Grammar reference and practice 3.1

3.1 ■ Determiners

These determiners are used to talk about quantity: some, any, a little, a few, much, many, a lot of.

We use some and any before uncountable nouns or plural countable nouns to mean 'a number of' or 'an amount of'.

• ■Some is used in affirmative sentences.

  I've got some apples. There's some tea on the table.

  ■Any is used in negative sentences and in questions.

  Did the supermarket have any chicken?

  We haven't got any carrots.

  Have you got any bananas?

  There isn't any meat in the fridge.

  ■Some can also be used in questions, but only if they are offers or requests.

  Would you like some cake?

  Can I have some cake?

We use a little and a few to refer to small amounts.

• ■We use a little with uncountable nouns.

  We only need a little milk for the cake.

  ■We use a few with plural countable nouns.

  Meals are healthier if you add a few vegetables.

Much and many are used in negative sentences and questions to talk about larger quantities.

• ■We use much with uncountable nouns.

  Have you got much rice?

  There isn't much coffee.

  ■We use many with plural countable nouns.

  Are there many glasses in the cupboard? ~ Yes, but there aren't many plates.

We generally use a lot of to talk about larger quantities in affirmative sentences, for both uncountable and plural countable nouns. It is also possible to use a lot of in negatives and in questions.

Ellie eats a lot of fruit and vegetables.

A lot of people like Italian food.

1Choose the correct sentence in each pair. 

• 1I've got a lot of milk.I've got much milk.

• 2There isn't many coffee left.There isn't much coffee left.

• 3I'm only buying a little grapes.I'm only buying a few grapes.

• 4We haven't got any ice cream, I'm afraid.We haven't got some ice cream, I'm afraid.

• 5Can I have any tea?Can I have some tea?

• 6Do you want much bottles of water?Do you want many bottles of water?

• 7People eat much junk food these days.People eat a lot of junk food these days.

• 8Are there any onions in the cupboard?Are there some onions in the cupboard?

 

2Choose the correct countable or uncountable nouns to complete the sentences. 

• 1Are there any additivesfat in this snack bar?

• 2There aren't many cheesemushrooms on my pizza. Can I have some more, please?

• 3We have a little burgersmeat left in the freezer.

• 4There was some mealsfood at the party, so I'm not hungry now.

• 5You can eat a few chocolatebiscuits every week, but not too many.

• 6Is there much applesfruit in this cake?

3Complete the sentences with the words in the box. There is one word that you do not need. 

MOVE
• much
• little
• any
• some
• a lot of
• many
• few

• 1The bus was late because there was   traffic.

• 2Chloe doesn't take   clothes on holiday.

• 3There are only a   sandwiches here. We need more for the picnic.

• 4If you like sweet tea, you should only add a   sugar, as it's bad for your teeth.

• 5Have you got   information about places to visit around here?

• 6There isn't   water left – only half a bottle.