they can always be counted, put in the plural, and numbered.

5 pencils — 5 pencils

2 cars — 2 cars

7 people — 7 people

3 children — 3 children

Quantitative nouns

There are quantitative nouns and pronouns that are combined with only 1 of 2 classes. So, an amount of requires an uncountable noun, and number of requires a countable noun.

a number of cows — several cows

Similarly, less is followed by an uncountable noun, and fewer is followed by a countable noun. However, less is also used with plural price tags — after all, we are not talking about a bill, but about the whole price.

less applause — less applause

less than 10 dollars — less than 10 dollars

In some illiterate supermarkets, you can see the inscription Less than 10 items express checkout. That’s right

Fewer than 10 items — Up to 10 purchases

Fun Facts

Dandelion root can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute.

Source: https://www.lovelylanguage.ru/grammar/video-lessons/count-and-mass-nouns

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes

It is the pearl of all grammatical mistakes. And all because the words are similar in meaning and sound. But still there are nuances. To lie is translated as «to lie», «to be located», «to lie down».

• I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

• The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is «to put».

• She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

• I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

But continuous is about something that lasts continuously.

• He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

• In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word has a second meaning: «annoyance because someone has what you yourself would like.» In other words, envy. It is how “envy” translates the second word, envy.

• He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
• Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

So what’s the difference? Linguists admit that if we are talking about envy, and not about jealousy, the differences have practically disappeared and the two words can be considered synonymous. Although earlier jealous meant a more serious, terrible and dramatic degree of envy.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we are talking about something abstract and uncountable, or when we don’t mention the exact amount.

• I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
• We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

• Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
• We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to impartial.

• A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

• He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

In Russian, the word “worry” can be used not only in the negative (“I’m terribly worried about you!”), But also in a positive way (“I was so excited when I received your letter!”). Perhaps that is why when we speak English, in similar cases we try to use anxious. But this word translates as «alarmed, worried, nervous.»

• It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

If you are happy to see friends, telling them that you are anxious to see them would be wrong. Excited is more appropriate here. By the way, the word anxious is also appropriate if we are impatient to do something or we are striving for something.

• I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «influence, cause, lead to something.»

• Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

• I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

• A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
• The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

• The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
• She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake between the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

It is clear that in both cases we are talking about faith, trust or assurances. But since the words sound and spelled almost the same, it’s easy to get confused. And here it is important to remember that assure is used when we want to assure or convince someone of something.

• She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

• Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

It is easy to confuse these words, but it is better not to do this, because then the sentence will lose its meaning. Just one letter — and what a difference in meaning! Then is an adverb that translates as «then» and «then».

• She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

• It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

Here, too, almost the same spelling and pronunciation are to blame for everything. The word «loser» is well known even to those who are not very good at English. Therefore, it seems that both lose and loose are about failures and losses. But it is important to remember that lose means “to lose”, “to lose”, “to lose”.

• I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

• A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

Here, in general, the difference is only in the article. But in English, even he can significantly change the meaning of a word. The noun lot together with the indefinite article a translates as «a lot», «a large number».

• I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

• I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

Here the story is similar to fewer and less. Both words refer to quantity, but amount is used when we are talking about something indefinite and uncountable, and number is used when we are talking about objects or people that can be counted.

• The project will take a huge amount of time and money — This project will take a huge amount of time and money.
• A small number of children are educated at home — A small number of children study at home.

UPD. Updated on October 25, 2019.

Source: https://lifehacker.ru/20-oshibok-v-anglijskom-yazyke-kotorye-delaet-kazhdyj-iz-nas/

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

We learn English first at school, then at university, but the years go by — and we still make mistakes even in simple cases that do not apply to exceptions. We have prepared examples of common difficulties and rules for them. Having carefully studied and carefully understood the rules of spelling and pronunciation once, you will no longer make funny mistakes, and the level of English proficiency will be higher than that of some native speakers!

Incorrect use of apostrophes

Incorrect use of apostrophes

Using apostrophes is not that difficult. Today, mistakes associated with the use of apostrophes are one of the most common in the English language. The apostrophe is used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something. To indicate that an object belongs to one person, the apostrophe must be placed before the ending «-s».

Example: «The girl’s horse» — the horse belongs to the girl.

To indicate that an object belongs to several persons, the apostrophe must be placed after the end of «-s».

Example: «The girls’ horse» — the horse belongs to girls.

Your or you’re

Your or you’re

“Your” is used when an object belongs to you.

Example: «Today is your lucky day» — Today is your lucky day.

“You’re” is used only as a shorthand for “you are”: pronoun “you” + verb “are”.

Example: “You’re beautiful” — You are beautiful.

There, their and they’re

There, their and they’re

And again these words, which sound almost the same. The word “there” is used to contrast “here”. “There” can also be used at the beginning of statements: There are no cakes left — There are no cakes left.

“Their” indicates that the object belongs to others.

Example: «Can we use their boat?» — Can we use their boat?

“They’re” is a shorthand for “they are”: the pronoun “they” + the verb “are”.

Example: «They’re going to be here soon» — They will be here soon.

Fewer or less

Fewer or less

Even native speakers do not always understand the difference between “fewer” and “less”, mistakes are found even in advertisements of some supermarkets in English-speaking countries. Cases where people use “less” to mean “fewer” are very common.

“Fewer” is used with countable nouns, that is, words that can be counted: cake, piece, grains of sand.

Example: «Fewer grains of sand» — Fewer grains of sand.

“Less” is used with uncountable nouns, that is, those that cannot be counted: coffee, water, sand.

Example: «Less sand» — less sand.

Amount or number

Amount or number

The same rule applies here as in the previous example. “Number” is used with countable nouns: birds, tables, chairs.

Example: «A greater number of people» — More and more people.

“Amount” is used with uncountable nouns: water, sugar, sand.

Example: «A larger amount of water» — More water.

To, two and too

To, two and too

The words sound identical, which is confusing for English learners. By ear, you can distinguish them by understanding other words from the context and the general meaning of the statements.

“To” is the particle that is used to form the initial form of the verb: “to talk” — to speak. “To” is also used to mean “towards something”.

Example: «I’m going to town» — I’m going to town.

“Too” means “too”, “also”, “too”.

Example: «I’m too hot» — I’m too hot.

“Two” means “two”.

Example: «He bought two cakes» — He bought two cakes.

Then or than

Then or than

“Then” and “than” are often confused not only because they sound similar, but also because they are written almost the same.

“Than” is used when we want to compare two objects.

Example: This dress is more beautiful than that one — This dress is more beautiful than that.

“Then” is used to indicate an event that will follow another, such as when making a plan or schedule.

Example: We’ll go to the cinema and then to the cafe — We will go to the cinema and then to the cafe.

Me, myself, I

Me, myself, I

Here’s an easy way to remember the difference between “me”, “myself” and “I”. When you talk about yourself and another person in the same sentence, their name should appear at the beginning of the sentence.

To check which pronoun you need at the moment, “me” or “I”, remove the name of the person you are talking about and see which pronoun sounds more correct.

In the sentence “John and I are off to the circus” — “John and I are going to the circus” you are not only talking about yourself, so it is better to use the pronoun “I”.

«Me» can only be used when you talk about yourself as an object, that is, when an action is directed at you. Also, «me» is placed after the preposition, that is, you cannot say «with I», we say «with me».

Use the pronoun “myself” if you have already used the pronoun “I” or if you want to emphasize that you are doing an action on your own or in relation to only yourself.

Who or whom

Who or whom

Another tricky moment for people learning English.

“Who” refers to the one who performs the action.

Example: “Who did this? He did ”- Who did it? — He did it.

Whereas “whom” is used to refer to the object to which the action is directed.

Example: “Whom should I invite? Invite him ”. Who should I invite? — Invite him.

Who and that

Who and that

Often, English learners use “that” instead of “who” or “whom,” which is incorrect. You cannot use “that” when you are talking about a person.

Example: “He was the only person who wanted to come” — He was the only one who wanted to come.

Affect or effect

Affect or effect

The words are easy to get confused because they sound and spelled almost the same. But there is a simple rule to help you remember the difference between the two.

“Affect” is a verb meaning “to influence, to influence something”. You can draw a parallel with the expression in Russian «state of passion»: he committed a crime in a state of passion, that is, under the influence of some sudden process.

Example: “They were directly affected by the flooding” — The flood directly affected them.

“Effect” is a noun meaning the result or effect of the influence exerted. You can also draw a parallel with the use of a word in Russian, for example, «negative effect of the statement», that is, there was some statement that subsequently caused a negative effect.

Example: “He waited for the medicine to have an effect” — He expected the drug to be effective.

Ie or Eg

Ie or Eg

English learners often do not know the decoding of these abbreviations, so they use them incorrectly when writing.

Ie means “that is” or “in other words”, comes from the Latin expression “id est”.

Example: «He objects to the changes — ie he won’t be accepting them» — He objects to the changes, that is, he won’t accept them.

Eg means “for example,” comes from the Latin expression “exempli gratia”.

Example: “He d many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie” — He liked many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie.

Use these abbreviations only in informal correspondence. In official documents, it is better to write their values ​​in expanded form: “for example” and “that is”.

Its or it’s

Its or it’s

We wrote above that apostrophes are used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something, but there is an exception to the rule — the pronoun “it”.

“It’s” is used only as a shorthand for “it is” or “it has”. Example: “It’s snowing outside” — It is snowing outside.

“Its” denotes the belonging of an object to an inanimate object, animal or plant. As with “his” and “hers,” there is no apostrophe here.

Example: «The sofa looks great with its new cover» — The sofa looks great with its new cover.

We hope that this article has explained some of the difficulties of the English language and will serve you as an assistant in learning it!

Source: https://blog.teachmeplease.ru/posts/13-trudnostey-angliyskogo-yazyka

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

Today we will look at the words with which we speak about a small amount of something or someone: few, little и a few, a little… In English, sometimes one small detail can completely change the meaning of what is said. Let’s find out how adding a before words few и little changes their meaning.

Use few

Use few

Pronunciation and translation:
Few / [fyu] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Few is used with (people, chairs, flowers, apples).

This word is used to emphasize a small amount of something or someone. That is, we say that we have not enough of something or someonefor a specific business.

Few has a negative meaning, we say that something is not enough and we regret it. For example, she had littleacquaintances in this city, that is, she lacked communication and was lonely.

This country has few natural resources.
This country has little natural resources.

Few politicians admit their mistakes.
Little politicians admit their mistakes.

Little

Little

Pronunciation and translation:
Little [? L? Tl] / [little] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Little we use with items that we cannot count(time, money, water, sugar, salt).

This word has the same meaning as few, says that something or someone is not enough for some purpose. And a person is upset by such a small amount.

For example, he has little money, that is, he does not have enough money to buy groceries.

Addicting a few

Addicting a few

Pronunciation and translation:
A few [? fju?] / [e fyu] — several

Meaning of the word:
A small amount of

A few, just like few is used with items that we can count.

However, when we say a few, the sentence takes on a positive meaning, that is, the speaking person, is not at all upset by a small amount of something. He believes that this amount is quite enough.

For example, she had someacquaintances in this city, that is, she had someone to spend time with, this number of acquaintances was quite enough.

I have got a few suggestions.
I have some offers.

Source: https://draftee.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-primery-predlozhenii-c-a-little-upotreblenie-few-a-few/

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

In this article, we will analyze when and how to use pronouns. few, a few, little, a little, a lot of, some, anycalled with a beautiful word — quantifiers (quantifiers). Often they have the same meaning, but their use in English depends on which object they describe — that is, with which noun — countable or uncountable they are used.

Scheme of using quantifiers:

Scheme of using quantifiers:

The details will help you master the audio lessons from the LingQ foreign language learning system, which is described in the article. For convenience, Russian translations are provided after each English text.

1. Little — few quantifiers

1. Little — few quantifiers

We use «a little»With uncountable nouns, for example: I have some money. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We use «a few»With countable plural nouns, for example:

I know a few words of French. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We can use «little» and «few» without «a«, But in this case it means» almost no «or» almost nothing «, for example: We must hurry, we have little time.

His English is very good and he makes few mistakes.

We can also say “very little» or «very few«(Very little), for example:

She is very thin because she eats very little. I made very few mistakes in the test.

And here are some more examples using «a little» and «a few«:

I cannot buy this coat today: I have very little money. She left and returned a few minutes later. There are very few old houses left on our street. She gave us some water to wash our hands. They are very poor and they have very little money. I speak good German and also a little Spanish. There were very few people in the park: it was almost empty. Can I have some milk in my coffee, please?

I hope you think these sentences will ensure that you will make very few mistakes when speaking English.

2. Quantifiers much — many — a lot of

2. Quantifiers much — many — a lot of

USING much, many, a lot of. We use much with uncountable nouns, for example: a lot of time, a lot of coffee, a lot of money, a lot of sugar.

We use many with countable nouns, for example: many books, many months, many years, many friends.

We use a lot of both uncountable and countable nouns, for example: a lot of friends, a lot of sugar, a lot of photos, a lot of time. However, it is important to note that:

1. We use a lot of mostly in positive sentences, for example: I drink a lot of tea. She carries many books.

2. We use much и many mostly in questions and negative suggestions, for example: How much money do you have? I don’t have a lot of money today. How many mistakes did you make in the test? I didn’t make many mistakes, only a few.

3. We can use lots of instead a lot of before countable nouns, for example: She has many friends.

4. We can use a lot without the noun and in this case we use it without a particle offor example: I ate a lot yesterday.

5. Sometimes much и a lot mean often, for example: Do you often go to the movies? — Not, no so much. Yes, I love movies; I go to the movies often.

More examples using much, many и a lot: I drink a lot of coffee and my sister drinks a lot of tea. What about you, do you drink a lot of coffee? I don’t know many people here. She made a lot of mistakes. There was a lot of food on the table. He talks a lot but does little. There is not much milk in the fridge. How many foreign languages ​​can you speak? There are many trees in our park. I have money, but not much. I have read many English books.

What about you: have you read a lot of English books?

3. Quantifiers some — any

3. Quantifiers some — any

USING some и Any… We use some in positive sentences with both countable and uncountable nouns, for example: I need a little flour and a little butter to make a cake. They made several mistakes.

But the meaning may be different: using some with uncountable nouns it means «a little»; but using some with countable nouns means ‘several’, for example: Not a lot of sugar, a few books. We use Any in negative sentences, for example: We don’t have any milk. They didn’t make a single mistake.

We can also use Any in most (but not all) questions, for example: Do you have any dictionaries? Was there any water in the glass? But we usually use some not Any in questions when we offer things, for example: Would you like coffee? Or when we ask for things, like: can you lend me some money?

And here are some more examples of use Any и some: There is some oil in the refrigerator, but no milk at all. Are there eggs? — No, there are no eggs left. There are some pictures on the wall.

Do you want some tea? Do you have any brothers or sisters? Can I have some water please? Can you speak any foreign languages? I have English books, but not many. Are there shops on this street? — Yes, there are several shops on this street.

They didn’t make a single mistake. And what about you? Have you made mistakes? I hope you haven’t made any mistakes.

Hey, folks! In this article, you will learn: when the English sentence uses «little» and when «few», what is the difference between «small» and «less», and when to use certain words with countable or uncountable nouns. Everything is accessible and understandable! Are you ready to be surprised? Let’s go then!

Few / few

Few / few

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

Here we are talking about the fact that a small number of family members leave their hometown. Of course, there are still not many of them, but the emphasis here is on the fact that there are some nearest & dearest (close and dear relatives) who are moving, and not on the fact that their number is small.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

I have many besties, I have known quite a few of them since high school.
I have a lot of best friends quite a few I know of them since high school. So many mosquitoes in this house! The fewestof them are in the living room though.
There are so many mosquitoes in this house! Although in their living room least of all.Mia made fewergrammar mistakes last time.
Last time Mia did less grammatical errors.

little / a little

little / a little

«Little» [«lɪtl] and» a little «follow the same pattern as» few «with» a few «. The difference is that we use «few» and «a few» with plural nouns, while «little» and «a little» with nouns, which cannot be counted by the piece:

Unfortunately, we have littletime to prepare before the exam.
Sorry, not preparing for the exam with us very little time. Unfortunately, we have a littletime to prepare before we have to go today.
Unfortunately, for preparation today we have slightly time before we have to leave.

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

homer does lesshomework than I used to.
Homer does less homework than I once did.The least environmentallyhostile generator costs a fortune.
Leastdangerousfor the environment the energy source is worth a fortune.

Small

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://chaos-heart.ru/upotreblenie-less-i-fewer-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

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Have you noticed how often we use the words «a lot», «a little», «a few» in our speech and how we do not like to give exact numbers? Secretive by nature, the English also use these words very often in speech.

When we say «a lot» in English, we use the words many, much, a lot of, plenty of, and when we say «little» — few, a few, little, a little. These words are called determiners, they indicate an indefinite amount of something.

This article will show you when and where to use much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty of in English.

The noun plays a key role in the choice of the defining word. The determiner depends on which noun is in front of us, countable (countable) or uncountable (uncountable). Once again, we recall that we can count countable nouns and they have a plural form (a boy — boys). And uncountable nouns do not have a plural form (water — some water), and we cannot count them.

We have divided all words into three groups depending on which noun they are used with. We will consider each group separately.

Much / Little Many / Few A lot of / Plenty of

Uncountable nouns	Countable nouns	Countable and uncountable nouns
How much money have you got? — How much money do you have? — There is little ink left in my pen.	I have many friends. — He has got few friends. — He has few friends.	There is a lot of sugar there. — There are plenty of plants in the garden. — There are many plants in the garden.

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

The words many (many), few (few), a few (several) are used with countable nouns. Many denotes a large number of something: many apples (many apples), many friends (many friends), many ideas (many ideas).

The opposite of many is few: few apples, few friends, few ideas. Few often have a negative meaning: very little, not enough, so little that practically none.

A few has an intermediate meaning between many and few, translated as «a few»: a few apples (a few apples), a few friends (a few friends), a few ideas (a few ideas).

— Do you have many friends in this part of the city? — At your place lot friends in this part of town?
— No, I don’t. I have few friends in this part of the city. — I do not have little friends in this part of town. (that is, not enough, I would like more)
— I have a few friends in the city center. — I have some friends in the city center.

Much, little, a little with uncountable nouns

Much, little, a little with uncountable nouns

The words much, little, and little are used with uncountable nouns. Usually, the uncountable include liquids (water — water, oil — oil), objects that are too small that cannot be counted (sand — sand, flour — flour), or abstract concepts, since they cannot be seen or touched by hands (knowledge — knowledge, work — Work).

Much stands for a large amount of something uncountable: much sugar, much milk, much time.

The opposite of much is little: little sugar, little milk, little time. Little, like few, means that something is not enough, very little.

A little means a small amount of something that cannot be counted: a little sugar, a little milk, a little time.

— Did she put much salt in the soup? — She lot put salt in the soup?
— No, she didn’t. She put little salt in the soup. — No, she put little salt in the soup. (more could have been)
— I added a little salt in her soup. — I added slightly salt in her soup.

A lot of, plenty of — universal words

A lot of, plenty of — universal words

The words a lot of (many) and plenty of (many) are the most «convenient»: we can use them with both countable nouns and uncountable ones.

A lot of (lots of) replaces much and many: a lot of people (many people), lots of tea (lots of tea). Plenty of means that there is a lot of something, that is, enough or even more than necessary: ​​plenty of people (a lot of people), plenty of tea (a lot of tea).

We bought lots of souvenirs and plenty of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka. — We bought lot souvenirs and lots of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka.

Features and exceptions

Features and exceptions

1. Much, many, few, little, a lot of with uncountable nouns

   There are a number of nouns that seem to be countable, but in fact are not. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine the «countability» of a noun.

   If you are not sure which noun is in front of you, it is better to check it in the dictionary.

   Please note that in English, uncountable includes advice, news, work, money, research, travel, furniture.

   They have much work to do. — They have lot work.

Source: https://engblog.ru/much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-plenty-usage

Less / Fewer

Less / Fewer

«Less» and «fewer»Both words indicate quantitative indicators. «Less«- the comparative form of the word»little«, but «fewer«Is the comparative form»few».

Little [ˈLɪtəl] — a little, a little.
Few [fju] — a little, a little.

• we have less milk than I’d hoped. — We have less milk than I had hoped.
• There are fewer people than I expected. — Of people lessthan I expected.

Less

Less

We use «less«With uncountable nouns such as: Pollution (pollution), traffic (traffic), News (news), freedom (freedom).

• there is less traffic and less pollution. — There less traffic and less pollution.
• We’ve been receiving a lot less news since we switched TV providers. — We get much less news since we changed TV providers.
• In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than they do here. — In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than here.

fewer

fewer

We use «fewer«With quantifiable nouns such as: restaurants (restaurants), cafes (Cafe), people (people), bags (bags).

• There are fewer restaurants and fewer cafes. — Here less restaurants and cafes.
• Fewer people came to the opening than we had expected! — It came to the opening less people than we expected!
• There are new pills with fewer side effects. — There are new drugs with smaller the number of side effects.

An exception

An exception

When we talk about measurements of time, distance, weight and money, we use “less«.

• It is less than six hours until my essay is due. — Until the delivery of the essay is left less six hours.
• i live less than fifty miles from London. “I live less than fifty miles from London.

More articles about English

Source: https://english5minutes.ru/less-fewer/

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Why is it so easy to get confused when using «less» and «fewer» — two pointers to many English languages?

This is because these words are translated the same way — «less», but they are used when discussing quantities of different types. In one case, the conversation is about objects that can be counted, in the other about things that require weighing.

An error in the use of both words, albeit noticeable, is not at all critical. If you are not a pedant, then perhaps you will not attach much importance to this lesson; for everyone else, it’s time to figure out how and what we consider as a smaller value. 

Difference between less and fewer in English

Difference between less and fewer in English

fewer

fewer

This is the comparative form of the demonstrative pronoun «few«- few; little, little. Used before countable nouns when indicating the reduction of the number of objects (elements).

Countable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which can be counted. It is expressed in pieces, units (pieces, bottles, packs, boxes) and has the plural:

• 3 packets of yeast;
• 2 watermelons;
• 8 eggs;
• 6 tomatoes.

An amazing selection of products for a wonderful dinner.

Fewer people today carry cash. — Fewer people nowadays carry cash with them.

Less

Less

This is the comparative form of the adverb «little«- a little, a little.

Used by:

• when indicating a reduction in the number of items;
• before uncountable nouns in the singular.

Uncountable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which cannot be counted. It is expressed in terms of mass, volume, but in some cases it does not have a clear definition at all:

• liquids: water (water), milk (milk), oil (oil), beer (beer);
• products: cheese, bread, meat;
• gaseous substances: smoke (smoke), air (air), oxygen (oxygen), hydrogen (hydrogen), nitrogen (nitrogen);
• substances consisting of many small particles: flour (flour), rice (rice), dust (dust), ash (dust, ash, ash);
• natural phenomena: snow (snow), light (light), rain (rain), wind (wind), fog (fog), heat (heat);
• abstractions: happiness, health, education, space, work, energy, truth.

there is less privacy today because of social media. — Due to the proliferation of social networks, there is less privacy in our lives today.

Less and fewer in life

Less and fewer in life

In everyday life in the United States, the word «less» is regularly misused. It applies not only to uncountable, but also countable nouns.

Films, serials, programs, advertising, news. Everything becomes a victim of simplicity and laziness. Americans concentrate on the qualitative aspect — the very fact of the reduction, and not the approach to assessing this reduction — volume, quantity.

Even big politicians who claim to be the head of state sometimes use the more widespread less in places that were not intended for that. Meath Romney — the US presidential candidate from the Republican Party in the 2012 elections said (from 02:58):

And this way you get more debt. So more debt and less work. Mitt Romney

The candidate made a reservation and used «less jobs» instead of «fewer jobs «(Less work, jobs).

Similarities between less and fewer

Similarities between less and fewer

Less and fewer with of

Less and fewer with of

It is necessary to substitute the preposition “of«Before defining words:

• articles (a / an, the);
• pronouns (him, it);
• demonstrative pronouns (this, that);
• possessive pronouns (my, her, our).

I have to spend less of my time playing computer games. — I should spend less time playing computer games.

Less without a noun

Less without a noun

The noun after «less» or «fewer» can be omitted if it is clear what is meant.

— You bought 10 bottles of juice. — You bought 10 bottles of juice.

— No way! I am sure I bought fewer… — Can not be! I’m sure I bought less.

Use cases for less and fewer

Use cases for less and fewer

Less, fewer and weight

Less, fewer and weight

The whole can also be calculated using grams, kilograms, but the habit is second nature and it tells native English speakers to use “less«Instead of» fewer «.

My weight was less than 8 pounds at birth. — At birth, my weight was less than 8 pounds.

Less, fewer and money

Less, fewer and money

Money is a thing that can be easily calculated. But, in life, we think of money as a whole, as an aggregate, about a mass, and not separate units, presented in the form of banknotes and coins. Therefore, when talking about money, use “less«, Not» fewer «.

I have less than 50 bucks left in my account. — I have less than $ 50 left in my account.

You can still say — fewer than 50 bucks, but it will sound strange and unexpected to those around you.

Less, fewer and percent

Less, fewer and percent

Determining the right word for percentages can be problematic. To do this, you need to evaluate the whole picture and ask yourself «Is it possible to calculate what we are describing?»

Fewer than 13 percent of the US citizens have black skin. — Less than 13% of the US population is black.

Counting all citizens with a dark skin color is difficult, but doable. This means 13% is a calculated value.

On the other hand, it is impossible to count the unfinished juice.

It has left less than 30 percent juice in the pack. — The package contains less than 30% of the juice.

Less, fewer and time

Less, fewer and time

It will also be common to use «less«When mentioning the time. We can count the time in seconds, minutes, hours, etc., but sentences are still built with «less».

I think they could spend less time at work. — I think they could spend less time at work.

I think they could spend fewer hours at work. — I think they could spend less hours at work.

Less or Fewer? — Short video tutorial

Less or Fewer? — Short video tutorial

English subtitles are available in the video.

Less & Fewer.

Source: https://englishboost.ru/less-fewer-raznitsa/

«Little» in English

«Little» in English

How do you say «little» in English? Find out in this article!

Hello, friends! What lovely weather outside today, right? I don’t know about you, but I love warm spring and summer! This is definitely the best time of the year! So, put off all your business for the weekend and go outside to enjoy this sunny and wonderful day!

Source: https://enjoyenglish-blog.com/razgovornyj-anglijskij/malo-na-anglijskom.html

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

It doesn’t matter what level you have. Even native speakers are sometimes confused in these words.

1. Lay and lie

1. Lay and lie

It is the pearl of all grammatical mistakes. And all because the words are similar in meaning and sound. But still there are nuances. To lie is translated as «to lie», «to be located», «to lie down».

• I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

• The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is “to put”.

• She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

• I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

Continuous, on the other hand, is about something that lasts continuously.

• He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

• In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word also has a second meaning: “annoyance that someone has what you yourself would like”. In other words, envy. The second word, envy, is also translated as “envy”.

• He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
• Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

So what’s the difference? Linguists admit that if we are talking about envy, and not about jealousy, the differences have practically disappeared and the two words can be considered synonymous. Although earlier jealous meant a more serious, terrible and dramatic degree of envy.

4. Fewer and less

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we talk about something abstract and uncountable, or we don’t mention the exact amount.

• I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
• We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

• Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
• We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to the Cambridge Dictionary: disinterested as «impartial.»

• A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

• He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

6. Anxious and excited

In Russian, the word “worry” can be used not only in a negative way (“I’m terribly worried about you!”), But also in a positive way (“I was so excited when I received your letter!”). Perhaps this is why, when we speak English, we try to use anxious in similar cases. But this word is translated as «anxious, worried, nervous.»

• It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

If you are happy to see your friends, telling them that you are anxious to see them would be wrong. Excited is more appropriate here. By the way, the word anxious is also appropriate if we are impatient to do something or we are striving for something.

• I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «to influence, cause, lead to something.»

• Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

• I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

• A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
• The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

• The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
• She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake among the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

9. Assure and ensure

It is clear that in both cases we are talking about faith, trust or assurances. But since the words sound and spelled almost the same, it’s easy to get confused. And here it is important to remember that assure is used when we want to assure or convince someone of something.

• She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

• Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

10. Then and than

It is easy to confuse these words, but it is better not to do this, because then the sentence will lose its meaning. Just one letter — and what a difference in meaning! Then is an adverb that translates as «then» and «then».

• She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

• It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

11. Lose and loose

Here, too, almost the same spelling and pronunciation are to blame for everything. The word «loser» is well known even to those who are not very good at English. Therefore, it seems that both lose and loose are about failures and losses. But it is important to remember that lose means “to lose”, “to lose”, “to lose”.

• I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

• A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

12. A lot and the lot

Here, in general, the difference is only in the article. But in English, even he can significantly change the meaning of a word. The noun lot together with the indefinite article a can be translated as «a lot», «a large number».

• I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

• I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

What is the difference between fewer and less? — everything is simple

Few, a few, little and a little in English are pronouns indicating quantity, in order to indicate a lack of something. These pronouns can stand in a sentence as defined to a noun, or independently of it, independently.

Depending on the form of use — whether the article is used or not — quantitative pronouns have different meanings. These differences include, as a rule, not only the semantic load, but also a certain assessment, which is found in the translation.

Rules of Use

For nouns that have both singular and plural, as well as when a noun / pronoun is only thought of, its presence becomes apparent from the context, the pronouns few / a few are used.

In this case, it does not matter at all how the noun forms its plural — for all these cases, the rule will act the same.

For example:

She went to the USA for a few months… — She went to America for several months.

Few of her friends had been in the USA… — Few of her friends were in America.

The pronouns little / a little are used in sentences with uncountable nouns. The rules for their use and their semantic meaning are absolutely the same as for the pronouns few / a few, and their translation into Russian is also no different.

Example:

She stood in the USA a little last year… — Last year she spent a little time in America.

When she first came to the USA, she little thought that she would stay there so long. — When she first arrived in America, she never thought that she would stay there for so long.

Pronoun meaning (word translation)

As we noted, the pronouns few, little, a few, and a little are used to indicate not enough of something. The difference between them appears only in the context of their use with nouns.

So, few / a few is used with countable nouns, and little / a little — with those that have only a singular, or only a plural.

However, there are still some differences in meanings, which depend on the form in which the pronoun is used, and create some difference in translation.

The pronouns few, little, used without the indefinite article, express the meaning of «little», «not enough» or «not at all.» If they stand with an article, then the meaning is interpreted as «little, but enough» or «a little».

Moreover, in the first case, the sentence will most likely contain a somewhat negative connotation, in the second — neutral:

I can’t help you. I speak very little English… — I cannot help you, I know very little English.

I can help you, I speak a little English… — I can help you, I speak a little English.

It would seem that in both cases the first part of the sentence implies the same thing — I do not speak English very well, my knowledge is hardly enough.

However, if in the first sentence the evaluative fact is negative, then in the second it bears a positive connotation, and this already implies the use of the pronoun little with the indefinite article a:

• His English is intermediate, he forgets about his lessons. He has very little interest in languages… — His English is not above average, he forgets about his lessons. He has no interest in languages ​​at all.
• His English is intermediate, he coaches in it every weekends. He has a little interest in language. — His English is intermediate and he trains him every weekend. He has little interest in languages.
• I didn’t read this book in original, I can say very little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, I can say very little about it.
• I didn’t read this book in original, I can say a little about it… — I have not read this book in the original, but I can tell you a little about it.
• Very few of his friends can speak English… — Almost none of his friends speak English.
• A few of his friends can speak in English not bad at all. “Some of his friends don’t speak English bad at all.

Comparative and superlative

Like adjectives, quantitative pronouns in English can create degrees of comparison.

The pronouns few / a few form comparative and superlatives according to all the rules of the English language.

In the case of the pronouns little / a little, the situation is different:

• few ⇒ fewer ⇒ the fewis — few ⇒ less ⇒ least
• little ⇒ less ⇒ the least — little ⇒ less ⇒ least
• a few / a little ⇒ more ⇒ the most — a little ⇒ more ⇒ most

Source: https://vseprostdo.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less.html

What is the difference between fewer and less. use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

Hey, folks! In this article, you will learn: when the English sentence uses «little» and when «few», what is the difference between «small» and «less», and when to use certain words with countable or uncountable nouns. Everything is accessible and understandable! Are you ready to be surprised? Let’s go then!

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

Here we are talking about the fact that a small number of family members leave their hometown. Of course, there are still not many of them, but the emphasis here is on the fact that there are some nearest & dearest (close and dear relatives) who are moving, and not on the fact that their number is small.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

I have many besties, I have known quite a few of them since high school.
I have a lot of best friends quite a few I know of them since high school. So many mosquitoes in this house! The fewestof them are in the living room though.
There are so many mosquitoes in this house! Although in their living room least of all.Mia made fewergrammar mistakes last time.
Last time Mia did less grammatical errors.

little / a little

«Little» [«lɪtl] and» a little «follow the same pattern as» few «with» a few «. The difference is that we use «few» and «a few» with plural nouns, while «little» and «a little» with nouns, which cannot be counted by the piece:

Unfortunately, we have littletime to prepare before the exam.
Sorry, not preparing for the exam with us very little time. Unfortunately, we have a littletime to prepare before we have to go today.
Unfortunately, for preparation today we have slightly time before we have to leave.

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

homer does lesshomework than I used to.
Homer does less homework than I once did.The least environmentallyhostile generator costs a fortune.
Leastdangerousfor the environment the energy source is worth a fortune.

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://film05.ru/bathroom/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

Countable and uncountable nouns — video tutorial

Let’s say you come to someone’s house, open the refrigerator, and there all the shelves are crammed with packs of butter from top to bottom. You will express surprise by exclaiming not Wow! That’s a lot of butters !, a

That’s a lot of butter! — How much oil is there

Finding hundreds of pencils in a desk drawer, you say no Wow! That’s a lot of pencil !, a

That’s a lot of pencils! — Wow, how many pencils!

Uncountable nouns

This is because oil is an uncountable noun in English, and a pencil is a countable noun. Uncountable means the whole class of a given substance — rain (rain), snow (snow), applause (applause), guilt (wine), liking (addiction). Most of the food is also incalculable: flour (flour), rice (rice).

They can be counted only in 3 cases:

— in the limitation of stick meters

a stick of butter — a pack of butter

— to distinguish between subspecies

3 butters — lime butter, pepper butter, chilly butter — 3 types of butter — lime, pepper, chili

— to mark packages in catering

Waiter, we need some more butters here — Waiter, more packs of butter here

Countable nouns

Countable nouns in English are subject-matter — they can always be counted, put in the plural, and numbered.

5 pencils — 5 pencils

2 cars — 2 cars

7 people — 7 people

3 children — 3 children

Quantitative nouns

There are quantitative nouns and pronouns that are combined with only 1 of 2 classes. So, an amount of requires an uncountable noun, and number of requires a countable noun.

a number of cows — several cows

Similarly, less is followed by an uncountable noun, and fewer is followed by a countable noun. However, less is also used with plural price tags — after all, we are not talking about a bill, but about the whole price.

less applause — less applause

less than 10 dollars — less than 10 dollars

In some illiterate supermarkets, you can see the inscription Less than 10 items express checkout. That’s right

Fewer than 10 items — Up to 10 purchases

Fun Facts

Dandelion root can be roasted and ground as a coffee substitute.

Source: https://www.lovelylanguage.ru/grammar/video-lessons/count-and-mass-nouns

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes

It is the pearl of all grammatical mistakes. And all because the words are similar in meaning and sound. But still there are nuances. To lie is translated as «to lie», «to be located», «to lie down».

• I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

• The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is «to put».

• She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

• I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

But continuous is about something that lasts continuously.

• He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

• In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word has a second meaning: «annoyance because someone has what you yourself would like.» In other words, envy. It is how “envy” translates the second word, envy.

• He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
• Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

So what’s the difference? Linguists admit that if we are talking about envy, and not about jealousy, the differences have practically disappeared and the two words can be considered synonymous. Although earlier jealous meant a more serious, terrible and dramatic degree of envy.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we are talking about something abstract and uncountable, or when we don’t mention the exact amount.

• I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
• We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

• Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
• We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to impartial.

• A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

• He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

In Russian, the word “worry” can be used not only in the negative (“I’m terribly worried about you!”), But also in a positive way (“I was so excited when I received your letter!”). Perhaps that is why when we speak English, in similar cases we try to use anxious. But this word translates as «alarmed, worried, nervous.»

• It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

If you are happy to see friends, telling them that you are anxious to see them would be wrong. Excited is more appropriate here. By the way, the word anxious is also appropriate if we are impatient to do something or we are striving for something.

• I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «influence, cause, lead to something.»

• Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

• I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

• A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
• The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

• The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
• She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake between the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

It is clear that in both cases we are talking about faith, trust or assurances. But since the words sound and spelled almost the same, it’s easy to get confused. And here it is important to remember that assure is used when we want to assure or convince someone of something.

• She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

• Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

It is easy to confuse these words, but it is better not to do this, because then the sentence will lose its meaning. Just one letter — and what a difference in meaning! Then is an adverb that translates as «then» and «then».

• She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

• It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

Here, too, almost the same spelling and pronunciation are to blame for everything. The word «loser» is well known even to those who are not very good at English. Therefore, it seems that both lose and loose are about failures and losses. But it is important to remember that lose means “to lose”, “to lose”, “to lose”.

• I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

• A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

Here, in general, the difference is only in the article. But in English, even he can significantly change the meaning of a word. The noun lot together with the indefinite article a translates as «a lot», «a large number».

• I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

• I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

Here the story is similar to fewer and less. Both words refer to quantity, but amount is used when we are talking about something indefinite and uncountable, and number is used when we are talking about objects or people that can be counted.

• The project will take a huge amount of time and money — This project will take a huge amount of time and money.
• A small number of children are educated at home — A small number of children study at home.

UPD. Updated on October 25, 2019.

Source: https://lifehacker.ru/20-oshibok-v-anglijskom-yazyke-kotorye-delaet-kazhdyj-iz-nas/

13 Difficulties in English and How to Avoid Them

We learn English first at school, then at university, but the years go by — and we still make mistakes even in simple cases that do not apply to exceptions. We have prepared examples of common difficulties and rules for them. Having carefully studied and carefully understood the rules of spelling and pronunciation once, you will no longer make funny mistakes, and the level of English proficiency will be higher than that of some native speakers!

Incorrect use of apostrophes

Using apostrophes is not that difficult. Today, mistakes associated with the use of apostrophes are one of the most common in the English language. The apostrophe is used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something. To indicate that an object belongs to one person, the apostrophe must be placed before the ending «-s».

Example: «The girl’s horse» — the horse belongs to the girl.

To indicate that an object belongs to several persons, the apostrophe must be placed after the end of «-s».

Example: «The girls’ horse» — the horse belongs to girls.

Your or you’re

“Your” is used when an object belongs to you.

Example: «Today is your lucky day» — Today is your lucky day.

“You’re” is used only as a shorthand for “you are”: pronoun “you” + verb “are”.

Example: “You’re beautiful” — You are beautiful.

There, their and they’re

And again these words, which sound almost the same. The word “there” is used to contrast “here”. “There” can also be used at the beginning of statements: There are no cakes left — There are no cakes left.

“Their” indicates that the object belongs to others.

Example: «Can we use their boat?» — Can we use their boat?

“They’re” is a shorthand for “they are”: the pronoun “they” + the verb “are”.

Example: «They’re going to be here soon» — They will be here soon.

Fewer or less

Even native speakers do not always understand the difference between “fewer” and “less”, mistakes are found even in advertisements of some supermarkets in English-speaking countries. Cases where people use “less” to mean “fewer” are very common.

“Fewer” is used with countable nouns, that is, words that can be counted: cake, piece, grains of sand.

Example: «Fewer grains of sand» — Fewer grains of sand.

“Less” is used with uncountable nouns, that is, those that cannot be counted: coffee, water, sand.

Example: «Less sand» — less sand.

Amount or number

The same rule applies here as in the previous example. “Number” is used with countable nouns: birds, tables, chairs.

Example: «A greater number of people» — More and more people.

“Amount” is used with uncountable nouns: water, sugar, sand.

Example: «A larger amount of water» — More water.

To, two and too

The words sound identical, which is confusing for English learners. By ear, you can distinguish them by understanding other words from the context and the general meaning of the statements.

“To” is the particle that is used to form the initial form of the verb: “to talk” — to speak. “To” is also used to mean “towards something”.

Example: «I’m going to town» — I’m going to town.

“Too” means “too”, “also”, “too”.

Example: «I’m too hot» — I’m too hot.

“Two” means “two”.

Example: «He bought two cakes» — He bought two cakes.

Then or than

“Then” and “than” are often confused not only because they sound similar, but also because they are written almost the same.

“Than” is used when we want to compare two objects.

Example: This dress is more beautiful than that one — This dress is more beautiful than that.

“Then” is used to indicate an event that will follow another, such as when making a plan or schedule.

Example: We’ll go to the cinema and then to the cafe — We will go to the cinema and then to the cafe.

Me, myself, I

Here’s an easy way to remember the difference between “me”, “myself” and “I”. When you talk about yourself and another person in the same sentence, their name should appear at the beginning of the sentence.

To check which pronoun you need at the moment, “me” or “I”, remove the name of the person you are talking about and see which pronoun sounds more correct.

In the sentence “John and I are off to the circus” — “John and I are going to the circus” you are not only talking about yourself, so it is better to use the pronoun “I”.

«Me» can only be used when you talk about yourself as an object, that is, when an action is directed at you. Also, «me» is placed after the preposition, that is, you cannot say «with I», we say «with me».

Use the pronoun “myself” if you have already used the pronoun “I” or if you want to emphasize that you are doing an action on your own or in relation to only yourself.

Who or whom

Another tricky moment for people learning English.

“Who” refers to the one who performs the action.

Example: “Who did this? He did ”- Who did it? — He did it.

Whereas “whom” is used to refer to the object to which the action is directed.

Example: “Whom should I invite? Invite him ”. Who should I invite? — Invite him.

Who and that

Often, English learners use “that” instead of “who” or “whom,” which is incorrect. You cannot use “that” when you are talking about a person.

Example: “He was the only person who wanted to come” — He was the only one who wanted to come.

Affect or effect

The words are easy to get confused because they sound and spelled almost the same. But there is a simple rule to help you remember the difference between the two.

“Affect” is a verb meaning “to influence, to influence something”. You can draw a parallel with the expression in Russian «state of passion»: he committed a crime in a state of passion, that is, under the influence of some sudden process.

Example: “They were directly affected by the flooding” — The flood directly affected them.

“Effect” is a noun meaning the result or effect of the influence exerted. You can also draw a parallel with the use of a word in Russian, for example, «negative effect of the statement», that is, there was some statement that subsequently caused a negative effect.

Example: “He waited for the medicine to have an effect” — He expected the drug to be effective.

Ie or Eg

English learners often do not know the decoding of these abbreviations, so they use them incorrectly when writing.

Ie means “that is” or “in other words”, comes from the Latin expression “id est”.

Example: «He objects to the changes — ie he won’t be accepting them» — He objects to the changes, that is, he won’t accept them.

Eg means “for example,” comes from the Latin expression “exempli gratia”.

Example: “He d many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie” — He liked many different cheeses, eg cheddar, camembert and brie.

Use these abbreviations only in informal correspondence. In official documents, it is better to write their values ​​in expanded form: “for example” and “that is”.

Its or it’s

We wrote above that apostrophes are used to indicate that something belongs to someone or something, but there is an exception to the rule — the pronoun “it”.

“It’s” is used only as a shorthand for “it is” or “it has”. Example: “It’s snowing outside” — It is snowing outside.

“Its” denotes the belonging of an object to an inanimate object, animal or plant. As with “his” and “hers,” there is no apostrophe here.

Example: «The sofa looks great with its new cover» — The sofa looks great with its new cover.

We hope that this article has explained some of the difficulties of the English language and will serve you as an assistant in learning it!

Source: https://blog.teachmeplease.ru/posts/13-trudnostey-angliyskogo-yazyka

What is the difference between fewer and less. example sentences ca little. use of few, a few, little, a little

Today we will look at the words with which we speak about a small amount of something or someone: few, little и a few, a little… In English, sometimes one small detail can completely change the meaning of what is said. Let’s find out how adding a before words few и little changes their meaning.

Use few

Pronunciation and translation:
Few / [fyu] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Few is used with (people, chairs, flowers, apples).

This word is used to emphasize a small amount of something or someone. That is, we say that we have not enough of something or someonefor a specific business.

Few has a negative meaning, we say that something is not enough and we regret it. For example, she had littleacquaintances in this city, that is, she lacked communication and was lonely.

This country has few natural resources.
This country has little natural resources.

Few politicians admit their mistakes.
Little politicians admit their mistakes.

Little

Pronunciation and translation:
Little [? L? Tl] / [little] — little

Meaning of the word:
Small amount

Little we use with items that we cannot count(time, money, water, sugar, salt).

This word has the same meaning as few, says that something or someone is not enough for some purpose. And a person is upset by such a small amount.

For example, he has little money, that is, he does not have enough money to buy groceries.

Addicting a few

Pronunciation and translation:
A few [? fju?] / [e fyu] — several

Meaning of the word:
A small amount of

A few, just like few is used with items that we can count.

However, when we say a few, the sentence takes on a positive meaning, that is, the speaking person, is not at all upset by a small amount of something. He believes that this amount is quite enough.

For example, she had someacquaintances in this city, that is, she had someone to spend time with, this number of acquaintances was quite enough.

I have got a few suggestions.
I have some offers.

Source: https://draftee.ru/v-chem-raznica-mezhdu-fewer-i-less-primery-predlozhenii-c-a-little-upotreblenie-few-a-few/

Using less and fewer. Use of the words much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of

In this article, we will analyze when and how to use pronouns. few, a few, little, a little, a lot of, some, anycalled with a beautiful word — quantifiers (quantifiers). Often they have the same meaning, but their use in English depends on which object they describe — that is, with which noun — countable or uncountable they are used.

Scheme of using quantifiers:

The details will help you master the audio lessons from the LingQ foreign language learning system, which is described in the article. For convenience, Russian translations are provided after each English text.

1. Little — few quantifiers

We use «a little»With uncountable nouns, for example: I have some money. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We use «a few»With countable plural nouns, for example:

I know a few words of French. This means: a certain amount, not a lot.

We can use «little» and «few» without «a«, But in this case it means» almost no «or» almost nothing «, for example: We must hurry, we have little time.

His English is very good and he makes few mistakes.

We can also say “very little» or «very few«(Very little), for example:

She is very thin because she eats very little. I made very few mistakes in the test.

And here are some more examples using «a little» and «a few«:

I cannot buy this coat today: I have very little money. She left and returned a few minutes later. There are very few old houses left on our street. She gave us some water to wash our hands. They are very poor and they have very little money. I speak good German and also a little Spanish. There were very few people in the park: it was almost empty. Can I have some milk in my coffee, please?

I hope you think these sentences will ensure that you will make very few mistakes when speaking English.

2. Quantifiers much — many — a lot of

USING much, many, a lot of. We use much with uncountable nouns, for example: a lot of time, a lot of coffee, a lot of money, a lot of sugar.

We use many with countable nouns, for example: many books, many months, many years, many friends.

We use a lot of both uncountable and countable nouns, for example: a lot of friends, a lot of sugar, a lot of photos, a lot of time. However, it is important to note that:

1. We use a lot of mostly in positive sentences, for example: I drink a lot of tea. She carries many books.

2. We use much и many mostly in questions and negative suggestions, for example: How much money do you have? I don’t have a lot of money today. How many mistakes did you make in the test? I didn’t make many mistakes, only a few.

3. We can use lots of instead a lot of before countable nouns, for example: She has many friends.

4. We can use a lot without the noun and in this case we use it without a particle offor example: I ate a lot yesterday.

5. Sometimes much и a lot mean often, for example: Do you often go to the movies? — Not, no so much. Yes, I love movies; I go to the movies often.

More examples using much, many и a lot: I drink a lot of coffee and my sister drinks a lot of tea. What about you, do you drink a lot of coffee? I don’t know many people here. She made a lot of mistakes. There was a lot of food on the table. He talks a lot but does little. There is not much milk in the fridge. How many foreign languages ​​can you speak? There are many trees in our park. I have money, but not much. I have read many English books.

What about you: have you read a lot of English books?

3. Quantifiers some — any

USING some и Any… We use some in positive sentences with both countable and uncountable nouns, for example: I need a little flour and a little butter to make a cake. They made several mistakes.

But the meaning may be different: using some with uncountable nouns it means «a little»; but using some with countable nouns means ‘several’, for example: Not a lot of sugar, a few books. We use Any in negative sentences, for example: We don’t have any milk. They didn’t make a single mistake.

We can also use Any in most (but not all) questions, for example: Do you have any dictionaries? Was there any water in the glass? But we usually use some not Any in questions when we offer things, for example: Would you like coffee? Or when we ask for things, like: can you lend me some money?

And here are some more examples of use Any и some: There is some oil in the refrigerator, but no milk at all. Are there eggs? — No, there are no eggs left. There are some pictures on the wall.

Do you want some tea? Do you have any brothers or sisters? Can I have some water please? Can you speak any foreign languages? I have English books, but not many. Are there shops on this street? — Yes, there are several shops on this street.

They didn’t make a single mistake. And what about you? Have you made mistakes? I hope you haven’t made any mistakes.

Hey, folks! In this article, you will learn: when the English sentence uses «little» and when «few», what is the difference between «small» and «less», and when to use certain words with countable or uncountable nouns. Everything is accessible and understandable! Are you ready to be surprised? Let’s go then!

Few / few

So, in English we use the word «few» when we mean extremely small the amount of something or the absence of something at all.

The word is translated as «very little«, I.e. «Not enough» at all. We use it, as a rule, when we are dealing with countable plural nouns, those objects and things that can be counted.

Few
Very little James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

In the above sentence, we used “few” to indicate that only two or three family members leave the city, most of the relatives remain in place.

However, if we used “a few«, Then the meaning would change:

A few members of James «family leave Pittsburgh and move to NY each year.
Some(a small number) of James’s family members leave Pittsburgh and move to New York every year.

Here we are talking about the fact that a small number of family members leave their hometown. Of course, there are still not many of them, but the emphasis here is on the fact that there are some nearest & dearest (close and dear relatives) who are moving, and not on the fact that their number is small.

An exception to the use of «a few» is the expression «quite a few«-«quite a bit of«,» A decent number «,» a lot. «

I have many besties, I have known quite a few of them since high school.
I have a lot of best friends quite a few I know of them since high school. So many mosquitoes in this house! The fewestof them are in the living room though.
There are so many mosquitoes in this house! Although in their living room least of all.Mia made fewergrammar mistakes last time.
Last time Mia did less grammatical errors.

little / a little

«Little» [«lɪtl] and» a little «follow the same pattern as» few «with» a few «. The difference is that we use «few» and «a few» with plural nouns, while «little» and «a little» with nouns, which cannot be counted by the piece:

Unfortunately, we have littletime to prepare before the exam.
Sorry, not preparing for the exam with us very little time. Unfortunately, we have a littletime to prepare before we have to go today.
Unfortunately, for preparation today we have slightly time before we have to leave.

In the first example, we say that we have a little time to prepare, but this time is still enough. In the second, we mean that there is time, but it is not enough to prepare thoroughly.

For a better understanding, you can compare these words with a glass of water.

If you need to focus on the fact that the glass is half full, then we say “littlewater ”(a little water, but enough in a glass).

If you want to emphasize that the glass is half empty, then “a little water ”(there is little water and not enough water in the glass).

homer does lesshomework than I used to.
Homer does less homework than I once did.The least environmentallyhostile generator costs a fortune.
Leastdangerousfor the environment the energy source is worth a fortune.

Small

The adjective «small» translates as «small»/«small»/«небольшой«And is used when this is aboutthe size of

Source: https://chaos-heart.ru/upotreblenie-less-i-fewer-ispolzovanie-slov-much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-i-plenty.html

The use of much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

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Have you noticed how often we use the words «a lot», «a little», «a few» in our speech and how we do not like to give exact numbers? Secretive by nature, the English also use these words very often in speech.

When we say «a lot» in English, we use the words many, much, a lot of, plenty of, and when we say «little» — few, a few, little, a little. These words are called determiners, they indicate an indefinite amount of something.

This article will show you when and where to use much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty of in English.

The noun plays a key role in the choice of the defining word. The determiner depends on which noun is in front of us, countable (countable) or uncountable (uncountable). Once again, we recall that we can count countable nouns and they have a plural form (a boy — boys). And uncountable nouns do not have a plural form (water — some water), and we cannot count them.

We have divided all words into three groups depending on which noun they are used with. We will consider each group separately.

Much / Little Many / Few A lot of / Plenty of

Uncountable nouns	Countable nouns	Countable and uncountable nouns
How much money have you got? — How much money do you have? — There is little ink left in my pen.	I have many friends. — He has got few friends. — He has few friends.	There is a lot of sugar there. — There are plenty of plants in the garden. — There are many plants in the garden.

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

The words many (many), few (few), a few (several) are used with countable nouns. Many denotes a large number of something: many apples (many apples), many friends (many friends), many ideas (many ideas).

The opposite of many is few: few apples, few friends, few ideas. Few often have a negative meaning: very little, not enough, so little that practically none.

A few has an intermediate meaning between many and few, translated as «a few»: a few apples (a few apples), a few friends (a few friends), a few ideas (a few ideas).

— Do you have many friends in this part of the city? — At your place lot friends in this part of town?
— No, I don’t. I have few friends in this part of the city. — I do not have little friends in this part of town. (that is, not enough, I would like more)
— I have a few friends in the city center. — I have some friends in the city center.

Much, little, a little with uncountable nouns

The words much, little, and little are used with uncountable nouns. Usually, the uncountable include liquids (water — water, oil — oil), objects that are too small that cannot be counted (sand — sand, flour — flour), or abstract concepts, since they cannot be seen or touched by hands (knowledge — knowledge, work — Work).

Much stands for a large amount of something uncountable: much sugar, much milk, much time.

The opposite of much is little: little sugar, little milk, little time. Little, like few, means that something is not enough, very little.

A little means a small amount of something that cannot be counted: a little sugar, a little milk, a little time.

— Did she put much salt in the soup? — She lot put salt in the soup?
— No, she didn’t. She put little salt in the soup. — No, she put little salt in the soup. (more could have been)
— I added a little salt in her soup. — I added slightly salt in her soup.

A lot of, plenty of — universal words

The words a lot of (many) and plenty of (many) are the most «convenient»: we can use them with both countable nouns and uncountable ones.

A lot of (lots of) replaces much and many: a lot of people (many people), lots of tea (lots of tea). Plenty of means that there is a lot of something, that is, enough or even more than necessary: ​​plenty of people (a lot of people), plenty of tea (a lot of tea).

We bought lots of souvenirs and plenty of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka. — We bought lot souvenirs and lots of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka.

Features and exceptions

1. Much, many, few, little, a lot of with uncountable nouns

   There are a number of nouns that seem to be countable, but in fact are not. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine the «countability» of a noun.

   If you are not sure which noun is in front of you, it is better to check it in the dictionary.

   Please note that in English, uncountable includes advice, news, work, money, research, travel, furniture.

   They have much work to do. — They have lot work.

Source: https://engblog.ru/much-many-few-little-a-lot-of-plenty-usage

Less / Fewer

«Less» and «fewer»Both words indicate quantitative indicators. «Less«- the comparative form of the word»little«, but «fewer«Is the comparative form»few».

Little [ˈLɪtəl] — a little, a little.
Few [fju] — a little, a little.

• we have less milk than I’d hoped. — We have less milk than I had hoped.
• There are fewer people than I expected. — Of people lessthan I expected.

Less

We use «less«With uncountable nouns such as: Pollution (pollution), traffic (traffic), News (news), freedom (freedom).

• there is less traffic and less pollution. — There less traffic and less pollution.
• We’ve been receiving a lot less news since we switched TV providers. — We get much less news since we changed TV providers.
• In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than they do here. — In more conservative societies, women have less freedom than here.

fewer

We use «fewer«With quantifiable nouns such as: restaurants (restaurants), cafes (Cafe), people (people), bags (bags).

• There are fewer restaurants and fewer cafes. — Here less restaurants and cafes.
• Fewer people came to the opening than we had expected! — It came to the opening less people than we expected!
• There are new pills with fewer side effects. — There are new drugs with smaller the number of side effects.

An exception

When we talk about measurements of time, distance, weight and money, we use “less«.

• It is less than six hours until my essay is due. — Until the delivery of the essay is left less six hours.
• i live less than fifty miles from London. “I live less than fifty miles from London.

More articles about English

Source: https://english5minutes.ru/less-fewer/

Difference in the use of less and fewer in English

Why is it so easy to get confused when using «less» and «fewer» — two pointers to many English languages?

This is because these words are translated the same way — «less», but they are used when discussing quantities of different types. In one case, the conversation is about objects that can be counted, in the other about things that require weighing.

An error in the use of both words, albeit noticeable, is not at all critical. If you are not a pedant, then perhaps you will not attach much importance to this lesson; for everyone else, it’s time to figure out how and what we consider as a smaller value. 

Difference between less and fewer in English

fewer

This is the comparative form of the demonstrative pronoun «few«- few; little, little. Used before countable nouns when indicating the reduction of the number of objects (elements).

Countable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which can be counted. It is expressed in pieces, units (pieces, bottles, packs, boxes) and has the plural:

• 3 packets of yeast;
• 2 watermelons;
• 8 eggs;
• 6 tomatoes.

An amazing selection of products for a wonderful dinner.

Fewer people today carry cash. — Fewer people nowadays carry cash with them.

Less

This is the comparative form of the adverb «little«- a little, a little.

Used by:

• when indicating a reduction in the number of items;
• before uncountable nouns in the singular.

Uncountable nouns are objects and concepts, the number of which cannot be counted. It is expressed in terms of mass, volume, but in some cases it does not have a clear definition at all:

• liquids: water (water), milk (milk), oil (oil), beer (beer);
• products: cheese, bread, meat;
• gaseous substances: smoke (smoke), air (air), oxygen (oxygen), hydrogen (hydrogen), nitrogen (nitrogen);
• substances consisting of many small particles: flour (flour), rice (rice), dust (dust), ash (dust, ash, ash);
• natural phenomena: snow (snow), light (light), rain (rain), wind (wind), fog (fog), heat (heat);
• abstractions: happiness, health, education, space, work, energy, truth.

there is less privacy today because of social media. — Due to the proliferation of social networks, there is less privacy in our lives today.

Less and fewer in life

In everyday life in the United States, the word «less» is regularly misused. It applies not only to uncountable, but also countable nouns.

Films, serials, programs, advertising, news. Everything becomes a victim of simplicity and laziness. Americans concentrate on the qualitative aspect — the very fact of the reduction, and not the approach to assessing this reduction — volume, quantity.

Even big politicians who claim to be the head of state sometimes use the more widespread less in places that were not intended for that. Meath Romney — the US presidential candidate from the Republican Party in the 2012 elections said (from 02:58):

And this way you get more debt. So more debt and less work. Mitt Romney

The candidate made a reservation and used «less jobs» instead of «fewer jobs «(Less work, jobs).

Similarities between less and fewer

Less and fewer with of

It is necessary to substitute the preposition “of«Before defining words:

• articles (a / an, the);
• pronouns (him, it);
• demonstrative pronouns (this, that);
• possessive pronouns (my, her, our).

I have to spend less of my time playing computer games. — I should spend less time playing computer games.

Less without a noun

The noun after «less» or «fewer» can be omitted if it is clear what is meant.

— You bought 10 bottles of juice. — You bought 10 bottles of juice.

— No way! I am sure I bought fewer… — Can not be! I’m sure I bought less.

Use cases for less and fewer

Less, fewer and weight

The whole can also be calculated using grams, kilograms, but the habit is second nature and it tells native English speakers to use “less«Instead of» fewer «.

My weight was less than 8 pounds at birth. — At birth, my weight was less than 8 pounds.

Less, fewer and money

Money is a thing that can be easily calculated. But, in life, we think of money as a whole, as an aggregate, about a mass, and not separate units, presented in the form of banknotes and coins. Therefore, when talking about money, use “less«, Not» fewer «.

I have less than 50 bucks left in my account. — I have less than $ 50 left in my account.

You can still say — fewer than 50 bucks, but it will sound strange and unexpected to those around you.

Less, fewer and percent

Determining the right word for percentages can be problematic. To do this, you need to evaluate the whole picture and ask yourself «Is it possible to calculate what we are describing?»

Fewer than 13 percent of the US citizens have black skin. — Less than 13% of the US population is black.

Counting all citizens with a dark skin color is difficult, but doable. This means 13% is a calculated value.

On the other hand, it is impossible to count the unfinished juice.

It has left less than 30 percent juice in the pack. — The package contains less than 30% of the juice.

Less, fewer and time

It will also be common to use «less«When mentioning the time. We can count the time in seconds, minutes, hours, etc., but sentences are still built with «less».

I think they could spend less time at work. — I think they could spend less time at work.

I think they could spend fewer hours at work. — I think they could spend less hours at work.

Less or Fewer? — Short video tutorial

English subtitles are available in the video.

Less & Fewer.

Source: https://englishboost.ru/less-fewer-raznitsa/

«Little» in English

How do you say «little» in English? Find out in this article!

Hello, friends! What lovely weather outside today, right? I don’t know about you, but I love warm spring and summer! This is definitely the best time of the year! So, put off all your business for the weekend and go outside to enjoy this sunny and wonderful day!

Source: https://enjoyenglish-blog.com/razgovornyj-anglijskij/malo-na-anglijskom.html

13 mistakes in English that each of us makes — News All Kharkiv

It doesn’t matter what level you have. Even native speakers are sometimes confused in these words.

1. Lay and lie

It is the pearl of all grammatical mistakes. And all because the words are similar in meaning and sound. But still there are nuances. To lie is translated as «to lie», «to be located», «to lie down».

• I love to lie down in front of the fire and read — I like to lie near the fireplace with a book.

But lie is an irregular verb, in the past tense it turns into lay.

• The town lay in ruins — The town lay in ruins.

And this form is written and pronounced in the same way as an independent verb to lay. The main meaning of which is “to put”.

• She laid the baby on the bed — She laid the baby on the bed.

In a word, the confusion, of course, is utter, but if you look deeply into it and remember it once, it will be much easier to avoid mistakes.

2. Continual and continuous

These words can be called paronyms: they are spelled almost the same, but differ in meaning. Continual applies to repeated actions or events.

• I’m sorry, I can’t work with these continual interruptions — Sorry, but I can’t work like that, I’m constantly interrupted.

Continuous, on the other hand, is about something that lasts continuously.

• He spoke continuously for more than two hours — He spoke without stopping for more than two hours.

3. Envy and jealous

Even philologists cannot always explain the difference between these words clearly. Dictionaries say that jealous is primarily about jealousy.

• In a moment of jealous frenzy, she cut the sleeves off all his shirts — In a fit of jealousy, she shredded the sleeves of his shirts.

But the word also has a second meaning: “annoyance that someone has what you yourself would like”. In other words, envy. The second word, envy, is also translated as “envy”.

• He had always been very jealous of his brother’s success — He was always very jealous of his brother’s success.
• Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed — Some of his colleagues envy his enormous wealth.

So what’s the difference? Linguists admit that if we are talking about envy, and not about jealousy, the differences have practically disappeared and the two words can be considered synonymous. Although earlier jealous meant a more serious, terrible and dramatic degree of envy.

4. Fewer and less

Less is used when we talk about something abstract and uncountable, or we don’t mention the exact amount.

• I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than I used to — I eat less chocolate and fewer biscuits than usual.
• We must try to spend less money — We must try to spend less money.

Few and fewer can be safely used when talking about specific numbers or something that can be accurately calculated.

• Fewer than 3,500 tigers are left in the wild today — No more than three and a half thousand tigers live in the wild today.
• We received far fewer complaints than expected — We received far fewer complaints than expected.

5. Disinterested and uninterested

It seems that both prefixes — dis- and un- — denote negation. And if so, then the meaning of the words is the same. But no. Disinterested translates to the Cambridge Dictionary: disinterested as «impartial.»

• A disinterested observer / judgment

If we are talking about disinterest and indifference, it would be more correct to use the option uninterested.

• He’s completely uninterested in sports — He’s completely uninterested in sports.

True, not all linguists are united on this issue. The compilers of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, for example, believe that these words can be synonymous.

6. Anxious and excited

In Russian, the word “worry” can be used not only in a negative way (“I’m terribly worried about you!”), But also in a positive way (“I was so excited when I received your letter!”). Perhaps this is why, when we speak English, we try to use anxious in similar cases. But this word is translated as «anxious, worried, nervous.»

• It’s natural that you should feel anxious when you first leave home — It’s natural to be anxious when you first leave home.

If you are happy to see your friends, telling them that you are anxious to see them would be wrong. Excited is more appropriate here. By the way, the word anxious is also appropriate if we are impatient to do something or we are striving for something.

• I’m anxious to get home to open my presents — I can’t wait to come home as soon as possible and open the presents.

7. Affect and effect

To deal with this dilemma, a simple hint can be used. Affect is almost always a verb, effect is a noun. Affect can be translated as «to influence, cause, lead to something.»

• Factors that affect sleep include stress and many medical conditions — Causes that affect sleep include stress and various medical conditions.

Effect is, in fact, the effect or the result of some processes or events.

• I’m suffering from the effects of too little sleep — I suffer from the effects of lack of sleep.

8. Among and between

Words are similar in meaning, but still not synonymous. Between translates as «between».

• A narrow path runs between the two houses — A narrow path runs between the two houses.
• The shop is closed for lunch between 12.30 and 1.30 — The shop is closed for lunch from half past twelve to half past one.

Among rather means «among», «one of».

• The decision will not be popular among students — This decision will not be popular among students.
• She divided the cake among the children — She divided the cake among the children.

If we are talking about specific people or objects, it is more appropriate to speak between, and if it is about indefinite or generalized — among.

9. Assure and ensure

It is clear that in both cases we are talking about faith, trust or assurances. But since the words sound and spelled almost the same, it’s easy to get confused. And here it is important to remember that assure is used when we want to assure or convince someone of something.

• She assured them, that she would be all right — She assured them that everything would be fine with her.

But ensure is appropriate to use when we ourselves want to make sure of something.

• Please ensure that all examination papers have your name at the top — Please ensure that your examination papers are signed.

10. Then and than

It is easy to confuse these words, but it is better not to do this, because then the sentence will lose its meaning. Just one letter — and what a difference in meaning! Then is an adverb that translates as «then» and «then».

• She trained as a teacher and then became a lawyer — She studied to be a teacher, but then became a lawyer.

Than is a preposition, it is used for comparison.

• It cost less than I expected — It cost less than I thought.

11. Lose and loose

Here, too, almost the same spelling and pronunciation are to blame for everything. The word «loser» is well known even to those who are not very good at English. Therefore, it seems that both lose and loose are about failures and losses. But it is important to remember that lose means “to lose”, “to lose”, “to lose”.

• I hope he doesn’t lose his job — I hope he doesn’t lose his job.

And loose translates as «relaxed», «free», «loose».

• A loose dress / sweater — loose dress / sweater.

12. A lot and the lot

Here, in general, the difference is only in the article. But in English, even he can significantly change the meaning of a word. The noun lot together with the indefinite article a can be translated as «a lot», «a large number».

• I’ve got a lot to do this morning — I have a lot to do this morning.

At the same time, the lot is a British colloquial element, which means not just «a lot», but «everything.»

• I made enough curry for three people and he ate the lot — I cooked curry for three, and he ate it all alone.

13. Amount and number

Here the story is similar to fewer and less. Both words refer to quantity, but amount is used when we are talking about something indefinite and uncountable, and number when we are talking about objects or people that can be counted.

• The project will take a huge amount of time and money — This project will take a huge amount of time and money.
• A small number of children are educated at home — A small number of children study at home.

Source: https://allkharkov.ua/news/science/13-oshibok-v-angliiskom-iazyke-kotorye-delaet-kajdyi-iz-nas.html