Quantifiers

Test it ✔
1 Complete the sentences. Use a, an, some or any.
Would you like a cup of tea?
a Fred usually takes sandwiches and an orange to school.
b Did they give you information?
c No, sorry, I haven’t got cigarettes. I don’t smoke.
d Basil sent me postcard from Moscow.
e I’d like kilo of cherries, please.
f Nicola has had bad news.
g She says she can’t give us advice. She’s never been to Paris.
h Have more coffee. There’s enough for both of us.
i Can you believe it? The supermarket didn’t have meat!
j Pete’s got money for you.

2 Circle the best option, A or B.

Zoe lent me money.
A any B some
a Patricia hasn’t made new friends yet.
A any B some
b We can give you money if you need it.
A a few B a little
c She wants material to make a skirt.
Aa B a metre of
d Do you own house or do you rent?
A any Ba
e There are people still dancing.
A a few B many
f There isn’t time before the show starts.
A much B a little
g Tom’s got children to look after this weekend.
A many B a lot of
h The house really needs more pictures.
A a few B a little
i Could I have sugar in my coffee, please?
A a few B a little
j Let me give you advice.
A an B a piece of 20

GO to page 16 and check your answers.

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 Quantifiers

Test it again ✔
1 Find and correct the mistakes in the sentences.
It was some very good piece of advice, to accept the job. a
a When we were in the forest, we saw many owls. In fact I’ve
never seen so many in one place before.
b I really don’t want some information at all about interest rates.
c Can you give Oscar a little biscuits? Just one or two.
d I know you love this cheese. Would you like any more?
e There aren’t a few sunny days at this time of the year, so
let’s go to the beach today.
f How much times have I told you not to do that?
g Hurry up! We haven’t got many time left. It starts in five minutes!
h You’ve got many books, haven’t you?
i There isn’t some butter, so please buy some.
j Harry found some bone in the garden. It was horrible.

2 Complete the sentences. Use one word in each space.

bars bottles can cartons cup kilo
litres metre piece slice tube
It’s outrageous! They’re charging six euros for a kilo of potatoes.
a Let’s take two of champagne to the party.
b Oh yuck! I thought that was a of toothpaste, but it’s shaving
foam!
c Would you like a of coffee?
d Bill gave me an interesting of information today.
e Go on, have another of cake. Forget the diet.
f Could you buy me two of orange juice, please?
g No wonder you’ve got toothache. You eat three of chocolate
a day.
h Everyone should drink two of water every day.
i How much does a of this material cost?
j Do you want a of Coke?

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 Fix it
Answers to Test it Fix it notes
Check your answers. Wrong answer?
Read the right Fix it note to find out why. A
Use a or an with singular countable
1 ● a ➔ A, G nouns.
a some ➔ B
b any ➔ C B
c any ➔ C Use some in positive sentences with
d a ➔ A plural countable nouns and
e a ➔ A, G uncountable nouns. Also use some in
f some ➔ B offers when you expect the answer to
g any ➔ C be ‘Yes’.
h some ➔ B
i any ➔ C C
j some ➔ B Use any in negative sentences and in
2 ● B ➔ B f A ➔ E most questions with plural countable
a A ➔ C g B ➔ F nouns and uncountable nouns.
b B ➔ E h A ➔ D
c B ➔ G i B ➔ E D
d B ➔ A j B ➔ G Use a few in positive sentences with
e A ➔ D plural countable nouns.

E
Now go to page 15. Test yourself again.
Use a little in positive sentences with
uncountable nouns. Use not much in
Answers to Test it again
negative sentences with uncountable
1 a many a lot of nouns.
b some any
c a little a few/some F
d any some Use a lot of (not many) in positive
e a few many sentences with plural countable nouns.
f much many
g many much G
h many a lot of Use a kilo, a litre, a metre, etc. to talk
i some any about the quantity of uncountable
j some a nouns which you can measure. Use a
bottle, a tin, a box, a piece, a slice, etc.
2 a bottles f cartons
to talk about the quantity of other
b tube g bars
uncountable nouns.
c cup h litres
d piece i metre
e slice j can
For more information, see the
Review page opposite.

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 Quantifiers

i Review
Quantifiers

A, some and any

• You use the indefinite articles a or an with singular countable nouns.
She’d like a job. Please have an orange.

• You use some in positive sentences with plural countable nouns and
uncountable nouns. You also use some in offers when you expect the answer
to be ‘Yes’.
He has some great ideas. There’s some good weather coming soon.
Do you want some more potatoes? Would you like some more meat?

• You use any in negative sentences and in most questions with plural countable
nouns and uncountable nouns.
There aren’t any newspapers left in the shop. Is there any water?

A few, a little and a lot of

• You use a few in positive sentences with plural countable nouns. You use
not many, or how many in negative sentences and questions with plural
countable nouns.
You can have a few more minutes to decide.
There aren’t many people here. How many times have you met him?

• You use a little in positive sentences with uncountable nouns and not much or
how much in negative sentences and questions with uncountable nouns.
He’s saved a little money. We haven’t got much time.
How much information do you need?

• You use (not) a lot of in positive and negative sentences and in questions with
plural countable nouns and with uncountable nouns.
There’s a lot of work to do. Pat hasn’t got a lot of friends.
Is there a lot of chicken left?

Measuring uncountable nouns

• You can make uncountable nouns countable in several ways.
1 You can use expressions like a kilo of, a litre of, a metre of, etc.
A kilo of carrots, please. Add half a litre of milk.
2 You can describe the container that the noun is in, e.g. a bag of,
a can of.
We need a bag of flour. I’ll have a can of Coke.
3 You can divide the noun into separate parts, e.g. a lump of, a piece of.
I’ll have a slice of bread for lunch. Mum gave me a good piece of advice.

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