-
#1
Hello
I have a question about the quantifires
I am a little confused in my book the Question is
I have lots of / much time on my hands these days
The correct answer is
I have lots of time
I want to ask why we choose lots of instead of much?
Time is uncountable
We should choose much
Please help me to understand the sentence
-
#2
It’s very common to hear, «I don’t have much time.» However, I’ve never heard anyone say, «I have much time.»
Man 1: How much time do you have?
Man 2: I have a lot of / lots of time. How much time do you have?
Man 1: I don’t have much time.
Interesting, it’s just not used.
-
#3
I have much time on my hands.
I don’t have much time on my hands.
I have too much time on my hands.
I am busy much of the time.
I don’t know why, and don’t know any «rule».
(cross posted with #2)
-
#4
Thanks a lot.
Can I use many in affirmative sentences? or it just used with negative and questions?
-
#5
Much is usually used with so much, very much, too much, not much and in questions:
He has so much time that he can easily do it.
We had too much time.
There is no grammatical reason for avoiding much in other contexts, but native speakers just do so. However, I have seen this in a text written by a native speaker: We are given much advice…
GOM
-
#6
Does it mean we use I much time with negative only? as it appears in your examples?
It’s very common to hear, «I don’t have much time.» However, I’ve never heard anyone say, «I have much time.»
Man 1: How much time do you have?
Man 2: I have a lot of / lots of time. How much time do you have?
Man 1: I don’t have much time.
Interesting, it’s just not used.
-
#7
Much is usually used with so much, very much, too much, not much and in questions:
He has so much time that he can easily do it.
We had too much time.
There is no grammatical reason for avoiding much in other contexts, but native speakers just do so. However, I have seen this in a text written by a native speaker: We are given much advice…
GOM
As far as I know we use this way for emphasizing.
-
#8
Does it mean we use I much time with negative only? as it appears in your examples?
Yes, that’s correct. The examples I wrote are how it’s most often used, if not always.
-
#9
I have much time on my hands — is not ungrammatical, but it would be considered very old-fashioned or very formal.
I have a lot of time on my hands. «A lot of /lots of » is more informal or colloquial.
I have lots of time on my hands.
Thanks a lot.
Can I use many in affirmative sentences? or it just used with negative and questions?
«Many» is used with countable nouns:
I have seen that movie many times. It’s more formal than I’ve seen that movie lots of times.
-
#10
I have much time on my hands — is not ungrammatical, but it would be considered very old-fashioned or very formal.
I have a lot of time on my hands. «A lot of /lots of » is more informal or colloquial.
I have lots of time on my hands.«Many» is used with countable nouns:
I have seen that movie many times. It’s more formal than I’ve seen that movie lots of times.
That’s good, that means I can use many with affirmative sentences as well as negative sentences ?
elroy
Moderator: EHL, Arabic, Hebrew, German(-Spanish)
-
#11
I have much time on my hands — is not ungrammatical, but it would be considered very old-fashioned or very formal.
I have a lot of time on my hands. «A lot of /lots of » is more informal or colloquial.
If you want something that’s middle-of-the-way between formal and informal, you can use “a great deal of.”
-
#12
The basic rule is that ‘much’ is used in negative and interrogative sentences and not in statements. This is what kids are taught here when they first encounter the words ‘much’ and ‘any’.
Of course, there are exceptions at more advanced levels.
-
- 0
-
Choose the extra word in each sentence.
1.Do you have much free time these days or are you be quite busy? Ответ
2.I would like to know it when I can expect my order to be delivered.
Ответ
3.Do you think whether you could possibly let me know how soon you will have the work finished?
Ответ
4.I wonder if you know who it is responsible for cleaning the building.
Ответ
5.Tell Roger who did you saw when you were at the police station the other day.
Ответ
6.Did Dad mention who he sold him the car to?
Ответ
7.You shouldn’t leave your homework to the very last minute if you want to get a good mark, should not you? Ответ
8.I wonder it if you know where I can buy something to eat.
Ответ
-
Комментариев (0)
-
- 0
-
1.Do you have much free time these days or are you be quite busy? Ответ be
2.I would like to know it when I can expect my order to be delivered.
Ответ it
3.Do you think whether you could possibly let me know how soon you will have the work finished?
Ответ whether
4.I wonder if you know who it is responsible for cleaning the building.
Ответ it
5.Tell Roger who did you saw when you were at the police station the other day.
Ответ did
6.Did Dad mention who he sold him the car to?
Ответ him
7.You shouldn’t leave your homework to the very last minute if you want to get a good mark, should not you? Ответ not
8.I wonder it if you know where I can buy something to eat.
Ответ it
-
Комментариев (0)
“Time” is one of the most common words in English – but do you know all the different ways you can use the word time?
In today’s lesson, you’ll learn 16 common collocations with the word TIME, such as: waste time, kill time, it’s about time, stall for time, and more.
There’s also a quiz to help you practice the collocations in this lesson – scroll down to the bottom of the lesson to try it!
But first, you might be wondering, what are collocations?
Collocations are the common combinations of words that we tend to use together. When you learn collocations, it will be easier to put words together into sentences, and you’ll sound more like a native English speaker.
You can learn a lot more inside my e-book, which will teach you 1000 English collocations in 10 minutes a day.
OK, let’s jump in to today’s lesson. For each collocation I’ll teach you the definition and then give you an example sentence.
spend time
To pass your time doing some activity.
- I spend a lot of time studying English.
waste time
Doing something that is not a good use of time.
- Stop wasting time playing computer games and get to work!
make time for
To “create” time in a busy schedule.
- I need to make time for regular exercise – maybe I can go to the gym before work.
save time
Something that is efficient and gives you extra time
- Shopping online saves me time because I don’t have to wait in line at the store.
free/spare time
Time in which you have no obligations, and you can do whatever you want.
- In my free time, I enjoy reading, painting, and cooking.
have time
Be available to do something.
- I’d like to take violin lessons, but I don’t have enough time.
kill time / pass the time
Do something to make the time pass faster while you’re waiting for something else.
- Let’s bring some magazines to help pass the time on the train ride.
take your time
You can use as much time as you want, you don’t have to go fast.
- “I like all of these computers. I’m not sure which one I want to buy yet.”
“That’s OK – take your time.”
on time
On schedule, at the right time.
- It’s important to arrive on time for a job interview.
just in time
At the perfect time, soon before something else happens
- Hi, Henry! Have a seat – you got here just in time for dinner.
have a hard/rough time
Something difficult, or a difficult period in life.
- I’m having a hard time solving this math problem. Could you help me?
it’s about time
An expression that means “Finally!”
- It’s about time they fixed the air conditioner in my classroom! It’s been broken for three years!
pressed for time
In a rush, in a hurry (when you need to do something and you don’t have enough time)
- Sorry, I can’t talk at the moment – I’m a bit pressed for time. Can I call you back later?
run out of time
Have no more time before the limit.
- I ran out of time before I finished the test, so I didn’t answer the last five questions.
stall for time
Delay.
- My son didn’t want to go to bed, so he tried to stall for time by asking me to read him another bedtime story.
take time off
Not go to work.
- I’m taking some time off in July to go camping with my family.
Quiz: Common English Collocations with TIME
Choose the best collocation for each sentence. Good luck!
Congratulations — you have completed Quiz: Common English Collocations with TIME.
You scored %%SCORE%% out of %%TOTAL%%.
Your performance has been rated as %%RATING%%
Your answers are highlighted below.
Rules for the use of much, many, few, little, a lot of and plenty of
In English, there are words called quantifiers. They are used to indicate quantity. Unlike numerals, which denote an exact amount, these words refer to an approximate amount. In this article, we will talk about words like much, many, few, little, a lot of и plenty of.
Using much, many and a lot of
All these words are translated into Russian as «a lot». However, the use of these words depends on the type of sentence (statement, negation or question) and on which noun it refers to — countable or uncountable. The basic rules are presented in the table below:
For example:
He has a lot of books. — He has lot books.
Kate doesn’t have many DVDs. — At Kate Little DVD. (Literally: Keith doesn’t have a lot of DVDs).
Holly spends a lot of time watching TV shows. — Holly conducts lot time watching television shows.
is there much petrol in the tank? — In the tank lot gasoline?
Much and many in statements
As you can see, a lot of is mainly used in affirmative sentences, and much and many — in denials and questions. However, this rule is not strict, it is based on the frequency of use, therefore much and many can be used in assertions as well. For example:
Joe has many friends. — Joe lot friends.
Also the words much and many are used instead of a lot of in a formal business style:
Many different kinds of research require the permission of the supervisor. — Many types of research require the permission of the supervisor.
If we want to say that there is too much of something (that is, build an affirmative sentence), then instead of a lot of we will use words much and many with additional word too («too much»). For example:
There were too many people at the conference. — The conference was too much people.
Oliver ate too much ice-cream. — Oliver ate too much ice cream
Synonyms of a lot of
Synonymous with the word a lot of is lots of. It is believed that lots of more informal and more often used in colloquial speech, and a lot of on the contrary, it is more formal. Lots of can also be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. For example:
Julia eats a lot of vegetables. / Julia eats lots of vegetables. — Julia is lot vegetables.
They have done a lot of work. / they have done lots of work. — They did lot work.
Another word for a large number is the word plenty of… As a rule, it is used to mean a very large amount of something, something in abundance:
we have plenty of tea at home. — At our home lot tea.
James has brought plenty of biscuits to the office. — James brought to the office lot cookies.
As we see plenty of can also be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
The use of few, a few, little, a little
In order to understand how these words are used, we need to know two parameters: the first — whether this word refers to a countable or uncountable noun and the second: what is the meaning of the sentence — positive or negative. Consider the table below:
examples:
Kelly has a few close friends. — Kelly has slightly close friends. (Positive value).
Kelly has few close friends. — At Kelly’s little close friends. (Negative meaning).
Bobby has a little money. — Bobby has slightly of money. (A positive value is a little, but still there).
Bobby has little money. — Bobby’s little of money. (Negative meaning).
As we can see from the examples, these words have the same translation into Russian for both countable and uncountable nouns, but a different translation depending on the meaning: with a positive meaning, we translate them as «a little», with a negative meaning, as «little.»
Other meanings of much, a lot, a little
Form a lot sometimes it is used not in the meaning of «a lot», but in the meaning of «often» or «very». For example:
Do you enjoy watching films? — Yes, a lot… — Do you like to watch movies? — Yes, very.
Also the words much и a little can be used to form the comparative degree of adjectives. For example:
Source: https://www.start2study.ru/english-grammar/quantifiers/
Quantitative pronouns in English
with countable nouns | with uncountable nouns | |
quantitative pronouns | many lotfew little (not enough)a few a little, a little (there is) | much lotlittle little (not enough)a little a little (there is) |
several some | ||
other quantifiers | a lot of — a lot, a large number of colloquial forms: lots of — lots of; plenty of — many | |
a large number of — set, large number | the great deal of — a lot, a lot |
Quantitative pronouns in English express the meaning of an indefinite number or quantity.
Pronouns many and much
Quantitative pronouns many and much used both as adjective pronouns and noun pronouns.
1) In the function of adjective pronouns:
In the affirmative sentences:
many — many (with countable nouns)
much — many (with uncountable nouns)
a) As a definition to the subject of a sentence (and not only exclusively many and much, their substitute a lot of is used here not much less often):
Much (A lot of) money is spent for defense. — A lot of money is spent on defense.
Many (A lot of) people speak Russain. — Many people (many people) speak Russian.
b) With adverbs of degree (when adverbs of degree are used in front of them to strengthen the meaning, the most common: too too and so so, so much, as well as very very, etc.):
I have so much work to do. — I have so much work to do. There are too many mistakes in your exercises. — There are too many mistakes in your exercises.
Very many old people live alone. — A lot of elderly people live alone.
c) In the subordinate clauses introduced by the unions if and whether;
I wonder if many people will come to the dance. — I wonder how many people will come to the dances.
d) Sometimes in cases when they bear a semantic stress; in a book-writing style, etc.
Source: http://www.learnenglishbest.com/kolichestvennye-mestoimeniya-angliyskom.html
Parameter words in English
17 September 2014 Admin page »English
The use of much and many
Pronouns much, many (many, many, many) can function as a determinant to a noun or be used instead of a noun.
Much is used only with uncountable nouns or instead of uncountable nouns:
How much time do you need? How much time do you need?
You haven’t much time if you want to catch the bus. You don’t have much time if you want to catch this bus.
My father meant much to me. My father had high hopes for me.
much depends on what answer he will give. Much depends on the answer he gives.
Many is used only with countable nouns or instead of countable nouns:
do you have many friends? Do you have many friends?
Many of them were late. Many of them were late.
Many think that the situation will improve. Many people think that the situation will improve.
Not many knew about it. Not many people knew about this.
In modern colloquial English, pronouns much и many as a determinant, as a rule, they are used only in interrogative and negative sentences, in affirmative sentences they correspond to a lot of (lots of), which is used with countable and uncountable nouns:
You have a lot of time to catch the bus. You still have a lot of time to get on this bus.
I have a lot of friends. I have many friends.
Pronouns much и many are used in affirmative sentences if they are preceded; too (too much), very (very), so (So), how (as), as (also):
I can’t drink this tea. There is too much sugar in it. I cannot drink this tea, it has too much sugar.
You can have as much fruit as you wish. You can take as many fruits as you like.
little, few
Pronouns little, few (little, not enough) are used both as a determinant and a noun.
Little used only with uncountable nouns:
I have little time. I do not have much time.
there is little water in the cup. There is little water in the cup.
Little has been known of them. Little was known about them.
The little that remains will be unloaded tomorrow. What little remains will be unloaded tomorrow.
Pronoun few used only with countable nouns:
He has few friends. He has few friends.
Few knew him well. Few knew him well.
He has read the few books he has. He has read the few books he has.
He is one of the few men which are always ready to help. He is one of the few people who are always ready to help.
Pronoun few can serve as a definition for a noun in the singular with an indefinite article, indicates each of the small set
Few a man can resist a woman’s charms. Few men can resist the spell of a woman.
Few a thing has changed during the days. Little has changed during these days.
Pronouns little и few can be used with an indefinite article in the meaning of a little, a little:
I have a little time. I have some time.
I saw him a few times. I have seen him several times.
Parameter words
AllPartNothingPeople Objects Place Time
everybody | somebody | nobody |
everything | something something, something | nothing |
everywhere | somewhere | nowhere |
always | sometimes sometimes | never |
examples:
He sees todo Mundo. He sees everyone.
He speaks to todo Mundo… He speaks to everyone.
I saw him somewhere… I saw him somewhere.
I always say the truth. I always tell the truth.
Note time parameters the sentence usually uses before the verb… All other parameters are used more often. after the verb.
The use of these words is straightforward. Except for one case where the words nobody, nothing, nowhere, and never are used to convey negation:
- I didn’t tell him anything bad.
In this case, you should not copy the structure of the Russian sentence, because double negation will be a mistake in an English sentence:
- I didn’t tell him anything bad. I did Note tell him nothing bad. (wrong) I told him nothing bad. (right)
Let’s consider a few more suggestions:
there is nothing interesting here. There is nothing interesting here.
Nobody cares about my plans. Nobody cares about my plans.
Source: https://linguistpro.net/english/slova-parametry-v-anglijskom-yazyke.html
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
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
- 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
«Grammar» «There is a lot of people» vs «There are a lot of people»
If you took a driving license exam, then perhaps you remember a funny question in one of the tickets: what to do if 4 cars drive up to an unregulated intersection at the same time from all directions. According to the rules, each of them must pass the car on the right, but each has a car on the right.
The correct answer to the question sounds like “such a situation is not provided for by the rules”. So in English, there is also a case in which the official grammar makes a helpless gesture. This case is a choice between there is a lot of [people] and there are a lot of [people]. There are wars on forums and blogs about which option is correct.
Let’s take a look at the arguments on both sides.
Before continuing, I will make a reservation that we are talking about the use of there is / are with a lot and with countable plural nouns. In other cases, no questions arise, for example:
There is a lot of milk. A lot of milk (milk is uncountable, therefore is)
There are lots of people. Lots of people (lots of here, so there are)
There are a lot of people
The argument on this side is simple. A lot of people (a lot of cars, a lot of books) is a lot of objects. Therefore, the verb should be, as for the plural — there are a lot of people.
There is a lot of people
«Wait a minute,» says the other half of the leading controversy. Didn’t you notice the «a» before the «lot». The article «a» is used only with a singular number, and «lot» is a «large number» — the noun is in the singular. Those. if you have a box of pencils or a bag of potatoes, it’s still one box and one bag, no matter how many pencils or potatoes are inside. Same logic for a lot. Therefore — there is a lot of people.
There will be no reconciliation in this dispute — there are those wishing to defend the correctness of their position on both sides. The official grammar, as I said, is indecisive — it seems that both options are acceptable.
What about real life?
Take our favorite resolver of all controversy, the google books word frequency search tool, ngram. It is a tool developed by Google that allows you to compare the popularity of phrases across the huge collection of google.books.
It turns out, there are a lot of people about 15 times more common than there is a lot of people… Here is your answer.
Similar expressions
A similar certainty arises with other expressions. Let’s take a look at the statistics right away:
there is / are a number of
there is / are a couple of
there is / are a group of
It seems that when it comes to the fact that there are many objects — and this is precisely the case with a lot of, a number of, or a couple of — the plural form are is more often used.
But in the case of a group of — the group is perceived as something one, indivisible. Therefore, the singular form is.
So, in the dispute there is / are a lot of people, both sides have weighty arguments. Grammar guides try not to get involved in this dispute. And in real life, as it turns out, the form there are a lot of people is an order of magnitude more popular.
Source: https://englishexplained.ru/there-is-a-lot-vs-there-are-a-lot/
A clear rule of thumb for using much-many in English. Usage examples, exercises with answers
Hello friends! How not to get confused using much and many? Just pay attention to the rules of use, because it is no coincidence that the English came up with two words with the same meaning.
They are not interchangeable: in some cases, you only need much, and in others, you only need many. It all depends on the word itself, which will refer to much or many. Let’s figure out what’s what!
Difference between many and much
Pronoun many used when it refers to objects (animate or inanimate) that can be counted. Words denoting such objects are called countable nouns.
Example:
- many children — many children
- many people — many people
- many tigers — many tigers
use many (since they can be counted)
Pronoun much is used only with nouns that cannot be counted, that is, with uncountable nouns.
Example:
- much sugar
- much water
- much money
use much (since they cannot be counted. Much means a lot of something.)
We look at the table that will clearly show you the difference in the use of Much, Many
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 some ink left in my pen. | I have many friends. He has got few best friends. — He has a few (few) best friends. | There is a lot of sugar there. — There are plenty of plants in the garden. — There are many plants in the garden. |
Many used where items can be counted individually.
If they cannot be counted, feel free to insert the word into the sentence much.
Interrogative sentences
- How much sugar do you take in your coffee?
- How much money do you want for this?
- Do you have much work to do?
- How many students are there in each class?
- How many people are you expecting?
Negative sentences
- He doesn’t earn much money (noun money — uncountable). He earns little (= little) money.
- Not many people have heard of her (noun people — countable).
- Barbara doesn’t have many friends. Barbara has few (= not many) friends.
Much / many exercises:
Exercise 1. Use much or many to express How many ?.
- how days?
- how sugar?
- how cigarettes?
- How work?
- How petrol?
- How children?
- How theaters?
- How juice?
Exercise 2. Translate sentences into English using much, many, a little, a few, little, few, a lot of
- I have few friends in this part of town.
- The teacher said so many words, but I didn’t understand anything.
- He asked the waiter to bring some water.
- In autumn, many birds fly south.
- She doesn’t like it when there is too much sugar in her tea.
- “There is absolutely no room in the closet! You have so many clothes! ”
Exercise 3. Use much or many.
Do you drink ________coffee? I reading. I read _________ books. We have _______ lessons of English this year. I can’t remember _______ from this text. Do you learn _______ new English words every day? We haven’t got ________ bread. I can’t spend ________ money on toys.
Replies
Exercise 1.
- How many days? (How many days?)
- How much sugar? (How much sugar?)
- How many cigarettes? (How many cigarettes?)
- How much work? (How much work?)
- How much petrol? (How much gasoline?)
- How many children? (How many children?)
- How many theaters? (How many theaters?)
- How much juice? (How much juice?)
Exercise 2.
- I have few friends in this part of the city.
- A teacher said so many words but I understood nothing.
- He asked a waiter to bring a little water.
- In autumn many birds fly to the south.
- She doesn’t it when there is too much sugar in tea.
- “There is no place in a wardrobe! You’ve got so many clothes! ”
Exercise 3.
Do you drink much coffee? I reading. I read many books. We have many lessons of English this year. I can’t remember much from this text. Do you learn many new English words every day? We haven’t got much bread. I can’t spend much money on toys.
Friends like us, we tried!
Source: http://englishfox.ru/pravilo-much-many-v-angliiskom.html
How to learn to use adjectives with countable and uncountable nouns correctly
The use of adjectives with countable and uncountable nouns in English has its own tricks. What are they?
There are countable and uncountable nouns in English. Most often they are combined with adjectives in the same way. But there are situations when you need to know exactly which adjectives should be used with countable and which with uncountable nouns. Let’s take a look at these rules.
General rules for the use of adjectives with nouns
In English, countable nouns are those that can form a plural form (usually with the ending -s). For example: dog — dogs, pupil — pupils, pocket — pockets.
Uncountable nouns usually do not have plural forms. For example: sky, love, trust, butter, sugar. That is why in English you cannot say: «He saw many beautiful skies.» (He saw many beautiful skies) or: «She bought two milks.» (She bought two milk).
The use of countable and uncountable nouns with adjectives is in most cases identical. For example:
- «The sky was blue.» (The sky was blue) — The noun sky (sky) is uncountable.
- «He bought a blue car.» (He bought a blue car) — Here the adjective blue is used with the countable noun car.
However, it is important to remember that with the following adjectives, the use of countable and uncountable nouns will be different:
- some / any
- much / many
- little / few
- a lot of / lots of
- a little bit of
- plenty of
- enough
- No.
Some / any
The adjectives some and any can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. Examples:
- «There is some milk in the glass.» (There is milk in a glass).
- «Do you any music?» (Do you like music?)
- «Do you have any pets?» (Do you have pets?)
- “There are some actors on the scene.” (On stage — actors).
Much / many
The adjective much is used only with uncountable nouns. For example:
- “I gained so much weight” (I gained so much weight).
- «She drinks so much coffee.» (She drinks so much coffee.)
The adjective many is used with countable nouns.
- «Many Italians are keen on pizza.» (Many Italians love pizza.)
- “The small boy was happy to see so many animals in the zoo.” (The little boy was happy to see so many animals in the zoo).
Little / few
The adjective little is used only with uncountable nouns. For example:
- “She feels little fear alone at home.” (She’s a little scared to be home alone.)
- «He had little time to prepare for exams.» (He had little time to prepare for the exam.)
The adjective few is used with countable nouns.
- «He has few options in this situation.» (He had few options in this situation.)
- «There are few animals in the desert.» (Few animals live in the desert.)
A lot of / lots of
The expressions a lot of and lots of are analogous to the adjectives much and many, but, unlike them, they can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
- «They have lots of (many) fans in Europe.» (They have a lot of fans in Europe).
- «They spent a lot of (much) money in the trip.» (They spent a lot of money on the trip.)
- «The boy saw a lot of (many) animals in the zoo.» (At the zoo, the boy saw many animals).
- «He gets lots of (much) pleasure walking in the park.» (He enjoys walking in the park.)
A little bit of
The adjective a little bit of in English is used quite rarely and always accompanies uncountable nouns. For example:
- «There is a little bit of sugar in the tea.» (There is some sugar in tea.)
- «There is a little bit of butter on the plate.» (There is some butter on the plate.)
Plenty of
The adjective plenty of can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
- “There are plenty of tourists in Rome.” (There are many tourists in Rome).
- «She uses plenty of pepper when cooking.» (She uses a lot of peppers when cooking).
Enough
Likewise, enough can be used with all nouns.
- «She has enough money to travel by plane.» (She has enough money to travel by plane.)
- «I have enough ideas to manage the project.» (I have enough ideas to manage the project).
No
The adjective no should be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
Source: https://skyeng.ru/articles/kak-nauchitsya-upotreblyat-prilagatelnye-s-ischislyaemymi-i-neischislyaemymi-sushchestvitelnymi-pravilno
Much / many. Rule of use in English
Quantitative pronouns are used to indicate a large number of something or someone in English. many и much… Both are translated into Russian by the word “many”. The question arises: if the meaning is the same, why are two different pronouns needed? It turns out that this makes sense, since each of them has its own area of application.
Affirmative sentences
In modern English, in affirmative sentences, instead of pronouns much and many, their synonym is increasingly used. a lot of.
This is a universal pronoun, as it is suitable for animate nouns — a lot of people and inanimate — a lot of books, for countable — a lot of minutes and uncountable — a lot of time.
In those speech situations where you find it difficult to choose between many and much, use a lot of — you can’t go wrong.
For example: «A lot of children came to the zoo to see a new-born polar bear «. — “Many children came to the zoo to look at the newborn polar bear.”
The pronouns many and much are often part of the subject, for example:
- There are many candles on the fireplace shelf. “There are many candles on the mantelpiece.
- there is much soup in the pan. — There is a lot of soup in the pot.
In these sentences, many and much can be easily replaced with a lot of, and the meaning of the sentences will not change.
Interrogative and negative sentences usually use the pronouns much and many.
There is / there are (there’s / there’re)
This grammar topic teaches you how to work with the popular English construction there is / there are… Or, in other words, how to say: there is something, there is not something.
At the airport (there are) many rules. — There are a lot of rules at the airport.
There is no stadium in the town. — There isn’t a stadium in the town.
We use this construction when the sentence says that something is / not is somewhere. In other words, something is somewhere or something is not somewhere. To do this, in English, we use the construction there is / there are.
The word there in this construction will not change under any circumstances. Will change, according to the law of the genre, the verb to be in number and in tenses, we will talk below.
Here you need to be careful and not confuse the adverb there (there) and part of the construction there is / are… The difference will be visible in the context and translation: there, which is included in there is / are, will not even be translated, it just «is». For example:
There is only one restaurant there. — There (is) only one restaurant.
The second part of this construction is the already known verb «be» — to be in the form is and are (is for the singular, are for the plural).
There is a cake in the fridge. — There’s a cake in the fridge.
There’s a hole in my pocket. — There’s a hole in my pocket.
In the last sentence, we abbreviated there is to there’s, which is quite typical for spoken English.
There are two men in the room. “There are two men in the room.
There’re many mistakes in your test, you must do it over. — There are many mistakes in your test, you must redo it. (there are = there’re)
Often a student asks the question: why can’t I just say through a verb to be? For example:
Many mistakes are in your test.
Everything is very simple: such a sentence is grammatically correct, but the speaker will not say so, it will sound less natural to his ear. In addition, the design there is / are very popular with native speakers, so definitely not worth avoiding.
Interestingly, sentences with there is / are we translate from the end, the construction itself may not be translated at all, or it may be translated by the word «is».
There are many Italian foodstuffs in this shop. — There are many Italian products in this store.
There are seven days in a week. — There are seven days in a week.
Denial
It is a pleasure to work with this construction: to build negation, we
add a particle not or the word no after is / are
There isn’t any cold water in the fridge. — There is no cold water in the refrigerator.
There is no lamp in my son’s room. — There is no lamp in my son’s room.
You noticed that after there is not there must be an article a or an; after there is no we do not put either the article or any.
There are not two but three kids in their family. — Their family has not two, but three children.
There aren’t problems with this child. — There are no problems with this child.
There are no guests at the party. — There are no guests at the party.
Question
To build a question, you just need to rearrange the words in the construction itself. there is / are.
Is there a scarf in the wardrobe? — Is there a scarf in the closet?
Is there a dog in the car? «Is there a dog in the car?»
What is there on the table? — What (is) on the table?
Are there letters for me? — Are there any letters for me?
Are there students in the lecture hall? — Are there students in the classroom?
How many days are there in February? — How many days in February?
Very often the question arises in sentences where we need to list items in both the singular and the plural. What to do in these cases?
The choice of is or are will depend on the first noun immediately after the construction there is / are.
There is one bathroom and two bedrooms in my flat. — My apartment has two bedrooms and one bathroom.
As «bathroom» in the singular comes the first, we chose there is.
Source: https://speakasap.com/ru/en-ru/grammar/konstrukciya-there-is-are/
Enjoy learning English online with Puzzle English for free
It is clear where the confusion can arise between the words many and much: in Russian they have the same meaning. Both words convey the idea of plurality and indicate a large number of those objects to which they refer.
What, then, is the difference between them? And when is many used, and when is much? In order not to confuse these two words with each other, you need to remember small rules.
Countable and uncountable nouns
The words much and many each refer to the object that follows it. The choice of one of these two words depends on the type of the subsequent noun.
All nouns can be divided into two groups: countable and uncountable. The division into these two classes is based on the ability to count objects. Let’s look at this principle with an example: take the word chair.
It has both singular and plural forms: chair — chairs. If we imagine a set of chairs, we can count how many items it contains: one chair, two chairs, and so on.
If we take another noun, for example, snow (snow), then we will not be able to count what elements a lot of snow consists of.
Nouns of the first type that behave like chair are called countable, and nouns of the second type, like snow, are called uncountable.
Many and much: the rule of thumb
How much and many have to do with this? The most direct: the category of calculability of a noun determines which of these words will be used. Let’s turn to the examples we are already familiar with. Chair is a countable item, so many will be used with it. Snow is an uncountable noun, which means that if we want to convey the idea of a large number, we will use much with it.
I need many chairs for the party — I need many chairs for the holiday.
There is much snow in the city — There is a lot of snow in the city.
Thus, for many or much, the rule can be deduced: many appears with countable nouns, and much with uncountable nouns.
Source: https://puzzle-english.com/directory/muchmany
Much and many. Usage rules
Details Karina Galchenko Category: BEGINNER — ELEMENTARY
: 03 June 2019
180607
: 4/5
How not to get confused using much and many? Just pay attention to the rules of use, because it is no coincidence that the English came up with two words with the same meaning. They are not interchangeable: in some cases, you only need much, and in others, you only need many. It all depends on the word itself, which will refer to much or many. Let’s figure out what’s what!
As you know, nouns are divided into countable (you can count) and uncountable (you cannot count), and this is what depends on. rules for using much and many… It is necessary to remember once and for all that many is «friends» only with countable nouns, and much — with uncountable ones.
examples:
many children — many children
much water — a lot of water
But that’s not all about much and many. The rules for using these words suggest that they are best avoided in positive sentences. That is, much and many in English should be used in negations and questions. There are exceptions when these words are part of the subject.
examples:
do you have many friends here? — Do you have many friends here? (many + countable noun).
I don’t much sugar in my tea. — I don’t like a lot of sugar in tea (much + uncountable noun).
Many people speak English. — Many people speak English (many is part of the subject — many people).
Rules for the use of many much a lot of
If your positive proposal cannot do without «a lot», then pay attention to rules for using many much a lot of… It is believed that a lot of is well suited for approval. By the way, you can use it in absolutely any context. Even if you suddenly wondered what would work for a given sentence, a lot of will always help out, since it can be used for both countable and uncountable nouns.
examples:
There are a lot of people in this room. — There are many people in this room (a lot of + countable noun).
I have a lot of work today. — I have a lot of work today (a lot of + uncountable noun).
Do i have a lot of mistakes in the test? — Do I have a lot of mistakes in the test? (interrogative sentence).
They don’t have a lot of information. — They don’t have a lot of information (negative proposal).
Rules for using many much a lot of refer specifically to nouns, you cannot use these words with verbs. But what to do when it is important to «enhance» the meaning of an action? Here a lot will do (without the preposition of).
examples:
We see our parents a lot… — We see our parents a lot (meaning «see each other often»)
Do you practice this language a lot? — Do you practice this language a lot?
Drinking how much how many
Concerning how much how many, then here, too, everything depends on the noun that will follow this or that question phrase. How much should be combined with uncountable nouns, and how many with countable nouns.
examples:
How much milk do you have to buy? — How much milk do you need to buy? (how much + uncountable noun)
How many roses did he present her? — How many roses did he give her? (how many + countable noun)
Finally, I would like to note that with the words years, weeks, days it is better to use many rather than a lot of.
Example:
I have known Mary for many years. — I have known Mary for many years.
Best wishes to you!
Source: http://fluenglish.com/stati/studentam-na-zametku/29-beginner-elementary/367-much-i-many-pravila-upotrebleniya.html
Lesson 7. Words-parameters. The use of much and many
Words much, many (many, many, many) can be used as an addition to a noun, or be used instead.
much used only with uncountable nouns or instead of uncountable nouns:
- How much money did he spend?
How much money did he spend? - You haven’t much time if you want to catch the bus.
You don’t have much time if you want to catch this bus. - Not much was written about it.
Little has been written about this. - He doesn’t eat much.
He doesn’t eat much.
Many is used only with countable nouns or instead of countable nouns:
- How many books do you have?
How many books do you have? - How many pupils are in this class?
How many students are there in this class? - Many to play football.
Many people like to play football. - Not many have heard of her.
Few have heard of her.
In modern English, often instead of words much и many their synonym is used a lot of (lots of). A lot of used with both countable and uncountable nouns:
- He always makes a lot of mistakes.
He always makes a lot of mistakes. - we have a lot of bags.
We have a lot of bags.
If the word «a lot» is preceded by too (too much), very (very), so (So), how (as), as (also) then you need to use much и many. Using A lot of in this case is incorrect.
- I have so much work to do
I have so much work to do. - She works too much.
She works too hard. - You have made very many mistakes
You’ve made a lot of mistakes.
In this lesson, the expression a lot of not used. Only much и many.
little, few
Words little, few (little, not enough) can be used as an addition to a noun, or be used instead.
Little used only with uncountable nouns:
- we have little money.
We don’t have much money. - She at very little at lunch.
She ate very little at lunchtime. - Little has been said about this event.
Little has been said about this event. - John spends little time with his family.
John spent little time with his family.
Few used only with countable nouns:
- He has few friends.
He has few friends. - Few managers admit their mistakes.
Few leaders admit their mistakes. - He has read few books.
He read few books. - Many people were invited but few cam.
Many people were invited, but few came.
Pronouns little и few can be used with an indefinite article in the meaning a little, a little.
Consider in comparison:
- I have a little time.
I have some time. - I have little time.
I have little time. - I know a few words in spanish.
I know a few words in Spanish. - I know few words in spanish.
I know few words in Spanish.
No, it is not correct.
«no much» is never correct, instead use «not much.»
That is not much time.
Not much later, he left.
When using ‘not’, in general move the negative to before the verb:
I went not very far. (awkward) —>
I did not go very far. (correct)
So, the solution:
I have no much time. (wrong) —>
I have not much time. (awkward) —>
I do not have much time. (correct)
I don’t have much time. (correct)
answered Nov 25, 2016 at 19:35
8
You must log in to answer this question.
Not the answer you’re looking for? Browse other questions tagged
.
Not the answer you’re looking for? Browse other questions tagged
.
Vocabulary
2. Fill in the missing word. There are two words you do not need to use.
1. The heavy rain caused the driver to lose control of his car and crash into a tree.
2. What started out as a light breeze soon became a very strong wind.
3. The well-trained lifeguard was able to rescue the drowning swimmer and quickly bring him to safety.
4. The lead actor felt under the weather and Daniel was asked to replace him in the school play.
5. The big earthquake caused many buildings to collapse and people were left homeless.
6. When the avalanche hit the area, dozens of people were snowed in for many hours.
7. Cars and factories produce toxic fumes that harm the environment.
8. A terrible flood caused by three days of continuous rain has destroyed many houses inthe small fishing village.
9. drought will occur in an area when it hasn’t rained for an unusually long period of time.
10. The terrible fire left dozens of buildings in ruins
1.79
1. Much употребляется с неисчисляемыми существительными (в единственном числе), а many – с исчисляемыми во множественном числе:
I haven’t got much time.
I don’t know many of your friends.
□ Иногда much может употребляться перед исчисляемыми существительными в единственном числе:
There’s not much point in going on.
□ Many может употребляться после других определителей (the, my, its, his, her и т.п.):
Among the many unknowns after the earthquake is the extent of damage to the foundations of buildings.
The gallery is exhibiting some of his many famous paintings of ships.
2. Much и many могут употребляться как местоимения (если при этом смысл ясен):
You haven’t eaten much.
Did you find any mushrooms? — Not many.
Как правило, это звучит достаточно формально:
There is no guarantee of a full recovery. Much depends on how well she responds to treatment.
The government’s policies have done much to reduce unemployment.
Many (= many people) have argued that she is the finest poet of our generation.
Not once did I see a tiger in the jungle, although I heard many.
Перед другими определителями (the, my, this и т.п.) или местоимениями употребляется much/many of:
You can’t see much of a country in a week.
How much of the house do you want to paint this year?
I won’t pass the exam: I’ve missed too many of my lessons.
How many of you are there?
There’s not much meat left. (не ‘There’s not much of meat left’.)
Many shops open on Sunday mornings. (не ‘many of shops’ )
Of после much/many обычно не употребляется, если нет другого определителя (артикля или личного):
She didn’t eat much breakfast. (не ‘ … much of breakfast’.)
There aren’t many large glasses left. (не ‘ … many of large glasses left’.)
Но much of употребляется перед именами и географическими называниями:
I’ve seen too much of Haward recently.
Not much of Denmark is hilly.
□ Иногда возможно такое употребление:
He’s not much of a success/gentleman.
3. В разговорной речи much и many, как правило употребляются только в вопросительных и отрицательных предложениях. В утвердительных предложениях они звучат очень формально (особенно much) и вместо них употребляются другие, равнозначные по смыслу, слова и обороты:
He’s got lots of men friends, but he doesn’t know many women. (More natural than ‘He’s got many men friends…’)
Did you buy any clothes? .- Yes, lots. (не ‘Yes, many’)
How much money have you got? — I’ve got plenty. (не ‘I’ve got much’.)
a) a lot of и lots of
Эти выражения употребляются в основном в разговорной речи и могут употребляться с неисчисляемыми существительными и множественным числом исчисляемых (глагол согласуется в числе с существительным, а не с a lot of/lots of):
A lot of time is needed to learn a language.
Lots of patience is needed, too. (не ‘Lots of patience are needed, too’.)
A lot of my friends want to emigrate. (не ‘A lot of my friends wants… ’)
Lots of us think it’s time for an election.
There’s not a lot of meat left. (не ‘There’s not a lot meat left’.)
b) plenty of означает «достаточно» или «больше, чем достаточно»:
Don’t rush. There’s plenty of time.
Plenty of shops take cheques.
There’s no need to worry. We’ve got plenty of money.
Have some more coffee. — No, thank you. I’ve had plenty.
We took lots of food and drink on our walk through the hills/ …plenty of…
Jim doesn’t look well. He’s lost a lot of weight (не ‘plenty of‘)
Plenty of shops open on Sunday mornings. (не ‘Plenty shops’)
4. В более формальном стиле употребляются
a) much и many:
We have much (work) to do/many obstacles to overcome before we can claim that real progress has been achieved.
Much has been written about unemployment.
In the opinion of many economists, …
Much debate has been heard about Thornton’s new book.
There could be many explanations for this.
Much of her fiction describes women in unhappy marriages.
b) a great/good deal of, a large/considerable/substantial amount of и a large/considerable/great/substantial number of
Эти выражения звучат несколько более формально, чем a lot of и lots of:
A great/good deal of и a large amount of употребляются с неисчисляемыми существительными:
Mr. Lucas has spent a great deal of time in the Far East.
A good deal of the exhibition was devoted to her recent work.
I’ve thrown out a large amount of old clothing.
A large amount of the food was inedible/ Much of…
A large number of употребляется с существительными во множественном числе:
A large number of problems still have to be solved. (более естественно, чем
‘A large amount of problems …’ / ‘A great deal of problems …’ )
The book contains a large number of pictures, many in colour/ …many…
c) оборот many a с существительным в единственном числе:
The manager must have spent many a sleepless night worrying about his team selection.
Many a pupil at the school will be pleased that Latin is no longer compulsory.
d) обороты a good/great many:
She has a good/great many friends in New Zealand.
e) обороты far too many/ far too much (со значением «слишком много»)
Far too many students failed the end-of-year math exam.
Far too much time is wasted filling in forms.
□ Выражения с of обычно не употребляются перед такими словами как pounds, или miles:
It cost several pounds. (не ‘It cost a lot of pounds’.)
They lived many miles from the town. (не ‘They lived plenty of miles from
the town’.)
□ Обычно many (а не a lot of/lots) употребляются со словами, обозначающими время (days, minutes, months, weeks, years) и с числами + of (например: thousands of voters, millions of pounds):
We used to spend many hours driving to Melbourne and back.
He was the founder of a company now worth many millions of pounds.
□ Выражения с of могут употребляться как местоимения, если смысл ясен:
How much did it cost? — A lot. (= A lot of money.)
We should be all right for cheese — I’ve bought plenty.
He does not often speak, but when he does he says a great deal.
□ A lot и a great deal могут употребляться как наречия:
On holiday we walk and swim a lot.
The government seems to change its mind a great deal.
□ Выражения so much/many, as much/many и too much/many звучат вполне естественно в разговорной речи в утвердительных предложениях:
There was so much traffic that it took me an hour to get home.
I play as much tennis as I can.
You make too many mistakes.
She won’t drink this coffee. There’s too much sugar in it.
There was so much sugar in the coffee that she could’t drink it.
□ Much употребляется как наречие в вопросах и отрицательных предложениях:
Do you work much at weekends? I don’t travel much these days.
She’s much older than her brother.
I don’t drive much faster than you.
□ Much в формальном стиле может употребляться перед некоторыми глаголами (выражающими удовлетворение и предпочтение) в утвердительных предложениях:
I much appreciate your help.
We much prefer the country to the town.
I didn’t much enjoy the concert.
Very much употребляется как наречие (обычно не ставится перед существительным):
I very much like your new hairstyle.
Thank you very much.
There’s a whole lot of water coming under the door. (before noun) ( не ‘There’s very much water coming … ’ )
Much и many имеют степени сравнения (причем одинаковые):
George did more work/exercises than anyone else.
So he did the most work/ exercises
1.80
MORE
1. More употребляется как сравнительная степень much и many:
We need more time (не ‘ … more of time’.)
More university students are having to borrow money these days.
2. Если смысл ясен, more можно употреблять в качестве местоимения:
I’d like some more, please.
Перед другими определителями (a, the, my, this и т.п.) и местоимениями употребляется more of:
Three more of the missing climbers have been found.
Could I have some more of that smoked fish?
I don’t think any more of them want to come.
И more of употребляется перед именами и географическими названиями:
It would be nice to see more of Ray and Barbara.
Five hundred years ago, much more of Britain was covered with trees.
3. Употребляются обороты one more/ two more… и т.п..
There’s just one more river to cross.
4. More употребляется (по соответствующим правилам) для образования сравнительной степени прилагательных и наречий):
As you get older you get more tolerant.
Please drive more slowly.
5. More может употребляться как наречие:
I couldn’t agree more.
I hate this job more and more as the years go by.
1.81
MOST
1. The most употребляется как превосходная степень much и many:
Susan found the most blackberries (больше других).
The most work is often done by the quietest worker.
В разговорной речи the иногда опускается:
Who earns (the) most money in your family?
2. Most (в этом значении без артикля) означает «большинство»:
Most children like ice cream. (не ‘The most children… ’ )
Most cheese is made from cow’s milk.
Most Swiss people understand French. (не ‘Most of Swiss people…’)
Most people want a peaceful life.
Most of употребляется перед именами и географическими названиями:
I’ve read most of Shakespeare.
The Romans conquered most of England.
В этом значении most уже не превосходная степень much/many, а фактически самостоятельный определитель.
□ The majority of (=most / most of) употребляется обычно с множественным числом:
The majority of criminals are non-violent.
3. Если смысл ясен, most можно употреблять в качестве местоимения:
Some people had difficulty with the lecture, but most understood.
Перед другими определителями (a, the, my, this и т.п.) и местоимениями употребляется most of:
Most of the people here know each other.
Most of my friends live abroad. (не ‘most my friends… ’)
Most of us thought he was wrong.
He’s eaten two pizzas and most of a cold chicken.
4. (The) most употребляется (по соответствующим правилам) для образования превосходной степени прилагательных и наречий:
I wasn’t as clever as the others, but I was the most beautiful.
I work most efficiently in the early morning.
5. (The) most может употребляться как наречие (артикль часто опускается в разговорной речи):
They all talk a lot, but your little girl talks (the) most.
The truth hurts most.
Как наречие most может иметь значение «очень» в формальном стиле:
That is most kind of you.
Thank you for a most interesting afternoon.
The experience was most distressing.
□ Mostly означает «в большинстве, но не во всех случаях»
Your little girl talks the most. (не ‘…talks mostly’.)
She mostly talks about her friends.
On this side of the card, you have the tasks (most of them are from the book p 11). First, discuss them together, complete them, somebody should type your answer to the Shared Notes in the BBB. Then turn the card to check. If you have any questions, write them down to the shared notes. Don’t forget to copy the text from shared notes before leaving the breakout room!
Click the card to flip 👆
On this side of the card, you have the tasks (most of them are from the book p 11). First, discuss them together, complete them, somebody should type your answer to the Shared Notes in the BBB. Then turn the card to check. If you have any questions, write them down to the shared notes. Don’t forget to copy the text from shared notes before leaving the breakout room!
3a Find words in the article that mean the following. Don’t forget the phrases from 2b! some words can be there.
1 describe something again, and in a better way (paragraph 2)
2 not understand correctly (paragraph 2)
3 not as good as some people think or say (paragraph 2)
4 used something in the wrong way or for a wrong purpose (paragraph 4)
5 a person who used to be very successful and powerful in business (paragraph 4)
type your answer to the Shared Notes in the BBB, then check the answers on the other side of the card
4b Think of a word with a prefix that means the same as the UPPER CASE words in these sentences.
1 He was always TOO CONFIDENT.
2 His team PLAYED MUCH BETTER than the other team.
3 She asked her FORMER BOSS for advice.
4 His mother’s French and his father’s Italian, so he’s ABLE TO SPEAK TWO LANGUAGES FLUENTLY.
5 He told me to WRITE the essay AGAIN.
6 His ability was NOT AS GREAT AS PEOPLE BELIEVED.
7 She DID NOT CORRECTLY UNDERSTAND the lecturer.
8 I DON’T LIKE people who don’t listen when I’m talking.
type your answer to the Shared Notes in the BBB, then check the answers on the other side of the card
One word for 3 sentences!
There will be 5 cards like that. All the words are from the previous exercises.
1 There must be some reason why some small businesses ______________ others that decade .
2 Traditionally, girls have ______________ boys in reading and writing.
3 The company has consistently ______________ its larger competitors.
type your answer to the Shared Notes in the BBB, then check the answers on the other side of the card
Other sets by this creator
Verified questions
vocabulary
Verified answer
literature
Verified answer
vocabulary
Verified answer
Recommended textbook solutions
-
What important things should
you know before telephoning? -
Give advice on how to use
your voice and to check your understanding. -
What does
the term ‘explicit
cultures’ mean? What about ‘subtle cultures’? -
What is a small talk?
-
Which
countries are considered to be ‘explicit
cultures’ and ‘subtle cultures’? -
Is it always important to be
face — to — face? Can there be any difficulties on the telephone
because of this?
III.
Sort out the most important information from the text and retell it.
Discussion
1. How
often do you meet your friends? In what way do you usually greet
them?
2.
Have you ever made a business call? What words did you use to begin
the talk?
3.
Have you ever dialed from abroad? Do you know the rules of making
telephone calls?
I. Meeting people
I. Here are the words and phrases which are commonly used when we meet
people.
Read and memorize them.
Greetings
1. You say «How do you
do» to a person when formally introduced or when you meet him
for the first time. This formula may be used almost anytime of day.
You say this without expecting any answer but «How do you do,»
and do not offer to shake hands. “Pleased to meet you” or “Glad
to meet you” is also a possible variant when you meet a person for
the first time.
2. You say «Good morning»
to people you know little or when your greeting is more formal. This
formula is used before lunch. To those you know well you may say
simply «Morning».
3. You say «Good
afternoon» to people you do not know well between lunch time and
tea-time.
4. You say «Good evening»
to people you do not know very well after 6 p.m. To those you know
well you may just say «Evening».
5. The proper universal
informal greeting is «Hello». This formula is usually used
with the first name. You can say “Hi!” to your close friends.
After an informal or a
friendly greeting often comes the question: «How are you?»
The answer is: “I’m all right, thank you” or “I’m fine,
thanks”.
Farewells
The usual phrase to use when
you leave is «Good bye,» but there are a number of other
less formal ways of parting, such as:
Bye-bye!
Cheerio!
(Br.)
See you later!
See you tomorrow!
(I’ll) be seeing you (soon).
So long.
Farewell. (When parting for
long.)
Say «Good
night» only when you leave and it is after eight o’clock at
night.
Thanks and possible answers
Thank Thank Thanks. |
My Anytime. You Don’t It’s Not |
First words
Often the first words are the
most difficult. Bellow are some suggestions for “breaking the ice”
(either could be said by a visitor or by the person receiving the
visitor)
Would Sorry Is Isn’t You Did Have |
Sorry I’m I People |
Соседние файлы в предмете [НЕСОРТИРОВАННОЕ]
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
- #
How Many Words Does The Average Native Speaker Use?
When you set out to learn a new language, it’s common to want to know how long it will take to reach fluency. And one of the most common ways people try to gauge that is by counting the number of foreign vocabulary words they learn. So, how many words do you need to know to be fluent? The answer is quite complicated. In fact, many language learning experts often disagree.
The Problem With Counting Vocabulary Words
Despite being one of the most common ways people choose to evaluate fluency, counting words is not effective. And there are several reasons for this:
- It’s impossible to come up with an exact number of words that demonstrate fluency.
- Language experts disagree on how to measure vocabulary size.
- When it comes to learning a language, not all words are the same.
- Not all languages are the same.
- Learning a list of words does mean you can speak fluently.
- Some words are more valuable for people to learn than others.
- And the order in which they learn words matters.
We’ve only just begun to touch on the difficulty in counting words to measure fluency. And the trouble goes deeper than just the dynamic nature of words in general. When it comes down to it, it’s even difficult just to get experts to agree on what a word is.
Defining What a Word Is
“What is a word?” is a very complex question. You might assume everyone means the same thing when they talk about a “word,” but that turns out not to be the case at all. Language experts sharply disagree with each other about the number of words people have in their vocabularies.
- One expert says the average native English speaker who is a high school graduate knows at around 30,000 words.
- Another expert says the average native English speaker who is more highly educated has a vocabulary of 10,000 words.
It doesn’t make sense. Why would people with more education have smaller vocabularies than people with less education? Where does this discrepancy come from?
The difference in the numbers comes from how experts measure data. They measure differently. And they don’t agree on the definition of “word” or the definition of “know.” So, it is not surprising that they come up with such different answers to questions about how many words people know.
Psst! Did you know we have a language learning app?
You’re only one click away!
How to Define What a Word Is
Some experts count every form of a word as a separate word. For example, they count each form of the verb “to see” separately. By this measurement, “to see,” “see,” “sees,” “seeing,” “saw” and “seen” would be considered six individual words. These experts apply the same logic to nouns, counting “cat” and “cats” as two separate words.
Other experts count only the root word and not its different forms. As a result, they come up with much smaller numbers. These experts count “to see,” “see,” “sees,” “seeing,” “saw,” and “seen” as only one word because they are all forms of “to see.” They also consider “cat” and “cats” as a single word because the singular and plural are forms of the same root noun.
Their thinking is that when people learn a root word, such as “to see” or “cat,” they are learning a new word for the first time. However, when the same people then learn different forms of the root word, such as “seeing” or “cats,” that should be considered an addition to their knowledge of grammar instead of an expansion of their store of new words.
How Many Words Do You Know?
After all, these experts say, this is how we learn languages. First, we learn one form of a word. Then, as we learn more about the structure of the language, we can generalize the use of the word to other situations, using its other forms.
When evaluating the number of words in people’s vocabularies, the experts who count every form of a word will come up with a much higher word count than will the experts who count only the root forms. And that’s the case even when both sets of experts are studying the same language and the same groups of people.
Which standard of measurement should you use? Neither one is right or wrong. They are both valid ways of measuring the size of people’s vocabularies. What’s important when you compare individuals or groups to each other is that you pick one method of measurement and then use it consistently in order to have meaningful results.
What Does It Mean to “Know” a Word?
Back to our original question: How Many Words Do You Need to Know to Be Fluent? We’ve defined what a word is (roughly), but we’re still not there yet. Now, we need to consider is what it means to “know” a word.
People who study languages make a distinction between what they call active vocabulary and passive vocabulary. Some think people “know” a word only if it is in their active vocabulary. However, others believe people “know” all the words in their active and passive vocabularies combined.
- Active vocabulary: You can remember it quickly. And you can use it without hesitation in your thoughts, when you talk, and when you write as well.
- Passive vocabulary: you recognize and understand the word (more or less) when you happen to hear it or see it. However, you can’t easily remember the word and aren’t comfortable using it in conversation.
For both native and non-native speakers, the number of words in passive vocabularies tends to be several times larger than the number of words in active vocabularies.
People will generally absorb a new word into their passive vocabularies after they see or hear it the first few times. Then, as they encounter the word more often and as they better understand its context and different meanings, it becomes part of their active vocabularies.
One of the best ways to expand your knowledge of a language is to move words up from your passive to your active vocabulary.
How Many Words Do I Have in My Vocabulary Range?
Now that we have seen why language experts differ so widely when they count words in people’s vocabularies, we can return to our original question about how many words you need to know to be considered fluent. For the purpose of this discussion, we will measure vocabulary by counting only root words and not their different forms, and by counting only the words in people’s active vocabularies.
This is the approach taken by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which has become the de facto standard for grading an individual’s language proficiency. The CEFR is a current guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages across Europe and, increasingly, in other countries.
The Council of Europe created it as the main part of a project called “Language Learning for European Citizenship” between 1989 and 1996. Its main aim is to provide a method of learning, teaching and assessing which applies to all languages in Europe.
The 6 reference levels (see below) are becoming widely accepted as the de facto standard for grading an individual’s language proficiency. Using this method of measurement, we can sort people based on their language fluency into six groups or levels:
Learn the Right Words in the Right Order
A great way to accelerate your language learning is to pay attention to which words you should learn first, instead of trying to learn as many new words as fast as you can. Focus first on learning the words that will benefit you the most.
For example, in English, about 95% of everyday conversations draw from a store of only 3,000 words. Learning those 3,000 words first will be far more efficient than learning 3,000 words at random. By starting with a list of the most commonly used words, you can take a shortcut toward being able to carry on everyday conversations.
To optimize learning, someone studying English should learn to recognize the most high-volume words, such as “the,” “to be,” “and,” “have” and “you” before they tackle less common vocabulary words. Make sure you learn the basics before going on to study the names of animals and plants, current slang expressions, or other words that are not as essential to basic conversational skills.
How The Pareto Principle Helps You Reach Fluency
Vilfredo Federico Damaso Pareto was an Italian philosopher and engineer known for documenting the 80/20 rule (named after him). In short, Pareto discovered that 80% of the effects come from only 20% of the causes in many situations.
The Pareto Principle is useful in many fields because it helps people focus on the actions they can take that will have the greatest impact. For example, software developers find that fixing 20% of the bugs in a software product can eliminate 80% of the product’s defects. The trick is to concentrate on the correct 20%. In the software example, that means focusing on fixing the bugs that users report most often.
Traffic patterns also follow the Pareto Principle. In many locations, 80% of the traffic will occur during 20% of any given time period. This is useful information for city planners, who can focus their efforts to manage traffic where they will do the most good.
For language learners, this means most of your progress will come from targeted learning. While this may not break down exactly to 80 and 20%, the general rule is useful here.
Focus on High-Frequency Words in Your Target Language
That’s why many people often begin their language studies by attempting to memorize high-frequency words. Without getting into the pros and cons of this approach, adherents will often focus on the first 500–1,000 most frequently used vocabulary words in their target language.
If this is an approach you’re considering, give careful thought to where you pick up your vocabulary lists and how they were created. Going back to our exploration of “what is a word,” you may want to consider how you choose to study definitions.
You don’t need to memorize every definition of the words you are learning. That would be very time-consuming because some common words have several alternative definitions not commonly used.
For example, in English, the word “murder” normally means “to kill.” It is a word one often encounters in news reports. An alternative definition is “a flock of crows.” This second definition is not commonly known among native speakers, let alone students.
Instead, it is far more efficient to learn only a few of the most common definitions – the ones you are likely to need in ordinary conversations. Then, with experience, you will naturally learn more when you hear the words used in different contexts. In that way, through exposure to the language over time, you will assimilate the language, learning it in a natural way.
If you focus on learning words you will use the most and on learning the most useful definitions, you can learn the language far more efficiently than if you tried to learn everything at random.
How Many Words to Be Conversational?
There is no precise number that will answer the question of “how many words do you need to know to be fluent?” In part, that is because language scholars use different measurements when they count words and apply different standards to evaluate what it means to know a word.
Nevertheless, it is useful to consider how many words people know if you look at ranges, rather than at exact numbers. It then becomes possible to group people by their language proficiency according to a rough estimate of the number of words they know.
People who know 250 to 500 words are beginners. Those who know 1,000 to 3,000 words can carry on everyday conversations. Knowing 4,000 to 10,000 words makes people advanced language users while knowing more than 10,000 words puts them at the fluent or native-speaker levels.
How Many Words Do You Know?
When it comes to learning a language, all words are not equal. Learning some types of words will accelerate your progress more quickly than learning other types of words. To be most effective in learning a language, focus on the most common words in that language before starting to study more specialized sets of vocabulary. And learn the most common definitions first instead of trying to memorize every definition.
The Pareto Principle, which says 80% of effects come from 20% of causes, applies in a general way to learning a new language. That is, you will progress the fastest if you start by spending your time learning what you can use right away. If instead, you try to read a dictionary from cover to cover, learning every word and every definition in the language, much of your effort will be inefficient at best and wasted at worst.
Should You Count Words on Your Path to Fluency?
Learning the most common words and definitions puts you in a position where you can start assimilating the language in a natural way. The more you hear and read words in the language, the more you will understand new words and new meanings in context. This is similar to the way you learned your first language as a child. The more you expose yourself to your new language, the more fluent you will become.
So, how many words do you need to know to be fluent? Well, you don’t need to count the number of words you learn. You have much better things to do with your time. Instead, put your time and effort where they will do the most good. Speed up your language learning by focusing on the most commonly used words, then let your natural language-learning ability take over.
This combination of targeted studying and assimilating language by experience is the most powerful and efficient way to master a new language.