Thursday, May 10, 2012

nb2 10/5/12


Homework: grammar bank p. 140 unit 8B a and b

My body age is six years younger / less than my real age.
Quite:
- Especially British English fairly, or to a small extent, but not very [ pretty]:
The film was quite good, but the book was much better.
I got a letter from Sylvia quite recently.
Quite like/enjoy
I quite like Chinese food.
-  Quite a lot/bit/few
A fairly large number or amount:
He's got quite a lot of friends.
Quite a few towns are now banning cars from their shopping centres.

*A lot (affirmative sentences with countable and uncountable nouns)
Also lots informal a large amount or number:
We've spent a lot on the children's education.
'How many CDs have you got?' 'Lots.'
A lot of / lots of
They paid a lot of money for that house.
I eat a lot of vegetables.
There were lots of people at the party.

I met a lot of people = I met lots of people
I eat a lot / I eat a lot of food
I sang a lot / I sang a lot of songs

*Much
[In informal English 'much' is used mainly in questions and negatives]a large amount of something (uncountable nouns):
I don't have much money with me.
Was there much traffic?
He didn't say much about his trip.
After much consideration we have finally arrived at a decision. (BUT you can use it in affirmative sentences)
Too much
There was too much work for one person.
I study too much, I need to relax.

*Many [In informal English many is used mainly in questions and negatives] (countable nouns)
1 a large number of people or things [≠ few;  more, most, much]:
Many people have to use a car to travel to work. (BUT you can use it in affirmative sentences)
I don't have many friends.
She has lived in Spain for many years.
Do you get many visitors?
Some of the houses have bathrooms but many do not.
Many can also be used after too
• There are too many (demasiados) mistakes in this work.

*A few: a small number of things or people (countable nouns)
I have to buy a few things at the supermarket.
Pam called to say she's going to be a few minutes late.
There were a few people sitting at the back of the hall.
There are a few more things I'd like to discuss.
Do you have a few apples? Yes, a have a few /No, I don’t have any (no tengo ninguna) / ≠ many (no tengo muchas).
BUT few without “a” means not many (no muchas) or hardly any (casi ninguna) people or things [≠ many]:
They offer low-paid jobs that few (casi nadie) people want.

* A little (uncountable) A small amount:
Fortunately I had a little time to spare.
Susan speaks a little French.
BUT little without “a” means not much. Only a small amount or hardly any of something:
There's little doubt in my mind that he's guilty.
I paid little attention to what the others were saying.
Little is known about the causes of the problem.

RESUMEN:
I have a few apples (pocas pero suficientes)
I have few apples (no tengo bastantes)
I have a little coffee (poco pero suficiente)
I have little coffee (no tengo bastante)

* Too
1 [+ adjective/adverb] more than is acceptable or possible:
Do you think the music's too loud (adj.)?
You've put too much salt (unc. noun) in the soup.
' class=pronsentence title="Look up a word starting with D or S for samples of headword or sentence pronunciations on the LDOCE CD-ROM" v:shapes="_x0000_i1058"> There are too many cars (count. noun) on the road.
' class=pronsentence title="Look up a word starting with D or S for samples of headword or sentence pronunciations on the LDOCE CD-ROM" v:shapes="_x0000_i1059"> I eat too much (con verbos siempre “much” si nos referimos a la acción)

* Enough comes after adjectives, never before
• This one is big enough (NOT enough big).
• Is it warm enough for you?
Enough usually comes before nouns
• We haven't got enough time.
• Are there enough plates?

cigarette / ˈsɪɡəˈret/
I’ve got a stomachache. It hurts a lot. A pain in the neck / ass.
Put something ↔ away
To put something in the place where it is usually kept:
He put his toys away every night.

No comments: