Para ir de compras, cocinar o hablar de lo que hay en tu ciudad necesitas expresar cantidades: «There are a lot of shops», «We haven’t got much time». La elección del cuantificador depende de si el sustantivo es contable o incontable y de si la frase es afirmativa, negativa o una pregunta.
Objetivos
- Distinguir sustantivos contables e incontables
- Usar some y any
- Elegir entre much, many y a lot of
- Usar a few / a little y preguntar con how much / how many
1. Contables e incontables
Contable: Se puede contar, tiene singular y plural: an apple, two apples, a bottle, three bottles.
Incontable: No se cuenta directamente y no tiene plural: water, bread, money, information, homework, advice, music, rice.
Para contar un incontable se usa un recipiente o una porción: a bottle of water, a loaf of bread, a piece of cake, a glass of milk, a slice of pizza.
2. Some y any
| Uso | Ejemplo | |
|---|---|---|
| some | afirmativa (contables plurales e incontables) | There are some eggs. I’ve got some milk. |
| any | negativa y preguntas | There isn’t any bread. Are there any tomatoes? |
3. Much, many, a lot of
| Cuantificador | Con | Uso habitual |
|---|---|---|
| many | contables plurales | negativas y preguntas: How many friends have you got? I haven’t got many books. |
| much | incontables | negativas y preguntas: How much money is there? We don’t have much time. |
| a lot of / lots of | contables e incontables | sobre todo en afirmativa: She has a lot of friends. There’s lots of traffic. |
How much o how many
- How many apples do you need? → Six. (contable)
- How much sugar do you need? → 200 grams. (incontable)
- How much is it? → It’s 5 euros. (precio)
4. Poca cantidad: a few, a little; too much, enough
- a few + contable plural: «I’ve got a few friends in Málaga» (unos pocos).
- a little + incontable: «Add a little salt» (un poco).
- too much / too many = demasiado(s): «There’s too much noise», «There are too many people».
- enough = suficiente: «We haven’t got enough chairs».
Recuerda
- Incontables sin plural ni a/an: water, money, advice, homework, information.
- some en afirmativa (y ofrecimientos); any en negativa y preguntas.
- many + contables; much + incontables; a lot of con los dos.
- How many + plural / How much + incontable (y precio).
- a few + plural; a little + incontable.
¡Ahora te toca a ti!
Comprueba que lo has entendido con los ejercicios y repasa con el resumen.