UNIT 19: Indefinite quantifiers (lượng từ bất định)

Topic 16: Food (đồ ăn)

I.Grammar

1.         Quantifiers for countable nouns (lượng từ cho danh từ đếm được)

-Many

-Several, a couple of, a large/great number of

-Few/a few, no, none of the

• Examples:
• There are many eggs here.
• A large number of apples in this school are fresh.
• A few of bananas are rotten.
• None of the cookies is crispy.

2.           Quantifiers for uncountable nouns (lượng từ cho danh từ không đếm được)

-much

-a great deal of, a large amount of 

-little/a little, less, a bit of, no

• Examples:
• He eats a lot of tomato sauce for/at lunch.
• She drinks a great deal of orange juice today.
• I have just a little water and I’m very thirsty now.

3.    Quantifiers for countable and uncountable nouns (lượng từ cho cả danh từ đếm được và không đếm được)

-a lot of, lots of, plenty of, most of the, enough, a lack of

• Examples:
• There are a lot of eggs in the fridge.
• There’s plenty of milk in the fridge.
• Watch out!

If the sentence has “very, too, so, as” we must use “much/many” (nếu câu văn có “very, too, so, as”, ta phải dùng “much/many”)

Examples:

• I eat too many uncooked noodles today.
• There are so many mangos in your fridge.

4. “Few” and “a few”; “little” and “a little” (một vài)

a)         “Few” and “a few”:used for countable nouns (sử dụng cho danh từ đếm được)

• "a few": has positive meaning (mang nghĩa khẳng định)

Examples: I have got a few close friends that I meet regularly.

• “few”: has negative meaning (mang nghĩa phủ định)

Examples: He has few close friends and often feels lonely.

b)         “little” and “a little”:used for uncountable nouns (dùng cho danh từ không đếm được)

• “a little” has a positive meaning (mang nghĩa khẳng định)

Examples: I had a little money left, so we went out for a meal.

• “little” has a negative meaning (mang nghĩa phủ định)

Examples: I had little money left, so we cooked something at home.

c)             We can also use „few” and „little” with articles and pronouns in a similar negative meaning.(chúng ta có thể dùng “few” và “little” với  mạo từ và đại từ với nghĩa phủ định tương tự)

•        Examples:
• She put her few clothes into a bag and goes out.
• Let’s use the little time we have to discuss John’s bad test

5. Some and any (một vài)

a)         Use „some” with countable nouns or uncountable nouns (some onions, some water)

-    In positive sentences

Examples:

• My mother needs some fruits.
• I want some wine.
• I had some troubles frying the meat.

-           In questions we use „some”, when we expect that the answer is "yes" (in offers, requests ...) (trong câu hỏi chúng ta dùng “some” khi chúng t among đợi câu trả lời là “yes”)

Examples:

• Do you need some help for cooking?
• Can you help me to buy some pots?
• Would you like some tea?

-           In if-clauses for wishes or with achievable conditions (trong mệnh đề –if cho những điều ước hoặc với các điều kiện có thể đạt được)

Examples:

• If I only could find some sweets here.
• If you help me, I will buy you some ice cream.

    b)     Use “any” with countable or uncountable nouns

-           In negative sentences

Example:

• We haven’t got any butter left.
• I don’t have any vegetables anymore.
• She didn’t see any chopsticks in the kitchen.

-           In questions

Examples:

• Are there any questions?
• Is there any milk left?
• Can you tell her anything she does not know about baking?
• Watch out!

Use any when you mean "all (of them)”. (dùng “any” khi bạn muốn nói “all (of) them)

Examples:

• You can ask me any questions you want. (I will answer all of them)
• Any of the students could answer this question. (All of them can answer it)

c)         The same rules for something, anything, somewhere, anywhere, somebody, anybody, someone, anyone, some time, any time, some day, any day, somehow.

But we use singular verbs with them.

Example:

• I thought I heard someone knocking at the door.
• Is there anyone at home?
• I need somebody to help me.
• You can call me at any time.

II.        Exercises

1. Choose the correct words

a. He doesn’t have (much / many) money.

b. She buys (many/a lot of) bacon.

c. They spend (a large number of / a great deal of) salt on this soup so it is very salty now.

d. The teacher finds (a large number of / a great deal of) mistakes in his writing.

e. (How much / how many) pounds of butter does she want?

f. (How much / how many) butter does she want?

2. Write questions with “How much?” or “How many?”

a. We’ve got some eggs.

b. She has a lot of milk.

c. Can you buy some cucumber?

d. Their house has a lot of windows.

e. Some people are cooking hamburger for dinner.

f. We need some rice.

3. Complete the sentence with “(a) few (of), (a) little (of), the few, the little”

a. I will take ... time, but I’m sure you’ll learn the rules eventually.

b. Many questions were asked, but ... were answered.

c. I don’t think I can lift this box on my own. I need... help.

d. The postman doesn’t often come here. We receive... letters.

e. Tom isn’t finding it easily to fix the shelf. He is having... trouble.

f. David quite likes golf, but unfortunately he has... ability.

g. I can speak ...words of Swedish, but not very fluent.

4. Correct the mistakes in these sentences.

a. Can I have any milk in my coffee, please?

b. There are too much children in my sister’s class.

c. Justin has got a new job. He’s earning so many money!

d. There aren’t some students in the classroom.

e. It’s Tom’s party tonight and I haven’t got something to wear.

f. “Look at this mess! Did you do this, Henry?” “No it wasn’t me! I didn’t do nothing!”

g. “Do you get a seat in the bus?” “No there is somewhere to sit. I have to stand”

h. I come to work by motorbike. Fortunately there is a few traffic.

i.“Have we got milk for the coffee? “ No I couldn’t buy some.”

5. Choose the right word.

1.  “I think I’d like some/any sandwiches, please.”
2. “Sorry, there isn’t some/any bread left. Can I make you some/any fried eggs?”
3. “Yes, I’m really hungry, and I’ll eat something/anything you have”
4. “Your food will be ready in some/any minutes.”

III. TOPIC 16: Food

Hi my name is Harry, I’m 19 years old and I work as a cook in a restaurant. Today there is a big celebration in the restaurant and a lot of people who, of course, want to eat and drink. We will make a big meal for them, so we are really busy in the kitchen.

I don’t know why, but this day is not really my day, a lot of stupid things are happening to me and I make so many mistakes! First, when I want to fry pork with some onions in a pan, I pour a whole box of pepper over the raw meat. After this, I forget to add salt in the soup and while I am stirring it I find some ginger between the bones, the potatoes and the carrots. The ginger should be in the pot with the chicken, not inside the soup! Terrible! So I have to do the soup again.

We bake some sweet cake and crispy cookies for our guests. These cookies are the favourite candy of my boss, so we have to do it very well. I take flour, sugar, eggs and oil and stir it, form cookies and put them into the oven. Then I cut chilli, but accidentally touch my lips with my fingers and it was so spicy, that I have to cry. Then the grilled fish has too many bones and the beef is a little bit tough. The cabbage gets overcooked, because I do not watch out and the tofu in tomato sauce is tasteless. I mix the vegetables with too much garlic and the cucumber salad with too much vinegar, so it is too sour. "What is wrong with me today?"

Suddenly, we smell something burning. "Oh no! I missed to take the cookies out on time!" As fast as I can I turn off the temperature and open the door of the oven. Black smoke comes out of it. The cookies are totally burned!

My boss is shouting at me and does not allow me to cook any more on this day. Therefore I have to cut fruits for the dessert. The apples are ripe and very tasty and the slices of watermelon look delicious. I think, finally I am able to do something right. But then I find the strawberries unripe and the bananas rotten.

At the end of this day, I have to wash all the dishes, because of all my mistakes. A mountain of dirty pans, pots, covers, plates, bowls, chopsticks, forks, knives, spoons, cups and glasses... "Nice! Can somebody kill me please? I want to die...."

Questions and exercises:

1) How old is Harry and what is his job?

2) Why are they busy today?

3) Make a list of the food and the cooking materials that Harry uses.

4) Make a list of the stupid things that happen to him.