English Conversations on How Much and How Many | Advanced Vocabulary

Think for a moment about just how often you have to describe how

much or how many in English,

like how far away something is or how many people to expect at a party,

how much time you need to finish a project,

or how much help you can offer a team member every single day.

There are multiple times when you need to express quantities to share

information that matters,

and yet if you're limited to basic words like some

and many or a lot,

these everyday messages can become really frustrating.

And this limitation shows up everywhere explaining your

workload to your boss,

telling a story about how many grocery bags you had to carry inside before

you dropped them all,

or describing experiences traveling to another city.

In every case you might feel stuck sounding too simple

because you're using the same words again and again, words like some,

many, and a lot of, in this lesson,

you're going to learn natural expressions for discussing how much and

how many. These are the same expressions English speakers use in their daily

conversations,

and they're going to help you explain amounts or quantities clearly

in English in every situation, whether it's a casual conversation,

a funny story, or important discussions.

Here's exactly what we'll cover today.

First expressions that we use for everyday regular conversations.

Then ways to estimate numbers naturally.

We'll talk about specific expressions for exact amounts,

how to describe parts of something fun,

expressions for emphasis, and finally,

special combinations of words for specific situations.

So let's start off right away with the expressions you're going to use the most

in your daily conversations.

When someone asks about your day or your plans,

you often need to describe small amounts naturally.

Maybe you're explaining how many questions you got at the end of a presentation

or how long something will take or how many people are involved in a project.

These are moments when the words,

some or many could feel too vague and repetitive.

So instead of these expressions, I want you to try a couple of these.

First one that I just used,

a couple of this means two or close to the number two.

For example, oh, you have a couple of minutes before the movie starts.

The next one is a few, which means three or four. For example.

I have a few questions about this chapter, and then after a few,

we have several, which is more than a few,

so more than three to four generally, but not many.

So it's kind of this vague number of something between three to

seven. For example, there are several students attending class today.

If I say that in my mind,

I'm kind of imagining some number between three and seven.

The next one on our list is a bunch of,

this is a super informal way to say a lot of,

for example, ah,

there's a bunch of people outside waiting for an autograph and then a

handful. Imagine how many things could fit in a handful.

It's a pretty small number. So an example would be,

I have a handful of staff available during the holiday season.

If someone says that you can imagine that there's only a few people that they

have available to work during that period of time.

And now let's move on to our next section.

I want you to think for a moment about when someone asks you a question like,

how long do you think that will take?

Or How many people do you think were at that event? In these examples,

people rarely expect an exact number. In fact,

in a casual conversation,

giving an exact number in these instances could sound really stiff

or overly precise. So instead,

we can use expressions that help you estimate naturally like

round or about, this isn't an exact number,

but a close number. So you're just giving a suggestion. For example,

the ranch has around 20 horses. Similar to that,

but slightly more formal are the words roughly and approximately. This, again,

is a way to say about and is often heard in the workplace.

For example, there are roughly 1 million people living in this city. Again,

we're not talking specific precise numbers, we're talking about estimates.

The next one on our list is ish. This is a suffix,

so it's something that we add to the end of a word and it suggests that it's

around or about. It's a very informal way to say approximately.

For example,

I could say I think there were 20 ish people at the party. Now,

a quick side note,

I recently did a whole lesson on the topic of using this fun suffix

ish, and I'll leave a link to that lesson in the notes below.

And the final expression in this category is,

or so this means an approximate amount. For example,

we need a pound or so of butter for this pastry.

Now, some situations do require exact numbers,

like when you're ordering items following a.

Recipe or giving specific quantities.

So rather than just saying a number,

native speakers often use expressions like a dozen,

which is exactly 12. For example,

we bought a dozen eggs at the grocery store,

and then we have half a dozen, which is exactly six, for example.

Wow. This cake recipe includes half a dozen eggs. And lastly,

in this category we have a pair of which is exactly two for things that

go together like a pair of jeans or could you hand me a pair of gloves?

Okay.

Our next section is focused on how to describe parts of

a larger amount,

like how much of a project is finished or how many team

members agree with an idea.

These expressions will help you to describe these portions clearly. First,

the majority of which means more than half. For example,

a majority of our time in the meeting was spent on planning for the next year.

Similar to that is most of which means almost all,

most of the students were from Columbia.

Next in this section is the bulk of, and this means the largest part.

Let's say that you're working as a team on a project and the project has been

split into parts, but one part of that project is particularly large,

so you could say that one of your colleagues took on the bulk

of the project, the largest part of it, or another example.

The bulk of the work on this project is complete, so again,

the largest part. Next,

we have a portion of this is some part of the

whole, but usually much less than half. For example,

a portion of the profits will be donated to the local animal shelter.

And then from there we have a fraction of this is a very small part

of a whole. For example,

we can switch suppliers and manufacture our products at a

fraction of the cost or a much smaller portion of the cost.

This next section is my absolute favorite.

Today in casual conversations with friends and close colleagues,

English speakers often use fun expressions to emphasize

quantities, and these are not meant to be taken literally. Instead,

they add personality and emphasis to your message. First,

a million. This emphasizes a really large number,

and we never really mean a million. For example,

there are a million reasons why we shouldn't be moving this year.

Next loads of or tons of.

This is a very informal way to say very many.

For example,

did you know there are loads of historic places to visit in Scotland?

Next, a gazillion, I love this word,

and it's actually not at all a real number.

It just means an enormous amount of something. For example,

we saw a gazillion stars in the sky when we went camping.

Now the opposite of a gazillion is a smattering,

a very small amount. For example,

there was a smattering of applause after the performance. Now,

because this is a very small amount,

I'm sure you can imagine that a smattering of applause is not a great

compliment. In our final category,

there are some things in English that always use special expressions

with specific word orders to describe their quantities,

and knowing these combinations will help you sound natural when you're talking

about common items. The first on our list is a piece of,

and this means one unit of something. For example,

may I share a piece of advice with you or could you cut me

a small piece of chocolate cake?

Similar to that is a slice of,

and this means to cut one flat piece from something larger

like a pizza, something I do almost every Friday night.

So you might say to someone,

I'd like another slice of pizza next,

a dash of, and for those of you who cook, this is a great term to know.

This means a small, tiny amount of something that is added quickly.

For example,

the pudding needs a dash of vanilla extract or the

speech had the right dash of humor to balance the

seriousness. Another great cooking term is a pinch of,

and this means a very tiny amount that you can hold between two fingers,

and we almost always use this with salt or spices,

for example. The soup is almost done, it just needs a pinch of salt.

Next, we have a set of,

a set of is a group of related items. For example,

I have a set of tools in the garage that need to be organized with all of

these expressions to help you talk about how much and how many,

let's discuss how to practice them.

I recommend that you start with one group of these expressions that you've

learned today. Try using some of them in your own example sentences.

That is the best way to not just learn these new expressions,

but to remember them as well.

I also want you to pay attention to the conversations you hear in English,

whether it's conversations at work, on podcasts, on TV shows,

et cetera. Pay.

Attention to how you hear people talk about how much and how many,

and I guarantee you're going to hear many of the expressions that you learned in

this lesson today as you notice them.

If there are some that you notice again and again and again,

these are great expressions for you to add to your active English vocabulary.

And again,

you can do that by using some of these expressions in your own examples

with what you've learned here today.

You will be able to express yourself more precisely anytime you need to

talk about how much or how many of something. Now,

speaking of expressing yourself precisely,

if you loved this lesson and you also want to watch the lesson I have on how to

use the suffix ish, along with the suffixes like and ask,

these are perfect to use when something isn't exactly

one thing or another. It's not perfectly black or white,

but it's around or kind of or approximately like

when you want to say, I'll be there around seven o'clock,

but not exactly you would say, I'll be there at seven ish.

If you'd love to watch that lesson, I've got it ready for you to watch next.

Thank you so much for joining me today, and if you found this lesson helpful,

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and I'll see you next time.