REPORTING INTENTIONS, HOPES AND PROMISES When reporting intentions, hope or promise, we use an appropriate reporting verb followed by a 'that' clause with 'would' in it, or a to-infinitive clause. Verbs used in this pattern include: hope, promise, threaten, guarantee, & swear. Note that the word 'that' is optional when using a that clause, as in […]
REPORTING ORDERS AND REQUESTS When we want to report an order or request, we can use a verb like 'tell' with a to-clause: He told me to go away. The pattern is verb + indirect object + to-clause. The indirect object is the person spoken to. Other verbs used in reporting orders and requests in this way are: command, […]
In the sentence "James said that he was my neighbour", said is a reporting verb (was is a reported verb). There are other reporting verbs we can use depending on the statement. We can also use the verbs like told, offered and promised. Let's take a look at some examples.
Graded quantifiers allow us to compare the quantity of one thing with the quantity of another, without specifying an exact quantity for either element. Graded quantifiers preceed nouns. Different quantifiers are needed for countable and uncountable nouns. Sometimes the noun can be omitted when it is understood from the context.
Some and any are used with countable and uncountable nouns, to describe an indefinite or incomplete quantity. Some is used in positive statements: I had some rice for lunch. He's got some books from the library. It is also used in questions where we are sure about the answer: Did he give you some tea? (= I'm sure he did.)
Expressing Opinions About Quantity: the quantifiers few and a few, and little and a little seem nearly identical but they are actually quite distinct. These expressions show the speaker's attitude towards the quantity he is referring to as either positive or negative.
To answer the questions How much? and How many? certain quantifiers can be used with countable nouns (friends, cups, people), others with uncountable nouns (sugar, tea, money) and still others with all types of nouns. Only with uncountable nouns With all types of nouns Only with countable nouns a little no, none, not any a few a bit of […]
The cardinal numbers (one, two, three, etc.) are adjectives referring to quantity, and the ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc.) refer to distribution. In this lesson you learn all about numbers in English. Number Cardinal Ordinal 1 one first 2 two second 3 three third 4 four fourth 5 five fifth 6 six sixth 7 seven […]
Quantifiers are adjectives and also adjectival phrases that make up important part of English grammar. They convey the notion of quantity (hence the word “quantifiers”) without mentioning the exact number. The main difficulty arises due to the need of selecting different quantifiers for countable and uncountable nouns, ...
There is no article: with names of countries (if singular) Germany is an important economic power. He's just returned from Zimbabwe. (But: I'm visiting the United States next week.) with the names of languages French is spoken in Tahiti. English uses many words of Latin origin. Indonesian is a relatively new language. with the names […]
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