number and quantity

many, few, much, little

• With countable nouns we can use too many, not many, (only) a few, (very) few.

There are too many mistakes here. We've had very few complaints.

• Few is negative, a few is positive. I have a few friends in Germany (some) I have few friends in Germany (not many) • With uncountable nouns we can use too much, not much,

(only) a little, (very) little. We haven't got much time. There is too much smoke in here. I need a little help. There's only a little milk left.

a lot of / lots of, plenty, hardly any, not enough

• With countable and uncountable nouns we can use a lot of / lots of, plenty of, hardly any, (not)enough, hardly enough.

We've got lots of time. We had a lot of complaints.

There's hardly any milk. There are hardly any seats.

We haven't got enough time. There aren't enough chairs.

• A lot and lots can stand alone as pronouns.

How many complaints have you had? Lots / A lot.

no, not any, none (of)

• No and not any can be used with countables and uncountables.

There's no time to lose! There isn't any time for that'

• None stands alone as a pronoun, often with at all.

• None of is used with nouns, with either a singular or a plural verb, though many users prefer a singular verb.

There might be lots of customers, or there might be none (at all).

None of the passengers was / were saved.

much / many with numbers and quantities • Many can be used as an intensifier with hundreds of /

thousands of etc.

Many thousands of people took part in the demonstration.

• A good many is a colloquial way of describing a large number.

A good many people were carrying banners.

• We use as many as or up to to indicate the highest number. We use as much as or up to to indicate the highest amount.

As many as a hundred people were arrested.

We spent as much as £300 yesterday

• We use more than or in excess of to indicate the lowest number.

More than £10 million has been spent already.

too much, too many, enough • We use too many with countables and too much with

uncountables to show that the number or amount is greater than necessary or more than is acceptable or possible.

There are too many cars in the centre of the city. There is too much traffic.

• We use far or way as intensifiers in everyday speech.

There is far too much salt in this sauce.

• We use enough with countables and uncountables when we want to show that the number or amount is acceptable or sufficient.

I’ll give you enough money to buy tickets for all of us.

• Hardly enough means 'almost not enough'.

• Just enough means the ‘right amount or number’.

• More than enough means 'more than is needed' (plenty of has a similar meaning).

There are hardly enough chairs for so many people.

There is just enough food for the three of us.

Don't worry, we've got more than enough chairs

quite a lot, rather a lot

• Quite a lot is a fairly large number, but not a very large one or more than we expected.

There were quite a lot of people waiting outside.

• Rather a lot is generally a greater number or amount than quite a lot, almost too many.

• I can't come out. I've got rather a lot of work to do.

number and amount

• We use a number or a large number / a small number to describe how many.

• We use a singular or a plural verb, though many users prefer a singular verb.

A number of houses have already been built.

A large number of people was waiting outside.

• We use a large / small amount to describe how much.

A large amount of money has been recovered by the police.

loads of, masses of

• These are informal expressions meaning a large number or amount.

Jim's a banker, and has got loads of money.

hundreds of, miles of etc.

• Measurement words can be used with of. Note that measurement words such as litre, ton, etc. are also followed by of: a litre of milk, a ton of earth.

Thousands of tons of earth had to be moved.

Millions of Iitres of water are wasted every day

There were several miles of wiring in each machine.

twice as much as / as many as

• We use twice as much, three times as much etc to make comparisons between a larger and smaller quantity or number.

Paula earns twice as much money as I do.

There are ten times as many students here as in my last school.

• (Just) as much / many means an equal amount or number.

Paula earns as much as I do.

every and each + noun

• In some cases, the meaning of every and each is the same, though each is often used to mean separately or one by one, especially when we are thinking of a definite number.

Every / Each time I have a holiday, I catch a cold.

There is a café in each corner of the square. (there are four cafes)

more, fewer, less

• More can be used with countables and uncountables to mean a larger number or amount.

Bring more chairs. We need more milk.

• We use fewer with countables to mean a smaller number, less with uncountables to mean a smaller amount.

There have been fewer storms this year. And less rain.

• In everyday speech, people often use less with countables, and this is becoming more common in print.

Salt consumption and health Health experts believe that a_____ people are consuming far too b

_____ salt, and that this is a health risk. There are plenty c _____ studies which show that increased salt consumption raises blood pressure and can cause heart problems, and the recommendation is that we should all be consuming d _____ salt. Even if we add e _____ any salt to our food at the table, we may be consuming a f _____ of salt without realizing. The daily recommended amount is 6 grams, but many people are consuming twice as much g _____ this and the average daily consumption in the UK is over 9 g per day. Bread, biscuits, ketchup and ready made meals all contain h _____ a lot of salt. So each time we eat a slice of bread, for example, we are adding to our daily intake. So what is the solution? We all need to be more aware of i _____ much salt we are consuming, and try to limit our intake. Governments are encouraging food manufacturers to cut down on the j _____ of salt they put into food, and every food product should state clearly on the wrapper how k _____ salt it contains.

answers

a many b much c of d less e hardly f lot g as

h quite i how j amount k much

Write a new sentence wit h the same meaning, beginning as shown

a The traffic is heavy today. • There________________ b This coffee is too sweet. • There is ________________ c This house is double the value of that one. • This house is worth ________________ d A lot of money has been spent on this project. • A large ________________ e I've got plenty of money to buy the tickets. • I've got more ________________ f Nearly a thousand football fans were arrested. • As ________________ g There are hardly any taxis at this time of night. • There are very ________________ h This is a secret and not many people know about it. • This is a secret and only ________________ i AlI of the paintings were undamaged. • None ________________ j The tank hasn't got any water in it. • There ________________

answers

a is too much traffic today. b too much sugar in this coffee. c twice as much as that one. d amount of money has been spent on this project. e than enough money to buy the tickets. f many as a thousand football fans were arrested. g few taxis at this time of night. h very few people know about it. I of the paintings was / were damaged. j is no wat er in the tank.