Quality or Quantity

Little /few

REMEMBER
A little/ very little/ too little + uncountable nouns (water, oxygen, rice, sport, money, honey, coffee wood, food, weather, love, happiness, etc)
We have very little sugar.
We practise too little sport
We’ve got a little time

A few/very few/ too few + countable nouns ( people, carrots, chairs, animals, flowers, vegetables, euros, minutes, etc)
There are too few people who speak German.
We could see only a few trees in the park.
Very few children don’t like computer games.

 Too, too much, too many, enough

Too +adjective     This exercise is too easy.  I arrived too late.  He's too young to drive. He's too weak to lift it.

Too much + uncountable noun   Too many + countable nouns

There is too much shadow. There are too many people.

 
Adjective> enough    He isn't old enough to drive.  He isn't strong enough to lift it.

Enough> noun     There aren't enough chairs.   There isn't enough light.

ACTIVITY ONE>> Complete the sentences with too, too much, too many, enough.

1. Kevin is always at home. He doesn't go out
2. I don't like the weather in Galicia . There is rain.
3. You are always tired. I think you work hard .
4. You drink coffee and tea. It's not good for you.
5. I can't wait for them. I haven't got time.
6. There was nowhere to sit on the beach. There were people
7. Real Madrid didn't play well. They made mistakes
8. I don't like the weather in Scotland. It's cold
9. Hey, friends, did you have to eat? Yes, thank you
10. You don't eat fruit, you should eat some more.

a lot of, lots of, plenty of, a large amount of, a great deal of/ large number of

Compare:

• Plenty of shops open on Sunday mornings. (NOT Plenty shops …)
• Many shops open on Sunday mornings. (NOT Many of shops …)
• There is not a lot of rice left. (NOT There is not a lot rice left.)
• There is not much rice left. (NOT There is not much of rice left.)

A lot of and lots of

These are rather informal. There is not much difference between a lot of and lots of. They are both used mainly before singular uncountable and plural nouns, and before pronouns. When a lot of/lots of is used before a plural subject, the verb is plural.

• A lot of my friends live abroad.
• Lots of time is needed to learn a language.

Plenty of

Plenty of means ‘enough and more’. It is used before singular uncountable and plural nouns.

• There is plenty of time.
• Plenty of shops accept credit cards.

A large amount of, a great deal of and a large number of

These expressions are rather formal. A large amount of and a great deal of are generally used before uncountable nouns.

• She has spent a great deal of time in Europe.

A large number of is used before plural nouns. The following verb is plural.

• A large number of issues still need to be addressed.

Activity TWO>>  Choose the best italic word from each sentence :

-We haven’t got much / many money these days.
-I’ve got a few / a little fruit and a lot of / many vegetables .
-They don’t seem to have much / many free time these days.
-He has only read a few / a little chapters of that new book, but he likes it.
A : Does he show much / many interest in sports ?
B : Yes, a lot / a lot of .
-There aren’t many / much buildings and traffic problems in that place, so there is no / any stress there.

-Don’t worry, we still have too much/plenty of time

-A large number/ a great deal of people are losing their jobs

A : How many/how much water is there left?

B: Any/None

ANSWERS to activities IN CONMMENT 1