Lesson 118 👩‍🏫 Basic English with Jennifer - Quantifiers: How much? How many?

Hi everyone.

I'm Jennifer from English with Jennifer.

Do you know what chitchat is?

It's relaxed conversation.

It's not serious.

Chitchat is about everyday things, like the weather or sports.

Listen to some chitchat between my students and me.

What's the topic?

Do we have good habits or bad habits?

How are you today?

Okay?

So-so?

Yeah.

That's all right.

Some days are so-so.

Some days are great.

Some days are so-so.

All right.

How are you?

Good.

Yeah?

Did you go to sleep late or early last night?

Late.

As usual.

Me too.

I said, "I'm going to sleep tonight at 10 o'clock."

No.

"Okay.

I'm going to sleep at 11 o'clock."

No.

It's so hard.

Yes.

Yeah.

What time did you go to sleep?

Uh, yesterday?

Last night.

Did you go to sleep late?

I don't know.

You don't remember?

I think midnight.

At midnight?

Yeah.

That's not too bad.

It depends when you wake up.

I had to wake up at 5:45.

I go to bed, but I couldn't sleep.

Ah.

Yes.

Yeah.

Sometimes you go to bed, but you can't fall asleep right away.

That's a problem.

I know.

Okay.

Flavia, Andreia, and I talked about going to sleep and falling asleep.

Do the ladies and I go to sleep early or late?

Late.

What time did Flavia go to sleep the night before?

At midnight.

What problem did she have?

She couldn't fall asleep.

Do you ever have that problem?

Do you usually get a lot of sleep or very little sleep?

I try to get about seven hours of sleep each night.

Do you think that's enough?

A LOT, LITTLE, and ENOUGH are important words to know.

Flavia and Andreia learned these words.

They practiced using these words.

I'm proud of them.

At first, they didn't know much, but now they know a lot more.

They continue to study English at a language school now.

I'm happy because I was able to film some lessons with them.

MUCH, MORE, and SOME are also important words.

All of these words answer the question, "How much?"

Do you know other words like these?

How about MANY, A FEW?

These words are called quantifiers.

You can practice using quantifiers with Flavia and Andreia.

Okay, ladies.

We're going to cook.

You're going to make something.

What are you going to make?

Cake.

Oh!

And what are you going to make?

Soup.

Oh.

I'm going to make salad.

Okay.

So, all of us are going to make something.

Okay.

You're going to make the cake.

I'm making a salad.

You'll make the soup.

It will all be vegetarian.

No meat.

But these are all the ingredients.

What are "ingredients"?

Ingredients -- all the things we need to make a cake, to make a salad, to make the soup.

We need things.

We go to the store, get all these things, and make our meal.

Right?

But maybe I have some things that you need, and you have things that she needs, so we're

going to help each other.

When we ask questions, we're going to use the word "any."

For example, I know when I make a salad, I need lettuce.

So, I'll be saying, "Do you have any lettuce?"

No.

Not yet.

Oh! And then you could say, "No, I don't have any."

So, we use the word "any" when we're asking a question.

"Do you have any?"

And you say, "No, I don't have any lettuce."

All right?

Then I'll ask do you have any lettuce?

Okay.

Maybe you do.

All right.

We ask questions with "any," and we use the negative with "any."

I don't have any lettuce.

I don't have any food.

I need to go to the store and buy some.

Okay.

Now we're going to see what we have.

I need to mix these up.

Another word besides "mix," especially with cards, is "shuffle."

Have you heard that word?

Shuffle.

Like when you shuffle cards.

You can play cards [games], like poker, for example.

You shuffle them.

Okay.

Okay.

Oh, we have a lot.

Now we have food!

These are all the things we have.

Okay.

Oh, I have a tomato.

I can use a tomato.

Right?

One tomato.

A tomato.

So, when we're counting, we can use "a" or "an" or "one."

I have a tomato.

I have one tomato.

I think that's enough.

I think that's enough.

Um, do you have something for your soup?

Do you need anything?

Water.

Yeah.

I think you'll need some water.

I think you... you... so, you can say, "I'm going to need some water."

Some.

"Some" is like, oh, a little bit.

Some water.

So, I have some water.

I have some water.

And I have a tomato.

That's good.

Do you have something for your cake?

I have two.

See?

Ah!

You have two cards with "oil" on it.

So, let's say each one is like a bottle.

There's oil.

Can we count one oil, two oils, three oils.

Not when we're cooking.

Right?

You have a tablespoon of oil, a bottle of oil, so it's better to say, "I have some oil."

I have some oil, but do you need some oil?

Yes.

Do you have any oil?

Yeah, you do.

No, you don't.

Do you have any oil?

No, I don't have any oil.

Well, you need to ask for some.

Can you...

You can start with, "Do you have...?"

Do you have any oil?

Yes, I have...

Okay.

That's good.

You have some water.

You have some oil.

"Some" is a word we can use with things that we can count: some tomatoes.

We can also use it with things we can't count: some oil, some water.

Do you have anything to make your cake?

Yes.

What do you have?

I have eggs.

That's only one egg.

One egg?

Only one?

Do you think one egg is enough?

Well, how many eggs do you have?

One egg.

That's all.

No.

Do you have any more eggs?

No.

How many eggs do you think are necessary for a cake?

How many eggs does she need?

I think three.

Yeah, two or three, at least.

I have...Do you have any eggs?

Do you need the egg?

I have one.

Do you need the egg?

For soup?

No.

Okay.

So, you have one egg.

Put your one egg down there.

And what's the question you're going to ask her?

Do you have do you have any egg?

Do you have any eggs?

Now, if it's something countable, you'll use the plural.

Oh, do you have any eggs?

Yes, I have.

I have...

I have any...

How many do you have?

I have one egg.

Okay.

You can give it to her.

I have one.

All right.

Two eggs.

Do you think that's enough?

Do you like to cook?

Can you cook?

Anyone can cook.

You just need a recipe.

A recipe tells you what to do.

It tells you what food you need and how to cook it.

When we talk about food, we need the help of quantifiers.

In our game, Andreia is going to make soup.

What does she need?

Some water, some oil, a little salt, one onion, and many vegetables.

A LOT and SOME are for countable and uncountable nouns.

A LOT is like MANY and MUCH, but we use "many" with countable nouns and "much" with uncountable

nouns.

We use "any" in questions and in negative forms.

A LITTLE is for uncountable nouns.

So, ask me.

Do you have any eggs?

Yes, I do.

I have one.

You can have it.

Our salad won't have any eggs, but it's okay.

Our salad won't have any eggs.

Won't have.

I used "won't," which is the future, but it's negative.

Our salad won't have any eggs.

Is that okay?

All right.

Just vegetables.

Okay.

And I don't need it.

Do you need more water?

You need it to wash the lettuce.

Maybe.

Okay, so I'll keep the water.

I need some water to wash the vegetables.

It's true.

Okay.

Oh, look!

I do have another egg.

You can have your egg.

Okay, so our salad is going to have, um, a hard-boiled egg, and I'll cut the egg up and

put it in our salad.

Okay?

Do you have anything else for your soup?

I think I'll need some salt.

Do you think you'll need a lot of salt?

Yeah.

Do you need a lot of salt in your soup or just a little?

No.

A lot?

A lot -- no.

No.

So, you don't need a lot.

I don't need...I don't need a lot.

I don't need a lot.

And when we say "a lot" in front of a noun: a lot of -- a lot of water, a lot of salt.

Right?

A lot of eggs.

I don't need a lot of salt.

No, you don't need a lot of salt, and I don't think I need any salt.

Do you need salt?

Yeah.

Do you need salt?

Do you need any salt?

Do you need any salt?

Um, I don't think so.

All you have there are three eggs.

Do you need anything else?

Do you need anything else?

Uh-huh.

What do you need?

I need sugar.

Yes.

Do you have any sugar?

I have...

Okay.

I have some sugar.

You have some sugar.

Do you think you'll need a lot of sugar?

No.

No.

Okay.

That should be enough.

Okay.

Do you need any cucumbers?

Yes, I could use one.

Thank you.

You don't need a cucumber, do you?

No.

Okay.

Okay.

I have four things.

You have four.

We have four.

Um...

Icing.

Icing or frosting.

There are two different words.

This is the nice stuff on [top].

I don't need any icing on a salad.

I don't think you need any icing for your soup.

What is...?

It can be white, chocolate, pink...

Oh!

And you spread it on your cake.

I need it.

I need...I need any...I need some.

Yeah.

We use "any" for questions and negatives.

You can say, "I need some."

I need some.

Oh, would you like some?

Yes.

Thank you.

Okay.

That's looking better...more like cake.

Can we say "a little cucumbers, a little tomatoes"?

No.

Uh-uh.

What would we say?

This one?

Some?

How about...Some, but I'm talking even less.

How about a few?

So, with things that we can count, we can say "a few": a few cucumbers, a few tomatoes.

Right?

Um, you might need a few carrots, for example.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Um, but "a little" for things that we cannot count: I need a little vinegar, just a little.

Right?

Yeah, I might like to have at least one or two carrots.

One or two carrots.

One carrot.

We can also say "a couple of carrots."

I'd like to have a couple.

How many is a couple?

Two.

A couple of carrots.

Can I say "a couple of water"?

No.

Right?

So, there are some words that are only for countable things and some words only for things

that we can't count, uncountable.

A couple of.

Often in questions you'll hear, "How many do you need?

You need carrots?

How many carrots?

You need tomatoes.

How many tomatoes?

You need oil?

How much oil?

How many?

How much?

Okay.

Does anyone need any milk?

I don't need milk.

Yeah.

I need...

I need...I need some milk.

You need some milk.

You have the longest list.

Yeah.

Are you set?

Do you need anything else?

No.

I would like more.

Flavia is going to make a cake.

What does she need?

A couple of eggs, some flour, some sugar, a little baking powder, and some butter.

I'm going to make a salad.

What do I need?

A lot of lettuce, some oil and vinegar, and a few different vegetables: peppers, tomatoes,

and cucumbers.

If I really love vegetables, I can add several different kinds: peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers,

carrots, mushrooms, and onions.

A few is for countable nouns.

Maybe two, three, or four.

Several is more than two, but not many.

Maybe five or six.

Let's practice using quantifiers with other nouns.

Not food.

Do we say "many socks" or "much socks"?

Many socks.

Um, I can have a pair of socks.

What else can I have a pair of?

Pair means...two.

A pair of socks.

What else?

A pair of -- things that we can count in twos.

They always go together.

A pair of socks.

You always have two socks because we have two feet.

A pair of socks.

What else do we have a pair of?

Oh.

Pants.

Pants?

A pair of pants because we have two legs.

Right?

Yeah.

That's one more quantifier for things that we can count.

A pair of glasses, and when the sun is bright, we wear a pair of sunglasses...because there

are two parts to it.

Okay.

"A pair of" means two.

Um, do we say "a few shoes" or "little shoes"?

A few shoes.

A few shoes.

I have a few shoes.

Do we say many dresses or much dresses?

Dresses?

Many dresses.

Do I have many or much skirts?

Skirts.

Uh.

Skirts.

Many skirts.

Do I have many or a lot of makeup?

Many?

A lot of.

Yes.

A lot of makeup, but you might say, like, many...I don't know... containers, many tubes

of lipstick, but in general, it's just something...it's a category.

We don't really count it.

A lot of makeup.

A little bit of makeup.

Okay.

Do you have any shorts?

Yes.

Yes.

I have some.

I have some, or I have a few pairs of shorts.

I have a few pairs of shorts.

Can you ask Andreia a question?

Do you have any dresses?

Yes.

I have.

I have some.

I have a few.

I have a lot.

I have a few.

I have a few dresses.

I have a few dresses.

I have a few.

I have a few.

You can ask me.

How many pairs of jeans do you have?

Um, I have one, two, at least three pairs.

At least three, like, two black and one blue.

I have blue jeans and black jeans.

I think I have three pairs.

Okay.

Um, do you have many shoes?

A lot!

I have a lot.

10 pairs?

50 pairs?

15.

Fifteen pairs of shoes.

I have 15 pairs of shoes or more.

I have 15 pairs of shoes or more.

That's okay.

I think that's fine.

Note how we use quantifiers before nouns, as in, "I have a lot of shoes.

I have many shoes, but we can also use quantifiers alone, for example, "I have a lot.

I have many."

Quantifiers can be pronouns.

Answer my questions.

One.

How many photos do you have on your phone?

Two.

How many close friends do you have?

Three.

How much free time do you have?

Four.

Do you have a lot of time to study?

Five. How much money do you need to be happy?

Okay, so you're going to have some rice and beans.

Anything else?

Pork.

Some pork.

Are you going to eat any pork?

No.

No.

I'm not going to eat...I'm not going to eat any.

You can say, "I'm not going to eat any pork.

I'm not going to eat any."

So, with quantifiers, we can put them before a noun: some tomatoes, some oil.

Or we can just use them like a pronoun: I need some tomatoes.

I need some.

I need a few carrots.

I need a few.

So, we can use it before a noun or just alone as a pronoun.

Okay.

Some.

So, the other way to think about it is how much and how many?

So, we have a lot of, some, several, a few.

If you're counting things.

Right?

If you love nuts and you love cranberries, you're going to have a lot of cranberries.

And she's, like, "No."

She'll say, "It's too much."

We just need some.

We need some cranberries and some [nuts].

And she's like, "Actually, I don't like nuts.

I just want a few nuts."

A few nuts.

So, think of a few, several, some, a lot.

And same thing if, um, you want to talk about things that you cannot count: a lot, some,

a little.

Are you going to add oil or salad dressing?

Some people like a lot of dressing.

Other people say, "No, that's too much."

So, a lot of salad dressing, some salad dressing, or just a little.

Just a little salad dressing, a little bit of salad dressing.

Okay, so in your mind, when you think of quantifiers, think of what can you count, what can you

not count, and then think of how much and how many?

From a lot to a little, a lot to a few.

Okay?

Look around the room.

What do you see?

Can you make a list?

Use five different quantifiers.

In my office, I have many books, several pens, a few notebooks, and I don't have any food,

just some water.

That's all for now.

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