# 5. Anything to drink? Yes, three pints, please.(quantifiers)

## Caso práctico

Quantifiers are words that precede and modify nouns. They tell us how many or how much.

Try to identify in the text some quantifiers either countable or uncountable.
ING01-02-04-audio04.mp3
Paco enjoyed visiting Liverpool a lot. He bought a lot of presents and souvenirs of the Beatles in some of the streets surrounding the Cavern Club. He also enjoyed trying the local beer. He drank a great deal of beer, so he felt dizzy since he is not used to drinking a lot. He met lots of Spanish students in Liverpool, who showed him a few places in town, including pubs. In the evening, Paco was a little tired, so he decided to go back to the hotel on foot.

| Imagen deSilk Tork en Wikimedia. Licencia CC

### Retroalimentación

Paco enjoyed visiting Liverpool a lot. He bought a lot of presents and souvenirs of the Beatles in some of the streets surrounding the Cavern Club. He also enjoyed trying the local beer. He drank a great deal of beer, so he felt dizzy since he is not used to drinking a lot . He met lots of Spanish students in Liverpool , who showed him a few places in town, including pubs. In the evening, Paco was a little tired, so he decided to go back to the hotel on foot.

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS | COUNTABLE NOUNS
--- | ---
much (mucho) | many (muchos)
so much (tanto) | so many (tantos)
too much (demasiado) | too many (demasiados)
little (poco) | few (pocos)
a little (algo de) | a few (algunos)
less (menos, menor cantidad de) | fewer (menos, menor número de)
the least (la menor cantidad de) | the fewest (el menor número de)
a large amount of(una gran cantidad de) | a large number of (un gran número de)
a great deal of (mucho/a) | a great many (muchísimos)

A lot of, plenty of, a lack of, enough, most of the and lots of are quantifiers that can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.

Important: We usually use much/many in negatives and interrogatives:

I haven't got many friends/much time

How much money have you got?

In affriamtives, we use a lot (of + noun)

## Ejercicio Resuelto

> Use the following quantifiers to complete these sentences:

> plenty of / a great amount of / a lot / much / a large number of

> 1) My father smokes __________. He is always coughing.

> 2) There are __________ ways to solve this problem.

> 3) How __________ milk do you like in your coffee?

> 4) There is __________ water in this river.

> 5) That lorry carries __________ trees.

### Retroalimentación

> 1) My father smokes a lot. He is always coughing.

> 2) There are plenty of ways to solve this problem.

> 3) How much milk do you like in your coffee?

> 4) There is a great deal of water in this river.

> 5) That lorry carries a large number of trees.

## Comprueba lo aprendido

Read the sentences below and fill in the blanks with these quantifiers:

a lot of (twice) / many / a few / plenty of / several of / some / a little / a great deal of

1. I'm having Rellenar huecos (1): JXUwMDM5 Rellenar huecos (2): JXUwMDM0JXUwMDAzJXUwMDFi Rellenar huecos (3): JXUwMDM3JXUwMDA5 trouble passing my driving test.

2. Rellenar huecos (4): JXUwMDBiJXUwMDM2JXUwMDEzJXUwMDEzJXUwMDE3JXUwMDEzJXUwMDBk Rellenar huecos (5): JXUwMDM3JXUwMDA5 the movies were rated PG.

3. Rellenar huecos (6): JXUwMDBiJXUwMDNjJXUwMDAyJXUwMDA4 information you gave me was wrong.

4. You still have Rellenar huecos (7): JXUwMDM5 Rellenar huecos (8): JXUwMDM0JXUwMDA1JXUwMDFkJXUwMDAwJXUwMDE4JXUwMDA5 time to finish your exam.

5. Although there are Rellenar huecos (9): JXUwMDM1JXUwMDBjJXUwMDBmJXUwMDE3 brilliant students at university, only Rellenar huecos (10): JXUwMDM5 Rellenar huecos (11): JXUwMDNlJXUwMDAzJXUwMDEy will choose to remain in it after graduation.
6. Cervantes wrote D. Quixote. Although Rellenar huecos (12): JXUwMDM5 Rellenar huecos (13): JXUwMDNmJXUwMDE1JXUwMDE3JXUwMDA0JXUwMDE1 Rellenar huecos (14): JXUwMDNjJXUwMDAxJXUwMDA0JXUwMDBk Rellenar huecos (15): JXUwMDM3JXUwMDA5 the book is about knight-errantry, there are Rellenar huecos (16): JXUwMDI4JXUwMDFjJXUwMDA5JXUwMDBiJXUwMDFhJXUwMDBk Rellenar huecos (17): JXUwMDM3JXUwMDA5 funny stories in it.

7. I think he drank Rellenar huecos (18): JXUwMDM5 Rellenar huecos (19): JXUwMDM0JXUwMDAzJXUwMDFi Rellenar huecos (20): JXUwMDM3JXUwMDA5 wine last night.

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## Reflexiona

Do you know the meaning and use of all these quantifiers in Spanish?

Do you know the difference between using them with or without "of"?

### Retroalimentación

A LOT OF: We use a lot of with uncountable nouns and plural count nouns. It means"mucho, muchos"

- I ate a lot of apples.
- A lot of people like to swim at night.

A LOT: is used to express an amount and it means "many". It is placed at the end of the sentence and after the verb and it may be accompanied by an adjective.It means "mucho"

- I feel a lot better.
- She does not like this book a lot.

MANY/HOW MANY:used with countable plural nouns.

- Do you have many books?
- He doesn't have many friends in the high school.
- How many cars are there?

MUCH/HOW MUCH: used with uncountable nouns.

- She didn't spend much money.
- How much milk is there?.

PLENTY OF: means ‘enough and more’. It is used before singular uncountable and plural nouns.

- Plenty of shops open on Sunday morning."Muchas tiendas abren en domingo"

SEVERAL: used to to refer to an indefinite small number.

- I have seen this film several times."He visto esta película varias veces"
- Several people complained about the hotel."Varios se quejaron del hotel"

SEVERAL OF: used as a pronoun with plural nouns.

- Several of them know how to do the exercise."Varios (de ellos) saben hacer el ejercicio"

A GREAT DEAL OF: an indefinite amount, extent or degree.

- He has a great deal of money."Él tiene una gran cantidad de dinero"

Recapitulation: table of usage for common English quantifiers

| Affirmative | Negative | Interrogative
Neutral | some, several, a number of, enough | any, enough | any, enough
Large quantity | numerous, plenty of, a lot of, lots of, too many | much, many, too many | much, many, too many
Small quantity | few / a few, Little / a little |  |

## Reflexiona

ABOUT THE USE OF LITTLE, A LITTLE, FEW, A FEW

LITTLE: only used with UNCOUNTABLE nouns, synonym for hardly any, not much

There is little hope to find him alive.

A LITTLE: only used with UNCOUNTABLE nouns, synonym for a small amount, some

There is still a little hope to win the match.

FEW: with COUNTABLE nouns, synonym for hardly any, not many

Few people attended my professor's lecture.

A FEW: with COUNTABLE nouns, synonym for a small number, some

A few people were at Paul's party. It was great.

### Retroalimentación

These expressions show the speaker's attitude towards the quantity he or she is referring to.
A few (for countable nouns) and a little (for uncountable nouns) describe the quantity in a positive way:

I've got a few friends (= maybe not many, but enough)

I've got a little money (= I've got enough to live on)

Few and little describe the quantity in a negative way:

Few people visited him in prison (= he had almost no visitors)

He had little money (= almost no money)

## Ejercicio Resuelto

> Complete these sentences with little, a little, few, a few.

> 1) My grandfather always drinks (some) __________ wine for lunch.

> 2) I hope that (not many) __________ students will fail this exam.

> 3) There is (not much) __________ milk in the fridge.

> 4) Paco has (some) __________ friends in London.

### Retroalimentación

> 1) My grandfather always drinks a little wine for lunch.

> 2) I hope that few students will fail this exam.

> 3) There is little milk in the fridge.

> 4) Paco has a few friends in London.

## Curiosidad

The Beatles

Imagen deUnited press International (UPI) en Wikimedia. Dominio Público.

The Beatles were a rock and pop group formed in Liverpool, England in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music. During their years of stardom, the band consisted of John Lennon (rhythm guitar, vocals), Paul McCartney (bass guitar, piano, vocals), George Harrison (lead guitar, vocals) and Ringo Starr (drums, vocals). Although their initial musical style was rooted in 1950s rock and roll and skiffle, the group worked with different musical genres, ranging from Tin Pan Alley to psychedelic rock. Their clothes, style and statements made them trend-setters, while their growing social awareness saw their influence extend into the social and cultural revolutions of the 1960s.
The Beatles sold between 600 million and one billion records internationally. In the United Kingdom they released more than 40 different singles, albums, and EPs that reached number one, earning more number one albums (15) than any other group in UK chart history. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, they have sold more albums in the United States than any other artist. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked them number one in its list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time, and four of their albums appeared in the top ten of the magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.
From Wikipedia.
The Cavern Club is one of the many rock and roll clubs in Liverpool, England. Opened on Wednesday 16 January 1957. This club first saw The Beatles performing, on 9 November 1961.

Imagen de G. Groutas en Wikimedia. Licencia CC. | Imagen de Eddie Bernarden Wikimedia. Dominio Público.

## Para saber más

Click here to have a look at a complete list of quantifiers in English.

Definition and examples about determiners and quantifiers.

Very good website with clear explanations and examples of quantifiers.

Talking about Liverpool is talking about the Beatles here you have a link to some of their video-songs. You can learn a lot by listening to them.

Nice link, isn't it?