Exercise on Simple Past Top of Form Put the verbs into the correct form (simple past).

Last year I (spend) It (be) I (travel) places.

spent

my holiday in Ireland.

great. around by car with two friends and we (visit) to a pub. some Irish dances. lots of interesting

In the evenings we usually (go) One night we even (learn) We (be) It (not / rain) But we (see) Where (spend / you) Bottom of Form

very lucky with the weather. a lot. some beautiful rainbows. your last holiday?

Simple Past (Passado Simples Pretrito Perfeito do Indicativo) Os verbos no SIMPLE PAST so empregados para indicar uma ao completamente terminada no passado ou uma ocorrncia habitual de aes no passado. O auxiliar utilizado para oraes negativas e interrogativas o did. Oraes no simple past so normalmente acompanhadas por advrbios ou locues adverbiais que indicam tempo passado, como: yesterday, last + advrbio de tempo (last night, last month, last year) e expresses compostas por advrbio de tempo + ago (a year ago, a few hours ago, a month ago). Pode aparecer tambm aps alguns advrbios que funcionam como indicadores do SIMPLE PRESENT (always, never, on weekends), mas para indicar uma ocorrncia habitual no passado. O simple past tambm usado aps as expresses as though e as if e o verbo to wish. Nestes casos, se o verbo no passado for to be, todas as pessoas devero ser usadas na forma were (incluindo a 1. e a 3. pessoa do singular). Sua estrutura a seguinte: Para afirmao: SUJEITO + VERBO INFINITIVO (sem to) + ED Exemplos: (to love) I loved He/She/It loved

You loved We loved You (plural) loved They loved

Para negao: SUJEITO + AUXILIAR + NOT + VERBO INFINITIVO (sem to) Exemplo: (to love) I did not love He/She/It did not love You did love We did love You (plural) did love They did love - Pode-se substituir did not por sua forma contrada: didnt. Para interrogao: AUXILIAR + SUJEITO + VERBO INFINITIVO (sem to) Exemplos: (to love) Did I love? Did you love? Did he/she/it love? Did we love? Did you (plural) love? Did they love? Outros exemplos:

I learned English. (Eu aprendi ingls). A few years ago the internet didnt exist. (H alguns anos a internet no existia). Did you love your ex-boyfrieand? (Voc amou seu ex-namorado?) We studied by ourselves. (Ns estudamos por ns mesmos). Did you called to your mother? (Voc ligou para sua me?). Did they read the book? (Eles leram o livro?) He went to my house yesterday. (Ele foi para minha casa ontem). We always visited our grandmother.(Ns sempre visitamos nossa av). I wish you played soccer with us. (Eu gostaria que voc tivesse jogado futebol conosco). Excees: Em verbos que terminados em y precedido por consoante, troca-se y por ied. Exemplo: (to study) He studied(Ele estudou); Em verbos que j terminam em e, acrescenta-se somente d. Ex: (to dance) I danced; Verbos que tm apenas uma slaba e terminam numa vogal + consoante, dobrar a ltima letra antes de acrescentar ed. Ex: (to stop) They stopped (Eles pararam); Verbos que tm mais de uma slaba, terminam em vogal + consoante e a ltima slaba a tnica, dobrar a ltima letra antes de acrescentar ed. Ex: (to permit) We permitted (Ns permitimos);

Existem ainda verbos irregulares que: a) no mudam de forma: ( ATENO! O contexto aqui essencial para indicar se o verbo est no simple present ou no simple past) To cut - cortar Cut To hit - bater Hit To fit - atacar Fit To read - ler Read b) mudam uma vogal:

To get - pegar To sit - sentar To give - dar To drink - beber To become - tornar (se)

Got Sat Gave Drank Became

c) so alterados radicalmente: To be - ser To bring - trazer To teach - ensinar To feel - sentir To send - mandar To take - tomar To know - saber / conhecer To have - ter To go - ir

Was / were Brought Taught Felt Sent Took Knew Had Went

Explanation: Question tags Put in the correct question tags. Example: Peter works in the shop, _________ ? Answer: Peter works in the shop, doesn't he? 1) She is collecting stickers, ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

2) We often watch TV in the afternoon, 3) You have cleaned your bike, 4) John and Max don't like Maths, 5) Peter played handball yesterday, 6) They are going home from school, 7) Mary didn't do her homework last Monday, 8) He could have bought a new car, 9) Kevin will come tonight, 10) I'm clever, ?

Check

Show answ er

Tag Questions You speak English, don't you? A tag question is a special construction in English. It is a statement followed by a mini-question. The whole sentence is a "tag question", and the mini-question at the end is called a "question tag". A "tag" is something small that we add to something larger. For example, the little piece of cloth added to a shirt showing size or washing instructions is a tag. We use tag questions at the end of statements to ask for confirmation. They mean something like: "Am I right?" or "Do you agree?" They are very common in English. The basic structure is: statement + Positive statement, Snow is white, question tag negative tag? isn't it?

+ Negative statement, positive tag? You don't like me, do you?

Notice that the question tag repeats the auxiliary verb (or main verb when be) from the statement and changes it to negative or positive. A question t uestion tag is the "mini-question" at the end. A tag question is the whole sentence. We will now look at positive statement tag questions.

RELATIVE PRONOUN A relative pronoun is a pronoun that marks a relative clause within a larger sentence. It is called a relative pronoun because it relates the relative (and hence subordinate) clause to the noun that it modifies. In English, the relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, whosever,whosesoever, which, and, in some treatments, that. In addition, English has various fused relative pronouns, which combine in one word the antecedent and the relative pronoun: what, whatever, whatsoever, whoever, whosoever, whomever, whomsoever, whichev er, and whichsoever,

A relative pronoun links two clauses into a single complex clause. It is similar in function to a subordinating conjunction. Unlike a conjunction, however, a relative pronoun stands in place of a noun. Compare: (1) This is a house. Jack built this house. (2) This is the house that Jack built. Sentence (2) consists of two clauses, a main clause (This is the house) and a relative clause (that Jack built). The word that is a relative pronoun in some analyses.[1] Within the relative clause, the relative pronoun stands for the noun phrase it references in the main clause (itsantecedent), and is one of the arguments of the verb in the relative clause. In the example, the argument is the house, the direct object ofbuilt. Other arguments can be relativised using relative pronouns: Subject: Hunter is the boy who kissed Jessica. Indirect object: Hunter is the boy to whom Jessica gave a gift. Adpositional complement: Jack built the house in which I now live. (similarly with prepositions and prepositional phrases in general, for example These are the walls in between which Jack ran.) Possessor: Jack is the boy whose friend built my house. In some languages, such as German and Latin, which have gender, number, and noun declensions, the relative pronoun agrees with its antecedent in gender and number, while its case indicates its relationship with the verb in the relative clause. In some other languages, the relative pronoun is an invariable word. The words used as relative pronouns are often words which originally had other functions: for example, the English which is also aninterrogative word. This suggests that relative pronouns might be a fairly late development in many languages. Some languages, such asWelsh, do not have relative pronouns. In English and German, different pronouns are sometimes used if the antecedent is a human being, as opposed to a non-human or an inanimate object (as in who/that). (5) This is a bank. This bank accepted my identification. (6) She is a bank teller. She helped us open an account. With the relative pronouns, sentences (5) and (6) would read like this: (7) This is the bank that accepted my identification. (8) She is the bank teller who helped us open an account. In sentences (7) and (8), the words that and who are the relative pronouns. The word that is used because the bank is a thing; the word whois used because "she" is a person. In some languages with relative clauses, such as Mandarin Chinese, there are no relative pronouns. In English, the relative pronoun may be optionally omitted, particularly in speech, from a restrictive relative clause that is, one which contributes to establishing the identity of the antecedent if the relative pronoun would serve as the object of the verb or of a stranded preposition in the relative clause (as in This is the car I bought = This is the car that I bought or This is the car you heard of = This is the car of which you heard). [edit]See also English relative clauses English grammar Relativizer

Relative pronouns in Spanish [edit]References ^ According to Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey Pullum, "that" is not a relative pronoun but a subordinator, and its analysis requires a relativised symbol R: "The film that I needed [R] is not obtainable," where R is the covert object of "needed" and has "the film" as an antecedent.Huddleston, Rodney; Pullum, Geoffrey (2005). A Student's Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge UP. pp. 18385.ISBN 9780521612883.

Put in the relative who, which or whose where necessary. Type an x if the relative pronoun can be left out. Example: Peter is the boy ____ rides the blue bike. Answer: Peter is the boy who rides the blue bike. 1) This is the boy 2) Yesterday I saw a car 3) Mandy is the girl 4) I haven't seen Frank, 5) The robber stole the car 6) This is the man 7) Can I talk to the girl 8) The book had an accident. was really old. I met on Friday. brother is five, for a long time now. the lady parked in front of the supermarket.

house is on fire. is sitting on the bench?

you gave me is great. are hot.

9) She likes hamburgers 10) Bill Clinton,

Check Show answ er

was President of the USA, has only one daughter.

Sentence Connectors Click for Audio She drinks coffee. He drinks tea. She drinks coffee, but he drinks tea. She drinks coffee, and he drinks tea. She drinks coffee; he drinks tea. Although she drinks coffee, he drinks tea.

(Two separate sentences) (Coordination) (Both ideas are equal) (Closely related ideas) (Subordination)

She drinks coffee although he drinks tea. (One idea is stronger) Although she drinks coffee, but he drinks tea. (INCORRECT!) She drinks coffee; however, he drinks tea. (Sentence connector) She drinks coffee. However, he drinks tea. (Stronger break between ideas) She drinks coffee. He, however, drinks tea. (Variation) Remember: A period (.) provides the strongest break between ideas. A semicolon (;) is next, and a comma (,) provides the weakest separation. Coordinators provide connection between equal ideas. (and, but, or, nor, so, for, yet) Examples: Mom and Dad red or green She stayed, but he left. Subordinators provide connection between unequal ideas. (because, although, when, while, if, as, since, whenever, wherever?) Example: He didn't go to work because he was sick. Although John was unhappy, he still smiled. Sentence Connectors provide connection between large groups of ideas/sentences. (usually paragraphs) (therefore, otherwise, thus, in conclusion, furthermore?) For Practice: See Connecting Words (from The Internet TESL Journal) See also: Grammar: Conjunctions and Linking Words If you have questions or comments about this page, please contact us. Be sure to include the title of this page in the Subject line of your e-mail. Sentence Connectors and Sentences Grammar Exercises English Once you have mastered the basics of correct usage in written English, you will want to express yourself in increasingly complex ways. One of the best ways to improve your writing style is to use sentence connectors. Sentence connectors are used to express relationships between ideas and to combine sentences. The use of these connectors will add sophistication to your writing style. Each section below contains sentence connectors using similiar sentences to show how the same idea can be expressed in a variety of manners. Once you have understood the use of these sentence connectors, take an example sentence of your own and write a number of sentences based on the examples to practice your own writing skills. Some examples of sentence connectors: 1) Food and drink prices in New York are very high. 2) Renting an apartment in New York is very expensive. Using a sentence connector: Food and drink prices in New York are very high; furthermore, renting an apartment is very expensive. 1) Life in New York is very expensive. 2) Life in New York can be extremely exciting.

Using a sentence connector: Despite the fact that life in New York is very expensive, it can be extremely exciting. 1) Life in New York is very expensive. 2) Many people would love to live in New York. Using a sentence connector: Many people would love to live in New York; consequently, life in New York is very expensive. EXERCISES ON CONNECTORS ( CONTRAST) F I L L I N T H E B L A N K S T R A S T CONNECTOR

W I T H

S U I T A B L E

C O N

( WHEREAS, BUT, ALTHOUGH, HOWEVER, DESPITE, IN SPITE OF, ON THE OTHER HAND) 1._____________ Andrew was warned of the risks, he decided to t r a v e l alone to South America.2.Maria did not get a promotion ______________ her qualifications.3.Zambia is a land- locked country, ____________ Kenya has a coastline. 4. On the one hand, you could rent a flat instead of buyi n g o n e . __________ you are always at the mercy of landlords. 5. This restaurant has a good reputation, ______________ that one doesnot.6 . T h e c i t y h a s a 5 0 k p h l i m i t . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , p e o p l e a r e o f t e n caught speeding.7.You wo nt be forgiven ___________________ your apology.8.We couldnt find a house to buy _______________we looked at quite afew.9.He always looks so lonely and sad ____________ his popularity. 10.He is quiet and shy, _________________ his sister is lively and talkative ANSWER KEY 1.Although 2. despite/ in spite of 3. whereas 4 On the other hand5 whereas 6 However 7 despite/ in spite of 8 although 9despite/ i n spite of 10 whereas JOIN EACH PAIR OF SENTENCES. BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU PUT THE WORDS IN BRACKETS. ( ALTHOUGH, IN SPITE OF , DESPITE) 1.Dave smokes. He seems to be in good health ( although) 2 . I c o u l d n t s l e e p . I w a s t i r e d . ( d e s p i t e ) 3.Max didnt notice the sign. It was right in front of him ( even though)4 . K a t e n e v e r l e a r n t S p a n i s h . S h e l i v e d i n S p a i n f o r m a n y y e a r s (although)5.Joe is a millionaire .He hates spending money. ( despite) ANSWER KEY 1.Although Dave smokes, he seems to be in good health. 2 . I c o u l d n t s l e e p d e s p i t e b e i n g t i r e d . 3.Max didnt notice the sign even though it was right in front of him.4.Kate never learnt Spanish although se lived in Spain for many years. Degrees of Comparison

Degrees of Comparison are used when we compare one person or one thing with another. There are three Degrees of Comparison in English. They are: 1. Positive degree. 2. Comparative degree. 3. Superlative degree. Let us see all of them one by one. 1.Positive degree. When we speak about only one person or thing,We use the Positivedegree. Examples: This house is big. In this sentence only one noun The house is talked about. He is a tall student. This flower is beautiful. He is an intelligent boy. Each sentence mentioned above talks about only one noun. The second one in the Degrees of Comparison is... 2.Comparative degree. When we compare two persons or two things with each other, We use both the Positive degree and Comparative degree. Examples: a. This house is bigger than that one. (Comparative degree) This house is not as big as that one. (Positive degree) The term bigger is comparative version of the term big. Both these sentences convey the same meaning. b. This flower is more beautiful than that. (Comparative) This flower is not as beautiful as that. (Positive) The term more beautiful is comparative version of the term beautiful. Both these sentences convey the same meaning. c. He is more intelligent than this boy. (Comparative) He is not as intelligent as this boy. (Positive) The term more intelligent is comparative version of the term intelligent. Both these sentences convey the same meaning.

d. He is taller than Mr. Hulas. (Comparative) He is not as tall as Mr. Hulas. (Positive) The term taller is comparative version of the term tall. Both these sentences convey the same meaning. The third one in the Degrees of Comparison is... 3.Superlative degree: When we compare more than two persons or things with one another, We use all the three Positive, Comparative and Superlative degrees. Examples: a. This is the biggest house in this street. (Superlative) This house is bigger than any other house in this street. (Comparative) No other house in this street is as big as this one. (Positive) The term biggest is the superlative version of the term big. All the three sentences mean the same meaning. b. This flower is the most beautiful one in this garden. (Superlative) This flower is more beautiful than any other flower in this garden. (Comparative) No other flower in this garden is as beautiful as this one. (Comparative) The term most beautiful is the superlative version of the term beautiful. All the three sentences mean the same meaning. c. He is the most intelligent in this class. (Superlative) He is more intelligent than other boys in the class. (Comparative) No other boy is as intelligent as this boy. (Positive) The term most intelligent is superlative version of the term intelligent. Both these sentences convey the same meaning. d. He is the tallest student in this class. (Superlative) He is taller than other students in this class. (Comparative) No other student is as tall as this student. (Positive) The term tallest is superlative version of the term tall. Both these sentences convey the same meaning.

*Degrees of Comparison are applicable only to Adjectives and Adverbs* *Nouns and verbs do not have degrees of comparisons* He is the tallest student in the class. The term tallest is an adjective. Among the members of the group, Mr. Clinton speaks most effectively. The term effectively is an adverb.

All the terms used in the above-examples are either adjectives or adverbs. We have seen all the three Degrees of Comparison. Let us see their models. Model -1: The best: Examples: i. This is the best hotel in this area. No other hotel is as better as this on in this area. No other hotel is as good as this one in this area. ii. Unemployment is the most serious problem facing our country. Unemployment is more serious than any other problem facing our country. No other problem facing our country is as serious as unemployment. Model-2: One of the best: Examples: i. Calcutta is one of the largest cities in India. Calcutta is large than most other cities in India. Very few cities in India are as large as Calcutta. ii. Satin Tendulkar is one of the best batsmen in the world. Satin Tendulkar is better than most other batsmen in the world. No other batman in the world is as good as Satin Tendulkar. Model-3: Not the best: Examples: i. This is not the best solution to the problem. ii. This is not better than few other solutions to this problem. iii. Other solutions to this problem are not as good as this one. ii. New York is not the largest city in America. New York is not bigger than many other cities in America. Few other cities in America are at least as large as New York. Few adjectives and adverbs get their Comparative forms by simply getting more before them. And their superlative terms, by getting most before them. Examples: Beautiful..........more beautiful..........most beautiful Effective.more effectivemost effective Effectivelymore effectively.most effectively Enjoyable.more enjoyable.most enjoyable

Useful.more useful..most useful Different..more differentmost different Honest..more honest..most honest Qualifiedmore qualifiedmost qualified Few adjectives and adverbs get their Comparative forms by simply getting er after them and their superlative terms, by getting est after them. Examples: Hard..harder..hardest Big.bigger.biggest Tall..tallertallest Longlongerlongest Short..shorter.shortest Costlycostliercostliest Simple.simpler.simplest Degrees of Comparison add beauty and varieties to the sentences.

Countable / Uncountable Nouns Nouns | Abstract Nouns | Collective Nouns | Common Nouns Compound Nouns | Concrete Nouns Gerund Nouns | Predicate Nouns | Proper Nouns Top of Form
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Bottom of Form Sponsored Links A noun can be countable or uncountable. Countable nouns can be "counted", they have a singular and plural form . For example: A book, two books, three books ..... An apple, two apples, three apples .... Uncountable nouns (also called mass nouns or noncount nouns) cannot be counted, they are not seperate objects. This means you cannot make them plural by adding -s, because they only have a singular form. It also means that they do not take a/an or a number in front of them. For example: Water Work Information Coffee Sand Countable Uncountable (use a/an or a number in front of (there is no a/an or number with

countable nouns) An Apple / 1 Apple I eat an apple every day. Add (s) to make a countable noun plural

apples I eat an apple every day. Apples are good I eat rice every day. Rice isgood for you. for you. To make uncountable nouns countable add a counting word, such as a unit of A computer= Computers are fun. measurement, or the general word piece. We use the form "a ....... of ......." An elephant=Elephants are large. Rice=a grain of rice Water=a glass of water Rain=a drop of rain Music=a piece of music You can use some and any with You can use some and any with countable nouns. uncountable nouns. Some dogs can be dangerous. I usually drink some wine with my meal. I don't use any computers at work. I don't usually drink any water with my wine. You only use many and few with plural You only use much and little with countable nouns. uncountable nouns. So many elephants have been hunted that I don't usually drink much coffee. they are an endangered species. Little wine is undrinkable though. There are few elephants in England. You can use a lot of and no with plural You can use a lot of and no with countable nouns. uncountable nouns. No computers were bought last week. A lot of wine is drunk in France. A lot of computers were reported broken No wine is drunk in Iran. the week before. Making uncountable nouns countable You can make most uncountable noun countable by putting a countable expression in front of the noun. For example:A piece of information. 2 glasses of water. 10 litres of coffee. Three grains of sand.

uncountable nouns) Rice I eat rice every day. (not I eat a rice every day.) There is no plural form for an uncountable noun rice

A pane of glass. Sources of confusion with countable and uncountable nouns The notion of countable and uncountable can be confusing. Sources of confusion with countable and uncountable nouns The notion of countable and uncountable can be confusing. Some nouns can be countable or uncountable depending on their meaning. Usually a noun is uncountable when used in a general, abstract meaning (when you don't think of it as a separate object) and countable when used in a particular meaning (when you can think of it as a separate object). For example:glass - A glass of water. (Countable) | A window made of glass. (Uncountable) Some supposedly uncountable nouns can behave like countable nouns if we think of them as being in containers, or one of several types. This is because 'containers' and 'types' can be counted. Believe it or not each of these sentences is correct:Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two coffees a day. (Here coffees refers to the number of cups of coffee) You could write; "Doctors recommend limiting consumption to two cups of coffee a day." The coffees I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian. (Here coffees refers to different types of coffee) You could write; "The types of coffee I prefer are Arabica and Brazilian." !Note - In good monolingual dictionaries, uncountable nouns are identified by [U] and countable nouns by [C]. Countable / Uncountable Lesson

a) How many moneys b) How many money c) How much money d) How much moneys 4. On Saturday, my friend Paul went fishing and he caught ________ .a) three fish b) three fishes c) three items of fish d) three of fish 5. Can I borrow _______ from you? I've left mine at home and I want to write some notes. a) paper b) a paper c) a slice of paper d) a piece of paper 6. How many ________ did the teacher give us today? He always gives us a lot to do. a) homework b) homeworks c) a lot of homework d) pieces of homework 7. Every morning before I come to school, I spend thirty minutes doing _______ .That's how I stay so slim. a) exercise b) an exercise c) some exercises d) some pieces of exercise 8. Your sister is a great pianist. She played ________ at the party. a) a lovely music b) some lovely musics c) lovely musics d) a lovely piece of music Fill in the gaps with some, any or a - an. 1. Im really thirsty. I need ________ water, please. 2. I went to the library, but I couldnt find ________ books about art. 3. Can you give me _________ coffee, please?

4. She sent ________ postcards to her friends, but she didnt make _______ phone calls when shewas in Britain. 5. Its very sunny but there is only _________ child playing in the street. 6. I bought __________ coffee, but I didnt buy ________ tea or ________ papaya. 7. Have you got __________ chocolate biscuits? Im sorry, there are____________ biscuits left. 8. Mary, Im afraid there isnt __________ juice in the fridge but theres __________ pineapple. 9. They ate ____________apples, ___________ mango, but they didnt eat ___________ oranges. 10. A. Would you like ___________ cheese? Its delicious. B. Ok, give me__________. 11. Is there __________ oil in the kitchen? No, there isnt ___________ but theres __________ butter. Fill in the gaps with some or any: Charles: Alice! Have we got ____________ eggs? Alice: Yes, there are ____________ in the cupboard. Charles: Have we got ______________ cheese? Alice: Yes, theres ____________ in the fridge. Charles: Can I use ___________ olive oil? Alice: Yes, of course. Charles: I need ____________ tomatoes. Alice: We havent got _____________. Charles,would you like ___________ help? Charles: No, thanks, Im OK.

Tom: Lets go for a picnic in the park. Sarah: OK. Well make _________ sandwiches. What do weneed? Tom: We havent got ___________ bread. Can you buy ________? Sarah: Yes, sure. What about butter? Tom: Weve got __________. Ill buy _________cheese. Sarah: OK, and is there __________ orange juice in thefridge? Tom: No, Ill get __________. Sarah: Good. Do we need ___________ apples or cherries? Tom: Just ___________ apples. Sarah: Oh dear! I havent got ___________ money to buy the bread! Tom: Dont worry. Ill lend you ____________. Barbara: Is there __________ milk left? Katherine: Yes, there is ___________ in the bottle on the table. Barbara: Would you like ___________ milk? Katherine: No, thank you. I don't think I'll drink _________ tonight.Could I have __________ water, please? Barbara: Sure. There is ___________ in the fridge. Katherine: There is ________ Chinese boy in my English class. Barbara: Thats interesting; could you ask him __________ questionsfor me?

Katherine: No problem. Barbara: Could ask him ___________ questions about life in China? Katherine: I would be happy to do that for you.

Complete with much, a lot of, any, some, When we got to the beach, ___________ people were already there, and we couldn't find a place to sit down. There werent ____________ empty spaces near the beach, but they were ______________ empty spaces a long way from the sea. We walked along the beach for a while, but we didn't have ____________fun because we kept bumping into people. Finally, we decided to get back in the car and go down the coast to the next beach. This was _____________ better; there were only ______________ families son the beach, so there was _______________ room to spread out our things. Because we had eaten so _____________food in the car, all we wanted to do was lie down, and after ____________ minutes we were all dozing happily in the sun. Complete with much or many and a word from the box. children coffee experience fish fish furniture help housework luggage money news sugar things time times wine women 1. 'How ____________ __________ are there in the picture?' 'Two. A yellow and a green one.' 2. 2. 'How ____________ __________ have you got on you?' 'One pound twenty.' 3. 3. 'How ____________ __________ are there in your choir.' 4. 4. 'How ____________ __________ have you received from your uncle?' 'I haven't heard from him lately.' 5. 5. 'How ____________ __________ would you like with your rice?' 'Just a little, please.' 6. 6. 'How ____________ __________ has he got?' 'Two. A son and a daughter.' 7. 7. I do not have to do _________ ________. I only do the washing up 8. 8. 'How ____________ __________ do they have?' 'Six. But they don't lay eggs.' 9. 9. How ____________ ___________ have we got to finish the project? 10. 10. He does not eat _________ ________. He likes only tuna. 11. 11. The bedroom does not need _________ __________. 12. 12. They have not caught __________ _______ from the river. 13. 13. We don't eat as _________ ________ as they do. We usally have honey instead. 14. 14. We do not need as __________ _________ as last time. We will basically manage alone. 15. 15. How ___________ ________ have you been to France? 16. 16. I have got so _________ ___________to tell you. 17. 17. I won't take too _________ __________ with me. Only a suitcase and a handbag. 18. She does not have __________ ___________ as a nurse. 19. He had so ____________ _________that he could not sleep. 20. I don't drink much _________ ________. I prefer champagne.

Quantifiers: few or little? In the last post on quantifiers we learnt about words we use to talk about a large quantity of something: much, many and a lot/lots of and talked about the difference between them. Words we use to talk about small quantities include few and a few, little anda little. There are also expressions like barely any, hardly any and less common, scarcely any. Look at the following sentences and see if you can tell the difference between few and little: Few teachers enjoy marking their students work. There are only a few apples left on the tree. I have little patience with politicians. Why dont you take a little sugar with your tea? Did you notice that we use few with plural nouns, and we use little with singular uncountable nouns? Now what about the difference between few/little and a few/a little? Look at the following sentences and try to notice the rule: The average parent has little control over how much television their children watch. Few doctors visit patients in their homes these days. Could you you put a little oil in the car before you leave? John has said a few times that he would like to change jobs. Few and little usually have a negative meaning. They suggest not as much/many as one would like or not as much/many as expected. A few and a little have a more positive meaning. The meaning is similar to some, and gives the idea of better than nothing, just enough, more than expected or enough to be noticed. In informal style it is more common to use not many or not much instead of few or little. Using the same examples as above: The average parent doesnt have much control Not many doctors will visit you in your home A related word is fewer, which we often confuse with less. The meaning is the same but they are used differently. See the following sentences: There are fewer men than women working in our company. I have less time than I used to to read novels. Did you get it? Fewer is used before plural words, and less before uncountable words. For more details I recommend the following resources:

In the following sentences, fill in the gaps with one of the following quantifiers: much, many, a lot of, most, a little, little, a few, few 1. It seems to me that we haven't had 2. How assignments in English this term.

material can we be expected to read in one week? headaches already because of stress. weeds.

3. I've unfortunately had

4. Our yard looks awful this summer. There are too

5. I didn't use 6. Also, I've paid very

fertilizer last spring, and that has made a difference. attention to how rain we've had.

7. I'm afraid it's rained times this summer, and that is why the grass is turning brown and dying. Farmers are very upset. 8. How 9. good would it do if we watered the plants ourselves? . of the advice I have ever received from so-called "experts" has been useless. help could make a big difference.

10. They said that just 11. 12. It does us

people know as much about computers as Tomas does. good when the banking system collapses.

Quantifiers Exercises English Grammar Test

A few and few, a little and little These expressions show the speakers attitude towards the quantity he/she is referring to. A few (for countable nouns) and a little (for uncountable nouns) describe the quantity in a positiveway: Ive got a few friends (= maybe not many, but enough) Ive got a little money (= Ive got enough to live on) Few and little describe the quantity in a negative way: Few people visited him in hospital (= he had almost no visitors) He had little money (= almost no money) Graded Quantifiers They are like comparatives and hold a relative position on a scale of increase or decrease. With plural countable nouns: many more most

With uncountable nouns: much more most

With plural countable nouns: few fewer fewest

With uncountable nouns:

little

less

least

Examples: There are many people in Poland, morein India, but the most people live in China. Much time and money is spent on education, more on health services but the most is spent on national defense. Few rivers in Europe arent polluted. Fewer people die young now than in the nineteenth century. The country with the fewest people per square kilometre must be Australia. Scientists have little hope of finding a complete cure for cancer before 2010. She had less time to study than I did but had better results. Give that dog the least opportunity and it will bite you. Quantifiers with countable and uncountable nouns Some adjectives and adjectival phrases can only go with uncountable nouns (salt, rice, money, advice), and some can only go with countable nouns (friends, bags, people). The words in the middle column can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. With Uncountable With Both With Countable Nouns Nouns How much? How much? or How many? no/none not any some (any) a great deal of a large amount of a large quantity of a lot of plenty of lots of How many?

a little a bit (of)

a few a number (of) several a large number of a great number of a majority of

Note: much and many are used in negative and question forms.