Apuntes de Inglés

 SOME / ANY:
 We use SOME or ANY with plural countable nouns (pens, friends,
books, etc.,) E.G.: I bought some new pens yesterday / John doesn´t
have any friends / Do you have any books about Africa?
 We use SOME or ANY with uncountable nouns (money, information,
advice, news, music, coffee, milk, water, snow). E.G: I haven´t got any
money / did the teacher give you any advice? / I would like some
coffee please.
 Positive: we normally use SOME in positive sentences: She took
some photos / I´d like some information.
But, we sometimes use any like this: You can leave at any time. (It
doesn´t matter when you leave) / take any book (It doesn’t matter
which book you take)
 Negative: we usually use ANY in negative sentences: I didn´t see
any good films last year. / we haven´t got any foods.
 Questions: we use ANY in questions: Do you speak any Russian?
But, we use SOME when we ask for sometimes in particular: Can
you give some information? / Would you like some coffee?

Spelling Rules

 We use SOME with uncountable nouns, NOT a/an

 We use SOME with countable nouns, but only in the plural
 We can use countable & uncountable nouns after phrases of quantity,
such as; jar, bottle, piece, loaf, cup, bar, glass, kilo, carton, bowl, jog,
slice, packet + of. E.G.: a jar of marmalade, a piece of pie, a bar of
chocolate.

MUCH & MANY: we use much and many to talk about the quantity. We
normally use much and many in negative sentences.
We use much and many in questions, and how much and how many too.

We also use much to talk about quantity, and we often say much, more or
many.

Spelling Rules:

We use:

 Much with uncountable nouns: much food – much money – much time
– much snow
 Many with plural nouns: many things – many people – many times
 More with countable plural nouns: more toasts – more juice – more
glasses.
 MUCH / MAY / MORE without a noun: How much did that coast cost?
A: That cake was delicious
B: Would you like some more?

A lot of / a little / a few:

- She´s got a lot of luggage. (a lot of: a big amount or number)

In spoken English, we normally use a lot of in positive sentences:

- There´s a lot of information in this book

- I bought a lot of new books today

But, in written English, we often use much and many in positive sentences:
Britains have many problems.

Spelling Rules:

We use:

 A lot of with uncountable nouns: a lot of luggage, a lot of

information.
 A lot of with plural nouns: a lot of books, a lot of things.
FEW: we can use a few and a little with more: would you like a little more of
coffee?

Spelling Rules:

We use:

 A little with uncountable nouns: I have a little money, but I don´t

have much.
 A few with plural nouns: Can you wait a few minutes, John?

Present Continuous:

We form the present continuous with the auxiliary verb to be and the main
verb with the –ing suffix.

Affirmative: I am working

Negative: I´m not working

Question: Am I working?

Spelling Rules:

 Add -ing suffix to the base of verb; read – reading, stand – standing
 Verbs ending in –e, drop the –e and take the -ing suffix: write – writing,
but see – seeing.
 Verbs ending in one stressed vowel between two consonant, double
the last consonant and take de –ing suffix: Sit – Sitting, swim –
swimming. However, don´t double the last consonant in words ending
in W, X or Y: Sew –Sewing / fix – fixing / enjoy – enjoying
 Verbs ending in –l. double the last –l, and take the –ing suffix. Travel -
travelling
 Verbs ending in –ie, drop the –ie and take y + ing: lie – liying, die -
diying
 We use the present continuous for: actions happening now, at the
moment of speaking:; temporary actions, happenings around now, but
not the actual moment of speaking.
Past Simple:

Spelling Rules:

 If the verbs ends in a consonant, add –ed; return – returned / help –

helped
 If the verbs ends in –ed, add –d: live – lived / create – created / die –
died
 In a one syllable word, if the verb ends in C-V-C, double the final
consonant and add –ed: hop – hopped / rub – rubbed. However, don´t
double one syllable that ending in X, W or Y: bow – bowed / mix –
mixed / play – played
 In words with two or more syllables that end in C-V-C, double the last
consonant only if the last syllable is stressed: prefer – preferred / visit
– visited
 If the verb ends in consonant + y, change the y to I, and add –ed: worry
– worried / carry – carried
 If the verb ends in a vowel + y, add –ed: play – played / annoy -
annoyed