Quantifiers and Articles

Countable and uncountable nouns, the quantifier each one takes, the enough / too much / too many family, and the three articles.

يتكوّن الدرس من 6 أجزاء: Countable and Uncountable Nouns، Quantifiers، Enough, Too much, Too many، A Great Deal of, All of Us and Each Other، Articles with Abstract Nouns، Articles and Review.

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

1. The distinction

> *The information is useful*, not *are useful*.

2. The uncountable nouns that mislead

These are countable in Arabic and in French but not in English. They are the ones the exam tests.

*information, advice, knowledge, news, research, progress, work, furniture, equipment, luggage, baggage, money, traffic, weather, homework, accommodation, evidence, damage.*

To count them, English borrows a countable word: *a piece of advice, a bottle of water, a slice of bread, an item of news, a glass of milk*.

3. Nouns that are both

Some nouns change meaning according to the category.

> *He has a lot of experience.* · *I had a strange experience yesterday.*

4. Quick test

To know whether a noun is countable, try to put two in front of it. If *two informations* sounds impossible, the noun is uncountable.

5. Practice

A. Countable or uncountable?

advice — 2. suggestion — 3. luggage — 4. suitcase — 5. money — 6. coin — 7. work — 8. job

B. Correct the mistakes.

He gave me a good advice.
The weather were terrible.
I have too many works to finish.
She bought two breads.

C. Complete with a counting word.

Could you give me ______ of advice?
He drank three ______ of water.
There was an interesting ______ of news this morning.

Quantifiers

1. The table to memorise

> *How many additives?* · *How much sugar?* > *Few consumers read the label.* · *Little attention is paid to it.*

2. The pairs that change meaning

This is the point most often tested.

The article changes the whole meaning: *few friends* is a complaint, *a few friends* is not.

3. Much, many and a lot of

In **affirmative** sentences English prefers **a lot of**: *He has **a lot of** work.*
In **negative** and **interrogative** sentences it prefers *much* and *many*: *He does not have **much** work.* · *Are there **many** students?*
After *too, so, as, how*, always *much* or *many*: *too **much** sugar*, *so **many** people*, *how **much** does it cost?*

4. Some and any

| | Use | Example | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | some | affirmative sentences; offers and requests | I need some help. · Would you like some tea? | | any | negative and interrogative sentences | I do not need any help. · Do you have any questions? | | any | affirmative, meaning "no matter which" | Take any book you like. |

5. No, none and not any

**no** + noun: *There is **no** sugar left.*
**none** stands alone: *— How many are left? — **None**.*
**not … any**: *There is **not any** sugar left.*

*No* and *not any* mean the same; *no* is stronger and shorter.

6. Comparing quantities

> *Organic food contains fewer pesticides and less sugar.*

7. Practice

A. Choose *much* or *many*.

How ______ additives does this product contain?
There is not ______ time left.
Too ______ salt is bad for the heart.
______ consumers ignore the label.

B. Choose between *few / a few* and *little / a little*.

Hurry up, we have ______ time. *(almost none)*
Don't worry, we still have ______ time. *(some)*
______ people understood the explanation. *(nearly nobody)*
I have ______ friends in this town, so I am not alone. *(some)*

C. Complete with *some*, *any*, *no* or *none*.

Would you like ______ coffee?
There isn't ______ milk in the fridge.
— How many tickets are left? — ______.

Enough, Too much, Too many

1. Too and enough: opposite ideas

**too** = more than is good: a negative judgement.
**enough** = as much as is needed: a sufficient quantity.

2. Too much, too many, too few, too little

*Too much* and *too many* mark an excessive amount; *too little* and *too few* mark an insufficient one.

3. Too + adjective

Before an adjective or an adverb, *too* stands alone:

> *This tea is too hot.* · *He drives too fast.*

Never *too much hot*: *too much* is only used before a noun.

4. Enough: watch the position

The position of *enough* depends on what it modifies.

> *He is enough old* is wrong; write *He is old enough*.

5. The structures with to

**too + adjective + to + stem** — the result is impossible:

> *The box is too heavy to lift.* *(so we cannot lift it)*

**adjective + enough + to + stem** — the result is possible:

> *He is strong enough to lift the box.*

The two sentences say the same thing from opposite ends:

> *She is too young to drive.* = *She is not old enough to drive.*

6. Practice

A. Complete with *too much*, *too many*, *too little* or *too few*.

There are ______ cars in the city centre.
He earns ______ money to support his family. *(not enough)*
We consume ______ sugar.
______ students attended the meeting; the room was almost empty.

B. Put *enough* in the right place.

This room is not ______ big ______ for thirty pupils.
We do not have ______ chairs ______ .
He did not run ______ fast ______ to win.

C. Rewrite using the other structure.

The coffee is too hot to drink.

→ The coffee is not

He is not tall enough to reach the shelf.

→ He is

A Great Deal of, All of Us and Each Other

1. Expressing a large quantity

Two points the exam tests:

**a great deal of** never goes with a countable noun: *a great deal of friends* is wrong; write ***a large number of** friends* or ***a lot of** friends*;
after **a large number of** + plural noun, the verb is **plural**: *A large number of students **were** absent.*

2. Quantifier + of + pronoun

To speak about a group of people, put a quantifier before of and a pronoun (*us, you, them*).

With a pronoun, of is compulsory: *all of us*, never *all us*. With a noun we may say *all students* (in general) or *all (of) the students* (a particular group).

3. Each other and one another

Each other and one another express a reciprocal action: each person does something to the other.

> *Ali and Sami help each other.* = Ali helps Sami, and Sami helps Ali. > *The members of a family should respect one another.*

Traditionally *each other* is used for two people and *one another* for more than two, but today the two are often used in the same way.

The possessive is each other's: *They borrowed each other's books.*

4. Reciprocal or reflexive?

Do not confuse *each other* with the reflexive pronouns (*myself, themselves*…).

5. The mistakes to avoid

6. Practice

A. Complete with *a great deal of* or *a large number of*.

______ energy is wasted every day.
______ volunteers came to help.

B. Complete with *each other* or a reflexive pronoun.

Good friends trust ______.
She taught ______ to play the guitar.

Articles with Abstract Nouns

1. What an abstract noun is

An abstract noun names something we cannot see or touch: a feeling, a quality or an idea. The unit on feelings is full of them:

*love, happiness, anger, fear, friendship, courage, honesty, freedom, jealousy, humour, generosity, kindness.*

Most abstract nouns are uncountable, so they follow the rules of uncountable nouns: no *a / an*, no plural.

2. General meaning: no article

When an abstract noun is used in a general sense, English uses no article.

**Love** is blind.
**Happiness** cannot be bought.
**Friendship** needs trust.
**Anger** is a natural emotion, but it must be controlled.

This is where Arabic and French speakers often go wrong, because both languages put an article before such nouns. *The happiness cannot be bought* and *The friendship needs trust* are wrong in English.

3. Specific meaning: the

When the noun is made specific by what follows, usually a phrase with of or a relative clause, it takes the.

4. A / an with an adjective

Some abstract nouns can take a / an when an adjective or a phrase describes one kind of feeling or quality:

She has **a deep love** of nature.
He has **a great sense** of humour.
They share **a strong friendship**.
She felt **a sudden fear**.

But never *a happiness*, *an advice* or *a good news*: these nouns are always uncountable.

5. The same rule for other general nouns

The rule also applies to other nouns used in a general sense: *life, nature, society, education, technology, time.*

> Life is short. · Nature must be protected. · Education opens doors. > but: The life of a student is busy. · The education I received was excellent.

6. The mistakes to avoid

7. Practice

A. Complete with *the* or nothing.

______ honesty is the best policy.
______ courage of the firemen saved many lives.
Children need ______ love and ______ attention.

B. Correct the mistakes.

The jealousy can destroy a friendship.
I will never forget kindness she showed me.

Articles and Review

1. The three articles

2. A or an?

The choice follows the sound, not the letter.

**a** before a consonant sound: *a book, a university* (pronounced "yu"), *a European country*;
**an** before a vowel sound: *an apple, an hour* (the *h* is silent), *an honest man*.

3. When to use the

The thing is unique: *the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, the universe*.
It has already been mentioned: *I bought a book. **The** book was expensive.*
It is defined by what follows: ***the** capital of Algeria*, ***the** man who called*.
Before a superlative: ***the** largest planet*.
Before an ordinal: ***the** first unit*.

4. When to use no article

With a **plural** or an **uncountable** noun used generally:

> *Consumers should read labels.* · *Advertising influences children.*

With most **proper nouns**: *Algeria, Oran, English, Monday, January*.
With **meals, sports and languages**: *after lunch, to play football, to learn English*.
In fixed expressions: *at school, at home, in bed, by car, on foot, at night*.

Compare the two:

> *Food is expensive.* *(food in general)* > *The food in this restaurant is expensive.* *(this food in particular)*

5. The whole lesson in one table

6. Mixed exercise

A. Complete with *a*, *an*, *the* or nothing.

______ Earth revolves around ______ Sun.
He is ______ honest man.
______ organic food is more expensive than ______ conventional food.
She is ______ best student in ______ class.
I go to ______ school by ______ bus.

B. Choose the right quantifier.

There is not ______ (much / many) evidence against him.
______ (Few / A few) consumers complained, so nothing changed.
We have ______ (little / a little) time left, so let us hurry.
This drink contains ______ (too much / too many) sugar.
Organic products contain ______ (fewer / less) pesticides.

C. Correct one mistake in each sentence.

He gave me two useful advices.
The room is not enough large.
There are too much people in the street.
The news are encouraging.

7. Answers to check yourself

A. 1. The … the — 2. an — 3. — … — *(no article)* — 4. the … the — 5. — … — *(no article: "to school by bus")*.

B. 1. much — 2. Few — 3. a little — 4. too much — 5. fewer.

C. 1. two useful pieces of advice — 2. not large enough — 3. too many people — 4. The news is encouraging.

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Quantifiers and Articles

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

1. The distinction

2. The uncountable nouns that mislead

3. Nouns that are both

4. Quick test

5. Practice

Quantifiers

Quantifiers

1. The table to memorise

2. The pairs that change meaning

3. Much, many and a lot of

4. Some and any

5. No, none and not any

6. Comparing quantities

7. Practice

Enough, Too much, Too many

Enough, Too much, Too many

1. Too and enough: opposite ideas

2. Too much, too many, too few, too little

3. Too + adjective

4. Enough: watch the position

5. The structures with *to*

6. Practice

A Great Deal of, All of Us and Each Other

1. Expressing a large quantity

2. Quantifier + of + pronoun

3. Each other and one another

4. Reciprocal or reflexive?

5. The mistakes to avoid

6. Practice

Articles with Abstract Nouns

1. What an abstract noun is

2. General meaning: no article

3. Specific meaning: the

4. A / an with an adjective

5. The same rule for other general nouns

6. The mistakes to avoid

7. Practice

Articles and Review

Articles and Review

1. The three articles

2. A or an?

3. When to use *the*

4. When to use no article

5. The whole lesson in one table

6. Mixed exercise

7. Answers to check yourself

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5. The structures with to

3. When to use the