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Introduction

Do you collect anything? Beth and Neil talk about what they collect and have in their house and our grammar guru Georgie explains the grammar of quantities. Learn to use language like 'absolutely loads of', 'some' and 'only a few'. 

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Grammar explanation

loads of
absolutely loads of/loads and loads of

Use 'loads of' to talk about a very large quantity. Use 'absolutely loads of' and 'loads and loads of' to make the quantity sound even bigger.

Examples:

I can't come out tonight. I have loads of studying to do before tomorrow's physics exam. 
I heard Bob has absolutely loads of teapots. It's the largest collection in the world. 

a lot of
quite a lot of
not a lot of

Use 'lots of' to talk about a large quantity. It isn't as strong as 'loads of'.

Examples:

There are a lot of people coming to the wedding. About 150 guests I think. 
I don't have a lot of money at the moment, but I'm being paid tomorrow, thankfully. 

a few
just a few/only a few

When talking about a small quantity, use 'a few'. To emphasis how small the number is, you can add 'just' or 'only'.

Examples:

There are a few new students joining the class in September - 3 I think. 
I only have a few comments about your essay. Generally, it was very good. 

not many/not that many
not much/not that much

Use 'not many' before countable nouns, and 'not much' before uncountable nouns. You can emphasis the small amount by adding 'that'.

Examples:
There aren't many biscuits left, so hurry to make sure you get one! 
We don't have that much coffee left. Not enough for three cups anyway. Could you buy more, please?

some

'Some' refers to an unspecified amount. 

Examples:
I don't have loads of experience in accounting, but I do have some. 
We have some cheese left, but not enough to put on a whole pizza. 

To do

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