EXPRESSIONS OF QUANTITY

• Quantifiers are words that come before nouns in order to indicate the
amount or how much of a non-count noun is being stated, or the number
or how many of a count noun is being stated.

• There isn’t much sugar

• How many apples do you have? … I have a lot of apples.
There aren’t many oranges.
There is a little water.
 Countables

A few Some Many

unos pocos,
algunos, algunas, unos, muchos,
unas cuantas,
unas muchas
unos cuantos

a few cats some cats many cats

(unos cuantos (algunos (muchos
gatos) gatos) gatos)
Expresiones de cantidad para sustantivos

unos pocos,
FEW unas cuantas,
unos cuantos

EJEMPLOS

few apples Unas cuantas manzanas

A few chairs Unas pocas sillas
A few coins Pocas monedas
A few notebooks Unos cuantos cuadernos
Expresiones de cantidad para sustantivos contables

FEW

A Few Few

Positive Idea Negative Idea, Shortage

Expresiones de cantidad para sustantivos contables

algunos,
SOME algunas,
unos, unas

EJEMPLOS

Some chairs Algunas sillas

Some friends Algunos amigos
Some boys Algunos niños
Expresiones de cantidad para sustantivos contables

muchos,
MANY muchas

EJEMPLOS

Many chairs Muchas sillas

Many friends Muchos amigos
Many boys Muchos niños
 ‘Much’ and ‘Many’ are used in negative and question forms.
 
Examples:
 How much milk did you buy?
 How many apples have you eaten?
 There's not much meat in the fridge.                                       
 There weren't many guests at the party.
 
 They are also used with ‘too’, ‘(not) so’, and ‘(not) as’
Examples:
 It's a problem when there are so many people.
 There's not so much work to do this week.

 In affirmative statements, we use ‘a lot of’:

Examples:
 I've a lot of work this week.
 There were a lot of people at the concert.
Check your understanding
1. Unas las siguientes expresiones en español con su
equivalente en inglés:

Algunos estudiantes Many students

Muchos estudiantes Few students

Pocos estudiantes A few students

Unos pocos estudiantes Some students

Respuestas

Algunos estudiantes Many students

Muchos estudiantes Few students

Pocos estudiantes A few students

Unos pocos estudiantes Some students

 uncountables

a little some Much

Poco, poca, un Algo de Mucho,

poquito de mucha

a little sugar some sugar Much sugar

(un poquito de (algo de (mucha
azúcar) azúcar) azúcar)
 Poco, poca, un
A LITTLE poquito de

Ejemplos:
A Little sugar Un poquito de azúcar
A little water Un poquito de agua
A little bread Un poquito de pan
A little salt Un poquito de sal
 LITTLE

A Little Little

Positive Idea Negative Idea, Shortage

Ejemplo: Ejemplo:
A little salt = un little lemonade =
poquito de sal poca limonada
 Mucho,
SOME Algo de MUCH mucha

Examples: Examples:
Some water Algo de agua – Un poco de Much money Mucho
agua dinero
Some wine Algo de vino – un poco de Much oil Mucho
vino aceite
Some sugar Algo de azúcar – un poco de Much energy Mucha
azúcar energía
Some Algo de paciencia – un poco
patience de paciencia
 a lot of / lots of
a lot of and lots of have the same meaning: they both mean a large amount or
number of people or things.

They are both used before countable nouns and uncountable nouns:

with countable nouns:

A lot of people went to the game.
Lots of people went to the game.

with uncountable nouns:

A lot of snow falls in winter.
Lots of snow falls in winter.
Little + contables
DIMINUTIVO = LITTLE + SUSTANTIVO (contable)

EXAMPLES

Little dog Perrito

Little man Hombrecito
Little Carlos Carlitos
Little Susana Susanita
Little baby Bebecito
Little house Casita
1. Write F (false) or T ( true) for the countables and Uncontable nouns. Correct the
false sentences.

• much sugar is countable f • many dollars is uncontable f

• many books is uncountable f • many cookies is uncontable f
• little milk is countable f • many windows is countable T
• few coins is countable T • a cup of milk is countable T
• few candies is uncontable f • little juice is countable f
 units of measurement
Pound
Glass
Cup
Bar
Bottle
Bowl
Gallon
Loaf
Slice
Quarter
Spoonful
Tube
Bar
Pound Libra
Glass Vaso
Cup Taza, pocillo
Bar Barra
Bottle Botella
Bowl Plato hondo, platón
Gallon Galón
Loaf Barra
Slice Rebanada
Quarter Cuarto
Spoonful Cucharada
Tube Tubo
Bar Pastilla (chocolate)
 units of measurement
•Emplear estas unidades de medida hace que podamos contar los sustantivos no contables:

Ejemplo:
Much sugar = mucha azucar, es no contable
Many bags of sugar = muchas bolsas de azucar, es contable, teniendo en cuenta que
estamos contando las bolsas y no el azucar.

A pound of meat Una libra de carne

A cup of chocolate Un pocillo de chocolate
Three bowls of sugar Tres tazas de azúcar
Two slices of bread Dos rebanadas de pan
A spoonful of salt Una cucharada de sal
How much milk is there?
how much & how many
How much and How many
When we want to know the
quantity or amount of something,
we ask questions starting with How
much and How many.
 HOW MUCH ...? - (Quantity)

How much is used with uncountable nouns.

HOW MUCH + UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

• How much time do we have to finish the test?

• How much money did you spend?
• How much sugar would you like in your coffee?
• How much paper will I need?
• How much milk is in the fridge?
• How much traffic was there on the way to work?
 HOW MUCH ...? - (Price)
How much can also be used when we want to know the PRICE of
something.
In this case, we can use How much with countable nouns (both singular and
plural nouns).

• How much is that painting?

• How much are those shoes?
• How much did your jacket cost?
• How much is the dress on display in the window?
• How much will it cost me?
• How much does it cost ?
 HOW MANY ...? - (Quantity)
How many is used when we want to know the QUANTITY of something.
It is only used with plural countable nouns.

HOW MANY + PLURAL NOUN

•How many days are there in January?
•How many people work in your company?
•How many cousins do you have?
•How many books did you buy?
•How many countries are there in the world?
•How many students are in the class right now?
•How many chairs are there in this room?
•How many pieces of chocolate would you like?
 How many times
If you use the construction “How many times…?” You want to know about
the specific number of occasions something has happened or happens in a
specific period of time.

Example:
 How many times have you called him?
At least ten times.
 
 How many times a week do you go to the gym?
I go to the gym twice a week.
 
• Vocabulary to answer these kind of questions:

Times Veces.
Once Una vez.
Twice Dos veces.
Not many No muchas (pocas).
Just (two or three) Solo (dos o tres).
A day, a month, a year Al día, al mes, al año.
Once in a while De vez en cuando.
Hardly ever Casi siempre.
Almost never Casi nunca.
Per week/month/year por semana/mes/año
Examples:

How many times do you read the newspaper?

 I read the newspaper once a week.

 I read the newspaper twice a month.
 I read it just three times in a year.
 I read it once in a while.
 I almost never read it.
1. Watch the image and answer the questions from 1 to 6, and make the questions for 7 to 10.

1. How many girls are there?

2. How many boys are there?
3. How much water is there?
4. How many cars are there?
5. How many animals are there?
6. How much painting is there?

7. ________________________
There are eight men.
8. ________________________
The rat has some cheese.
9. ________________________
There is one police officer.
10. ________________________
There are two balloons.
 Answers

1. How many girls are there?

Answer: there are two girls
2. How many boys are there? 7. how many men are there?
Answer :there are five boys There are eight men.
3. How much water is there? 8. how much cheese does the rat have?
Answer :there is a bottle of water and a swimming pool The rat has some cheese.
4. How many cars are there?
9. how many police officers are there?
There is one police officer.
Answer :there are two cars
10. how many balloons are there?
5. How many animals are there?
There are two balloons.
Answer :there are sixteen animals
6. How much painting is there?
Answer :there is a bucket of paint