English LanguageEnglish LanguageQuantifiersQuantifiers

• Discuss with your neighbour. Compare the difference between the ingredients on Mary’s recipe and those on John’s.

Mary and John’s egg tart recipesMary and John’s egg tart recipes• Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 10 tablespoons of butter

• 1 cup of white sugar

• 5 tablespoons of cold water

• 4 cups of water

• 10g of brown sugar

• 3 eggs

• 12 cups of evaporated milk

• 4 teaspoons of vanilla extract

• Ingredients:• Some cups all-purpose flour• Many tablespoons of butter• One cup of sugar• Many tablespoons of cold

water• A few cups of water• A little brown sugar• Several eggs• A lot of cups of evaporated

milk• A few teaspoons of vanilla

extractQuantifiers

QuantifiersQuantifiers• What are quantifiers? What do they do?

• They tell us something about quantity.

• Quantifiers ≠ numbers

• E.g. I bought several books yesterday.

• I bought 5 books yesterday.

QuantityExact amount

• The forms of quantifiers:

Forms Examples

Quantifier + n Some girls

Quantifier + adj. + n. Some good girls

Quantifier + adv. + adj. + n. Some very good girls

1. countable or uncountable?

Quantifiers

Which are used with countable

nouns

Which are used with uncountable

nouns

Which are used with both

SeveralA fewManyToo manyFew

A bit ofA littleMuchToo muchLittle

Plenty ofNoEnoughSomeA lot ofAnyLoads ofHardly anyNot any

• Too many / Too much vs. a lot of

• e.g. I’m full now. I’ve eaten too much.

Negativemeaning

Negativemeaning

Positive

• Is any positive or negative?• Positive in most cases.

• Only negative when accompanied by a negative verb.

I haven’t got any money.

I have got any money.

I have got no money.

I didn’t have no money.

It is a double negative!

Warm-up exerciseWarm-up exercise• Andy and May are going to Paris. They are discussing

what they should put in their suitcase. Fill in the gaps with some, any, too many and too much.

May: Honey, that’s far ________________ shirts. There won’t be enough space in the suitcase.

Andy: I didn’t take many last year. Remember? Then I had to buy ___________ new ones.

May: You won’t have to buy ___________ this year. I’m sure we’ll have enough time to wash clothes while we’re there.

too many

some

any

Warm-up exerciseWarm-up exercise• Jacky is going for a picnic tomorrow and now asking for

his mum to allow him to bring snacks. Fill in the gaps with some, any, too many and too much.

Jacky: Mum, can I bring _____________ potato chips with me?

Mum: You can bring _____________ but not ______________.

Jacky: Can I bring _____________ chocolate too?Mum: Please, Jacky, don’t bring _______________

chocolate this year. Last year you packed too ______________ and it melted in your bag.

some

some

too many

some

any

too much

A few / few / a little / little?A few / few / a little / little?

countable

uncountable

+ve

+ve

-ve

-ve

• I have ________ pencils in my pencil case.• Pencil • Meaning

• I have ________ coins in my pocket.• Coin • Meaning

a few

few

countable

+ve

countable

-ve (almost no coins!)

• Today is my birthday. I want to try __________ wine.• Wine • Meaning

• I don’t like learning Putonghua. I really have _______ interest in it. I love English much more!• Interest • Meaning

uncountable

uncountable

+ve

-ve (almost no interest!)

little

a little

Warm-up exercise (II)Warm-up exercise (II)• Fill in the blanks with a few, few, a little, and little.

• Alex is now settling down at his new school. At first, he kept very much to himself and had ______________ to say for himself. He had _____________ friends because he kept silent all the time. He wasn’t really happy. This term is better, though, as he has made some new friends, including ________________ really good friends.

little

few

a few