General English Level 6 Version 2.1 © 2004 acl Pty Ltd GELEV6 Unit 01 Topic 03.doc Examples 1. Some people love to cook. 2. We need some coffee and bread. 3 Would you like some milk? 4. Can I have some help? Alex says: Do I need any oil? Alex asks Zahra about oil, "Do I need any oil?" He doesn't know the answer. We use any before uncountable and plural countable nouns to talk about a quantity of things or people that might or might not exist (e.g. there might be oil in the recipe, or there might not be). We use any in negative statements and questions. Examples Is there any rice? We don't have any biscuits. Have you got any problems? 2. Much, many and a lot of Alex says: Right. How much salt do I use? Alex wants to know what quantity of salt to use. Salt is an uncountable noun. He asks, "How much salt do I use?" We use much in questions and negative statements about uncountable nouns. Examples Do you have much time? How much milk do you want? I don't have much money. Alex says: I love cooking but I don't know very many recipes. Alex talks about the quantity of recipes he knows. Recipes is a countable noun. He says, "I don't know many recipes." We use many in questions and negative statements about plural countable nouns. We also use many in positive statements. Examples 1. I don't have many friends. 2. How many potatoes do you need? 3. Were there many people at the party? 4. He's got many houses in Europe. 27