SEMINAR 6

AMOUNT AND EXTENT

GROUPS OF AND PARTS OF

AMOUNT AND EXTENT

A. Extent and degree – many adjectives and phrases collocate with extent and degree:
To some extent / degree she is right.
1. Here are some more examples:
to a lesser / greater / large / small / great / considerable / marked degree /
extent

2. We use extent in common phrases:

The true / full extent of her injuries only gradually became apparent.
I agree with you to a certain extent.
Crime has risen to such an extent that it has become a serious political
issue.

3. We can also use other phrases that have a similar meaning:

That’s true up to a point, but you’re forgetting something.
They won by a substantial / considerable / narrow margin.

B. Words to express quantity – we use many nouns to talk about quantity. Here are some
examples:
The high incidence of violent crime is a major source of worry.
We have one of the highest crime rates in the world.
What is the proportion of men to women here?
He was paid a nominal sum for his help.
This road was not built to carry this volume of traffic.
There is a new quota system for fishing in the North Sea.
He’s struggling with his enormous workload.
The company has a pool of cars to be used by the workers.
I always have a stock of biscuits with me when travelling.
Large reserves of oil have been discovered in the Atlantic.
It is dangerous to exceed the recommended dosage.

PRACTICE

1. Match the quantity words with an appropriate group of collocating words and phrases
(a – p). Use all the quantity words.

dose reserves point margin proportions volume

degree sum load incidence proportion rate
amount stock quota extent
 a. the ………………………. of men and women
b. a substantial / fair / enormous ………………………. of
c. the high / light ………………………. of traffic
d. a wide / narrow ………………………. of error
e. pay a nominal / lump ……………………….
f. sell the entire / complete ………………………. of
g. to some / a marked / a considerable ……………………….
h. a high / significant ………………………. of the disease
i. to such an ………………………. that
j. a strict immigration ……………………….
k. the crime / unemployment / exchange ……………………….
l. agree up to a ……………………….
m. a tragedy of huge / immense ……………………….
n. adequate / ample / vast ………………………. of coal
o. a ………………………. of bricks / complaints
p. a ………………………. of antibiotics / cough mixture

2. Put the corresponding letter of the right word into the blank of each sentence.

1. I simply couldn’t cope with such an enormous work …………

a. amount b. quantity c. load d. volume
2. I’m afraid we can only afford to pay you a ………… sum for your services.
a. nominal b. titular c. complete d. calculated
3. The high ………… of cancer was attributed to the proximity of a nuclear power
station.
a. amount b. dosage c. extent d. incidence
4. What was the ………… sum of our takings for the week?
a. amount b. final c. total d. quota
5. Its success seems to work in ………… proportion to the number of people
involved.
a. inverse b. opposite c. contrary d. retrograde
6. They won the election by the narrowest of …………
a. extents b. margins c. votes d. degrees
7. If you don’t get your full ………… of sleep, your work will begin to suffer.
a. extent b. quota c. degree d. ratio
8. I agree with you up to a certain ………… but there are other considerations.
a. extent b. point c. degree d. level
GROUPS OF AND PARTS OF

1. Different ways of describing groups – we can link many different words using of +
uncountable and plural nouns to indicate quantity and other categories of meaning:

Category Example
a mass a mountain of work
a pile of washing
a small amount a spot of rain, a pinch of salt
a part a portion of chicken
a segment of orange
a fixed shape a ball of wool
a stick of dynamite
a portion of liquid a drop of milk, a pool of blood
speed of movement a jet of water, a gush of blood
a group a flock of sheep
a gang of youths
a container a bottle of beer
a packet of cigarettes
an example or part of an uncountable noun an article of clothing
an item of news

2. Informal phrases – we use informal vocabulary in a variety of common phrases:

a blob of glue, a bit of land, a heap of papers, piles of homework
stack of replies, mountains of washing

3. Common phrases in context – some examples depend on collocation:

They couldn’t find a shred of evidence to support their claim.
At last there’s a ray of hope.
There wasn’t a speck of dust to be seen.
He was greeted with a torrent of abuse.
Her inquiries were met with a wall of silence.
Their offer of help was my only crumb of comfort.

PRACTICE

1. Add these examples to the appropriate category of the chart above.

a. a piece of cloth e. a gust of wind

b. a piece of information f. a strip of land
c. a section of the newspaper g. a slice of bread
d. a family of mice h. a heap of rubbish
2. Add these words to the appropriate gaps below.

knob pinch dash

a. Just add a ……………… of butter and a ……………… of lemon juice.

b. I think we should take that story with a ……………… of salt.

3. In the following groups, there is one noun that we cannot use in the phrase, either for
reasons of meaning or collocation. Underline the one that doesn’t fit.

1. a torrent of water / abuse / words / snow

2. a pool of water / spilt milk / blood / strawberries
3. a bunch of flowers / people / bread / bananas
4. a trace of perfume / blood / smoke / children
5. a lump of coal / ideas / sugar / meat
6. a touch of frost / salt / flu / irony
7. a ray of sunshine / hope / paper / light
8. a flock of birds / sheep / tourists / grass
9. a gang of hooligans / thieves / actors / kids
10. a point of honour / question / order / light

4. Fill each of the numbered gaps with one of the nouns listed. Each noun can be used
once only.

stroke stream amount shock drop

trace stack torrent bout dash

Danny had a ……………… (1) of red hair at the time and at an age when a
……………… (2) of questions was the order of the day. I was tired of the
……………… (3) of answers I had been required to give all day and had anyway
been suffering from a ……………… (4) of flu. I decided that a ………………
(5) of brandy with a ……………… (6) of soda might just help my mental and
physical condition. I worked my way through the ……………… (7) of empty
bottles left in the kitchen after last night’s party and by a ……………… (8) of
luck found one with a tiny ……………… (9) of the contents still remaining. I
took a sip and felt much better. As I was tucking Danny into bed he asked,
naturally without a ……………… (10) of irony: “Why are you wearing daddy’s
perfume, mommy?”
PROGRESS TEST

1. Fill each of the numbered blanks with one suitable word.

Whether or not we are ……………… (1) in the universe is a question that has
vexed humankind for centuries. But we are ……………… (2) to live in an era
when the technology exists to allow us to come ……………… (3) to giving an
answer. Up to now, ……………… (4) only was a belief in the existence of
extraterrestrial life often ……………… (5) on personal rather than religious
conviction, ……………… (6) was perhaps ……………… (7) much based on
faith. But scientifically the possibility cannot be discounted and, perhaps more
……………… (8) at any other time in history, the subject is no longer liable
……………… (9) be dismissed as a crank’s discipline. For example, can we
estimate the number of civilizations within our own Milky Way galaxy? These
days scientists believe that in some ……………… (10) they now have a not
……………… (11) knowledge of the factors involved in producing such
civilizations.
The rate of formation of suitable stars – that is, ones ……………… (12) Earth
which are hot ……………… (13) to sustain life and live long enough to allow life
to evolve – is a ……………… (14) starting point.
Astronomers are confident ……………… (15) they can assess this rate of
formation at ……………… (16) one star per year. However, these stars also need
to have habitable planets. ……………… (17) in the last five years have scientists
found evidence that at least some stars (other than our own star, the sun) have
planetary systems. Broadly ……………… (18), perhaps one in ten stars have
planets orbiting them. But we also require that these planets are warm enough to
have liquid water, a basic component integral ……………… (19) life on Earth
and presumably life elsewhere, and are not lacking ……………… (20) an
atmosphere that can both provide protection and sustenance to developing life.

2. Put the corresponding letter of the right word into the blank of each sentence.

1. The speeding car only missed us by a hair’s ………

a. width b. height c. breadth d. length
2. This room really could do with another ……… of paint.
a. coat b. jacket c. skin d. sliver
3. The wrecked liner is still lying on the sea ………
a. floor b. bed c. ground d. bottom
4. I slept badly last night and am feeling particularly ……… this morning.
a. slow-witted b. far-reaching c. offhand d. top-heavy
5. My parents always had a happily ……… attitude to my staying out late in the
evening.
a. cold-blooded b. long-suffering c. easy-going d. thick-skinned
6. The sprinter paid the price of her misuse of drugs and died of heart ……… at the
age of thirty-eight.
 a. attack b. failure c. stoppage d. pressure
7. We took the children on a trip to the local natural ……… museum.
a. geography b. history c. zoology d. phenomena
8. State enterprises face fierce competition from the private ………
a. sector b. province c. department d. zone
9. It is difficult to assess grass-……… opinion on the subject of the President’s
actions.
a. leaves b. cuttings c. stems d. roots
10. How many planets are there in our ……… system?
a. solar b. universe c. sun d. planetary

Social Identity

Identity is often in the eye of the beholder. […] Social identity is a characteristic or
property of humans as social beings. The word identity, however, embraces a universe of
creatures, things and substances that is wider than the limited category of humanity.

Consulting the Oxford English Dictionary yields a Latin root (identitas, from idem, “the
same”) and two basic meanings. The first is a concept of absolute sameness: “this is
identical to that”. The second is a concept of distinctiveness that presumes consistency or
continuity over time. Approaching the idea of sameness from two different angles, the
notion of identity simultaneously establishes two possible relations of comparison
between persons or things: similarity on the one hand, and difference on the other. […]
Exploring the matter further, the verb to identify is a necessary accompaniment of
identity: there is something active about the word that cannot be ignored. Identity is not
“just there”, it must always be established. This adds two further meanings to our catalog:
to classify things or persons, and to associate oneself with something or someone else (for
example, a friend, a hero, a party, or a philosophy).

All human identities are in some sense – and usually a stronger rather than a weaker
sense – social identities. It cannot be otherwise, if only because identity is about
meaning, and meaning is not an essential property of words and things. Meanings are
always the outcome of agreement or disagreement, always a matter of convention and
innovation, always to some extent shared, always to some extent negotiable. […] One’s
social identity – indeed, one’s social identities, for who we are is always singular and
plural – is never a final or settled matter.

So, how to define “social identity”? Minimally, the expression refers to the ways in which
individuals and collectivities are distinguished in their social relations with other
individuals and collectivities. […] Social identity is our understanding of who we are and
of who other people are, and reciprocally, other’s people understanding of themselves and
of others (which includes us). Social identity, is, therefore, no more essential than
meaning; it too is the product of agreement and disagreement, it too is negotiable.

Without social identity, there is, in fact, no society.

Jenkins, Richard. Social Identity. London: Routledge, 1996.