Grammar in action English

Some, Any, Much, Many, A lot of, (A) Few, (A) Little
Always
Siempre

Usually
Normalmente

Often
A menudo

Sometimes
A veces

Rarely
Raramente

Never
Nunca

Acerca de los cuantificadores: en primer lugar hemos de considerar que en ingls existen nombres contables (que se pueden contar, es
decir, que tienen plural, como table) y nombres incontables (nombres que carecen de plural por se indefinidos, lquidos, gases, etc.,
como money, water o air). Teniendo esto en cuenta, veamos los usos de some, any, much, many, a lot of, (a) little y
(a) few.
SOME:
a) Con nombres incontables, some se usa delante de ellos para indicar algo de (aunque en espaol pueda no usarse ningn
cuantificador en estos casos). Se utiliza en oraciones afirmativas.
I have some money. Tengo (algo de) dinero.
There is some water in the bottle. Hay (algo de) agua en la botella.
b) Con nombres contables (siempre en plural), some se usa delante de ellos para indicar algunos/as (aunque en espaol pueda no
usarse ningn cuantificador en estos casos). Se utiliza en oraciones afirmativas.
There are some pictures on the wall. Hay (algunos) cuadros en la pared.
She is playing with some friends. Ella est jugando con (algunas) amigas.
ANY:
a) Con nombres incontables, any se usa delante de ellos para indicar nada de (cuando la oracin es negativa) o algo de (cuando
se usa en una pregunta), aunque en espaol pueda no usarse ningn cuantificador en estos casos.
I dont have any money. No tengo (nada de) dinero.
There isnt any water in the bottle. No hay (nada de) agua en la botella.
Do you have any money? Tienes (algo de) dinero?
Is there any water in the bottle? Hay (algo de) agua en la botella?
b) Con nombres contables any se usa delante de ellos para indicar ningn/ninguna (cuando la oracin es negativa) o
algunos/algunas (cuando se usa en una pregunta), aunque en espaol pueda no usarse ningn cuantificador en estos casos.
There arent any pictures on the wall. No hay cuadros (ningn cuadro) en la pared.
Are there any chairs in the room? Hay (algunas) sillas en la habitacin?
Ojo!: Hay preguntas en las que se puede usar some en lugar de any, que normalmente se usan al pedir u ofrecer algo, cuando se
presume una respuesta afirmativa.
Do you want some coffee? Quieres (algo de) caf?
MUCH:
Se utiliza much con nombres incontables para indicar mucha cantidad. Se usa en oraciones negativas y preguntas.
I dont have much money. No tengo mucho dinero.
Is there much water in the bottle? Hay mucha agua en la botella?
MANY:
Se utiliza many con nombres contables para indicar mucha cantidad. Se usa en oraciones negativas y preguntas, aunque a veces
tambin se puede usar en oraciones afirmativas.
There arent many pictures on the wall. No hay muchos cuadros en la pared.
Are there many chairs in the room? Hay muchas sillas en la habitacin?

A LOT OF:
A lot of se usa tanto con nombres contables como incontables para indicar mucha cantidad. La diferencia con much y many es
que a lot of se utiliza en oraciones afirmativas.
There are a lot of pictures on the wall. Hay muchos cuadros en la pared.
I have a lot of money. Tengo mucho dinero.
(A) FEW:
A few y few se usan con nombres contables en plural para indicar poca cantidad. La diferencia entre ambas expresiones radica en
que a few (unos pocos/unas pocas) implica que la cantidad es pequea, pero suficiente, es decir, es una idea positiva, mientras que
few (pocos/pocas) indica que la cantidad es pequea e insuficiente, por lo que implica una idea negativa.
I have a few friends. Tengo unos pocos amigos. (son suficientes)
There are few books in the library. Hay pocos libros en la biblioteca. (son insuficientes)
(A) LITTLE:
A little y little se usan con nombres incontables para indicar poca cantidad. Al igual que en el caso anterior, la diferencia entre
ambas expresiones radica en que a little (un poco/una poca) implica que la cantidad es pequea, pero suficiente, es decir, es una idea
positiva, mientras que little (poco/poca)indica que la cantidad es pequea e insuficiente, por lo que implica una idea negativa.
I have a little free time today. Hoy tengo un poco de tiempo libre. (es suficiente)
John has very little money. John tiene muy poco dinero. (es insuficiente)

Raise vs Rise
Both raise and rise can mean to move upwards, but the words are not interchangeable. Raise is a transitive verb, and rise is an
intransitive verb.
Transitive verbs, such as raise, require an object. The word raise requires an object to cause the motion--e.g."The girl raised her
own arm to answer the question." Arm is the direct object of the verb raise.
Intransitive verbs, such as rise, do not require an object. Rise does not require an object to do the motion--e.g, "The sun rises every
morning," "She rose from her nap around 2 o'clock." The sun is rising on its own, as did the napping girl.

Raise is a regular verb: raise, raised, raised

Rise is an irregular verb: rise, rose, risen

Common Uses of Raise

1.To elevate: She raised the bar in the competition.
2.To lift something: Please raise your hand.
3.To set upright by building: They raised the statue in her honor.
4.To bring to maturity: She raised him all by herself.
5.To increase: He raised his bet by five dollars.
Common Uses of Rise
1.To move into an upright position from lying, kneeling or sitting: Please rise for the Lord's Prayer.
2.To move upward without assistance: He likes to rise with the sun.
3.To return from death: Michael Jackson rose from the dead in his video "Thriller".

Say OR Tell?
The verbs say and tell have similar meanings. They both mean "to communicate verbally with someone". But we often use them
differently.
The simple way to think of say and tell is:

You say something

You tell someone something

You say something
Ram said that he was tired.
Anthony says you have a new job.
Tara said: "I love you."

You tell someone something

Ram told Jane that he was tired.
Anthony tells me you have a new job.
Tara told John that she loved him.

in spite of / despite / although

In spite of, despite and although are all used to show a contrast but there are differences in the structures used with them.

In spite of / despite: After in spite of and despite we use a noun or a pronoun.

We enjoyed our camping holiday in spite of the rain.

Despite the pain in his leg he completed the marathon.

Despite having all the necessary qualifications, they didnt offer me the job.

Remember that the gerund (-ing form) is the noun form of a verb.

The only difference between in spite of and despite is the of.

Despite of the bad weather, there was a large crowd at the match.

Although

After although we use a subject and a verb.

We enjoyed our camping holiday although it rained every day.

Although he worked very hard, he didnt manage to pass the exam.

The holiday was great although the hotel wasnt very nice.

We can use in spite of and despite with a subject and verb if we include the expression the fact that.

In spite of the fact that he worked very hard, he didnt manage to pass the exam.

Despite the fact that he worked very hard, he didnt manage to pass the exam.

Even though

Even though is a slightly stronger form of although.

We decided to buy the house even though we didnt really have enough money.

You keep making that stupid noise even though Ive asked you to stop three times.

Like although, even though is followed by a subject and a verb.

"Further" versus "Farther"

Farther refers to length or distance. It is the comparative form of the word far when referring to distance.
Further means "to a greater degree," "additional," or "additionally." It refers to time or amount. It is the comparative form of the word
far when meaning "much."

Correct: London is farther north than Juneau. (Refers to distance)

Correct: This plan requires further study. (Meaning "additional study," refers to amount)