Here’s a nice grammatical visual aid for you courtesy of our teacher Lynne & Facebook:
Category: Grammar
Much, Many, A Lot Of – Which One Do I Use?
By Flunse (Patrick Geltinger) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=404343
Time for more grammar. This time we’re going to look at the words much, many, and a lot of.
The key to knowing when to use these words is remembering your count and non-count nouns. To review count and noun-count nouns, click here.
Basically, you use “many” with plural count nouns. For example: many people, many apples, many problems, many friends. You can use “many” in statements and questions, affirmative or negative.
“Much,” on the other hand, is used with non-count nouns. For example: much money, much homework, much coffee, much trouble. But we only use “much” in questions and negative statements. For example: “I don’t have much money. How much money do you have?” We do not say “I have much money.”
In this case, we say “I have a lot of money.” “A lot of” can be used with count or non-count nouns – it doesn’t matter! It can also be used in questions and statements, negative or affirmative. But if we begin the question with “how,” then we have to use either “much” or “many.” We can’t say “How a lot of money do you have?’
Watch this video for some extra practice, then take the quiz to test your knowledge:
Articles 101
One difficult part of English is articles – but we use them a lot, so it’s important to know them. There are three articles in the English language: “a,” “an,” and “the.”
“A” and “an” are called indefinite articles because they are used when we talk about something in general, or when we talk about something for the first time. We use “an” when the next word begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) and we use “a” with words that begin with a consonant (all the other letters in the alphabet). In addition, we only use “a” and “an” with singular count nouns:
There was an earthquake in Japan two years ago.
How much does a new car cost?
Is there a bathroom in this building?
“The,” on the other hand, is a definite article.We use it when we’re talking about something specific, or when we continue to talk about something we’ve introduced. “The” can be used for singular or plural nouns, count or non-count:
The people in my class are very friendly.
The refrigerator is broken!
I took the F Train this morning.
Read the following story, and pay special attention to the articles:
Last night I found a cockroach in my kitchen. The cockroach was very big and very fast. I picked up a newspaper to kill it, but the newspaper was too soft. Then I picked up a frying pan. I was able to kill the cockroach, but then I had to wash the frying pan. I washed the frying pan in the sink, but when I finished, I saw a second cockroach. The second cockroach was even bigger than the first one!
Now watch the video lesson to learn more, then you can take the quiz to test your knowledge!
Bored or Boring?
Time for some more grammar. This time, we’re looking at adjectives ending in -ed and -ing.
Adjectives describe nouns.
Many adjectives end in “ed” and “ing” – like bored and boring, excited and exciting, interesting and interested. But it’s sometimes confusing which form you should use.
Basically, you use adjectives ending in “ed” when describing how someone feels. So you should usually say “I’m bored” instead of “I’m boring,” “I’m confused” rather than “I’m confusing,” and “I’m tired,” not “I’m tiring.”
You use adjectives ending in “ing” when you describe something that causes the feeling. For example, “The movie was boring,” or “My English class is interesting,” or “The book was very exciting.”
Here’s a video which explains it further. After you watch the video, take the quiz to test your knowledge.
Articles, Articles, Articles
One difficult part of English is articles – but we use them a lot, so it’s important to know them. There are three articles in the English language: “a,” “an,” and “the.”
“A” and “an” are called indefinite articles because they are used when we talk about something in general, or when we talk about something for the first time. We use “an” when the next word begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) and we use “a” with words that begin with a consonant (all the other letters in the alphabet). In addition, we only use “a” and “an” with singular count nouns:
There was an earthquake in Japan two years ago.
How much does a new car cost?
Is there a bathroom in this building?
“The,” on the other hand, is a definite article.We use it when we’re talking about something specific, or when we continue to talk about something we’ve introduced. “The” can be used for singular or plural nouns, count or non-count:
The people in my class are very friendly.
The refrigerator is broken!
I took the F Train this morning.
Read the following story, and pay special attention to the articles:
Last night I found a cockroach in my kitchen. The cockroach was very big and very fast. I picked up a newspaper to kill it, but the newspaper was too soft. Then I picked up a frying pan. I was able to kill the cockroach, but then I had to wash the frying pan. I washed the frying pan in the sink, but when I finished, I saw a second cockroach. The second cockroach was even bigger than the first one!
Now watch the video lesson to learn more, then you can take the quiz to test your knowledge!
Grammatically Speaking
A little grammar review is in order. Click on the picture below to test your knowledge of some grammar points. The test will provide the correct answer as well as an explanation as to why it is the correct answer. Good luck!
Much, Many, or A Lot Of?
Time for more grammar. This time we’re going to look at the words much, many, and a lot of.
The key to knowing when to use these words is remembering your count and non-count nouns. To review count and noun-count nouns, click here.
Basically, you use “many” with plural count nouns. For example: many people, many apples, many problems, many friends. You can use “many” in statements and questions, affirmative or negative.
“Much,” on the other hand, is used with non-count nouns. For example: much money, much homework, much coffee, much trouble. But we only use “much” in questions and negative statements. For example: “I don’t have much money. How much money do you have?” We do not say “I have much money.”
In this case, we say “I have a lot of money.” “A lot of” can be used with count or non-count nouns – it doesn’t matter! It can also be used in questions and statements, negative or affirmative. But if we begin the question with “how,” then we have to use either “much” or “many.” We can’t say “How a lot of money do you have?’
Watch this video for some extra practice, then take the quiz to test your knowledge:
