Quantifiers: much, many, a lot of, (a) few, (a) little

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 2

LEARNING GOALS

By the end of this lesson:

• You know what countable and uncountable nouns are.
• You know how to use the quantifiers much, many, a lot of, lots of, (a) few & (a) little.

QUANTIFIERS

We gebruiken quantifiers (hoeveelheidswoorden) om aan te geven hoeveel er ergens van is. We maken hierbij onderscheid tussen telbare en ontelbare zelfstandige naamwoorden.

Voorbeelden van telbare en ontelbare zelfstandige naamwoorden:

Telbaar: coins, houses, slices of bread, glasses of water

Ontelbaar: money, milk, rice, advice, luggage, furniture, information

MUCH & MANY

We gebruiken many voor telbare zelfstandige naamwoorden, en much voor ontelbare zelfstandige naamwoorden. We gebruiken much en many vooral in vraagzinnen en ontkenningszinnen.

• How much money do you have left?
• I don't have that much time.
• How many people work here?
  
• There aren't many people who can do what you do.

Bij zinnen waar so, as, too en how in staan gebruiken we altijd much en many!

A LOT OF / LOTS OF

We gebruiken a lot of / lots of voor zowel telbare als ontelbare zelfstandige naamwoorden.

• I have baked a lot of cakes in my life.
• My mum spends lots of money on kitchen utensils.

LET OP: lots of is zeer informeel, en gebruiken we dus niet in brieven, e-mails en dergelijke.

(A) FEW & (A) LITTLE

Er is een verschil in betekenis tussen a few en few. Hetzelfde geldt voor a little en little.

A few = een paar -> few = weinig

A little = een beetje -> little = weinig

• I work out for a few hours a day.
• There are few people who can run as fast as Usain Bolt.
• I need a little more time to prepare.
• I have little interest in going any further.

QUANTIFIERS

Choose between much - many - a lot of - lots of - (a) few - (a) little. Kijk goed of het zelfstandig naamwoord telbaar of ontelbaar is!

1. If I want to pass the exam, I need to do ___ studying.
2. There aren't ___ things to do in this village.
3. How ___ sugar do you take in your tea?
4. There was ___ tension at the meeting.
5. Dad, I need ___ money for school.
6. There are ___ things that you can do to improve your writing.
7. There isn't that ___ milk left in the fridge. We need to buy some.
8. He doesn't have ___ hobbies.

QUANTIFIERS

1. If I want to pass the exam, I need to do a lot of studying.
2. There aren't many things to do in this village.
3. How much sugar do you take in your tea?
4. There was a lof of tension at the meeting.
5. Dad, I need a little money for school.
6. There are a few things that you can do to improve your writing.
7. There isn't that much milk left in the fridge. We need to buy some.
8. He doesn't have many hobbies.

LEARNING GOALS

Now you know:

• What countable and uncountable nouns are.
  
• How to use the quantifiers much, many, a lot of, lots of, (a) few & (a) little.