📌 What Does It Mean to Express Quantities? / ¿Qué significa expresar cantidades?
In English, we use different words to express large or small quantities of something. En español, usamos diferentes palabras para expresar una gran o pequeña cantidad de algo.
📖 Common Words for Expressing Quantities / Palabras comunes para expresar cantidades
| English | Español | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A lot / Lots of | Mucho/a/os/as | There is a lot of water. (Hay mucha agua.) |
| Many | Muchos/as | She has many friends. (Ella tiene muchos amigos.) |
| Much | Mucho/a | Do you have much time? (¿Tienes mucho tiempo?) |
| A few | Unos/as pocos/as | I have a few books. (Tengo unos pocos libros.) |
| A little | Un poco de | There is a little milk left. (Queda un poco de leche.) |
| Few | Pocos/as | Few people came to the meeting. (Pocas personas vinieron a la reunión.) |
| Little | Poco/a | We have little sugar. (Tenemos poca azúcar.) |
✏️ Examples / Ejemplos
🔹 There are a lot of apples in the basket. (Hay muchas manzanas en la canasta.)
🔹 She has few friends in the city. (Ella tiene pocos amigos en la ciudad.)
🔹 I have a little money for the trip. (Tengo un poco de dinero para el viaje.)
🔹 We need many chairs for the event. (Necesitamos muchas sillas para el evento.)
🔹 There is not much information about the topic. (No hay mucha información sobre el tema.)
⚠️ Important Notes! / ¡Notas Importantes!
🔹 Use “much” for uncountable nouns and “many” for countable nouns. Ejemplo: “Much water” (mucha agua) vs. “Many bottles” (muchas botellas).
🔹 “Few” and “Little” indicate scarcity, while “A few” and “A little” indicate a small but present quantity. Ejemplo: “Few people” (pocas personas) vs. “A few people” (algunas personas).
🔹 “A lot of” can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns. Ejemplo: “A lot of books” (muchos libros) / “A lot of sugar” (mucha azúcar).
🎓 Practice Time! / ¡Hora de Práctica!
Complete the sentences with “much”, “many”, “few”, or “little”:
- There are ___ students in the classroom. (much/many)
- I have ___ time to finish the project. (few/little)
- We need ___ chairs for the meeting. (many/little)
- She has ___ friends, but they are very close. (a few/much)
- There isn’t ___ milk left in the fridge. (many/much)
✍️ Bonus: Write Your Own Sentences! / ¡Escribe tus propias frases!
Now, create sentences using words for expressing quantities and practice saying them aloud!
Answers:
much
many
little
many
a few