Touchstone 2nd Edition • Language summary • Level 2

Unit 5 • Lesson B: Favorite classes

Vocabulary
School subjects / classes
algebra (n)
art (n)
band (n)
biology (n)
calculus (n)
chemistry (n)
choir (n)
computer studies (n)
drama (n)
economics (n)
geography (n)
geometry (n)
gymnastics (n)
history (n)
literature (n)
mathematics (n)
orchestra (n)
physical education (P.E.) (n)
physics (n)

School and learning

ninth grade (n)
drop a course (v)
get into university (v)
major in (biology) (v)
take (Spanish) (v)

© Cambridge University Press 2014 Unit 5, Lesson B, Page 1

Touchstone 2nd Edition • Language summary • Level 2

Quantity expressions
a few (students)
a few of (the students)
a few of them / us
all (children)
all of (the children)
all of them / us
most (people)
most of (the people)
most of them / us
no (students)
none of (the students)
none of them / us
some (students)
some of (the students)
some of them / us

Other words
foreign (language) (adj)
required (adj)
useful (adj)

Grammar
Determiners
Determiners say "how much" / "how many" of something we are talking about:

all most a lot some a few no none

Determiners go before nouns.

© Cambridge University Press 2014 Unit 5, Lesson B, Page 2

Touchstone 2nd Edition • Language summary • Level 2
General (students, Canadians)

To talk about people in general, use determiners without of:

All children learn a language.

Most Canadians need French.
Some students take Spanish.
A few people are good at Latin.
No students like exams. (use no, not none)

But always use of in a lot of:

A lot of people speak English well.

Specific (the students in my class, my friends)

To talk about specific people or things, use the determiner + of:

Most of the people in my office know French.

A lot of the people in this city speak English well.
Some of the students in my class take Greek.
A few of my classmates got As.
None of my friends failed the exams. (use none, not no)

But you can use all with or without of:

All (of) the children in my town take English.

With pronouns

Use determiners + of + object pronoun:

All of the children in my town take English.

All of them take English.

None of my friends failed the exams.

None of us failed the exams.

© Cambridge University Press 2014 Unit 5, Lesson B, Page 3