BASIC 3

L E S S O N 3
2

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS AND EXPRESSIONS

:: USE AND STRUCTURE

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns

Singular and plural No plural

Modified by numerals Substances, liquids, grains/powders, feelings...
Fruits, people, computers... Bread, money, time, medicine, love...

“An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” We need oxygen and water to survive.
How many apples? One apple = countable How much oxygen? Uncountable
How many days? One day = countable How much water? Uncountable

• Quantifiers

You use a
quantifier when...

You don't know You know if it’s a You know if it’s

the exact quantity. large or small quantity. sufficient or not.

Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns

A lot of A lot of → Very large quantity

Many Much → Large quantity
A few A little → Small but sufficient quantity
Few Little → Small and insufficient quantity

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Sentence Structure

There + To Be + Quantifier + Noun + Complement →

There are many people on the street. There is a little orange juice in the fridge.

Subject + Verb + Quantifier + Noun + Complement →

We need to drink a few glasses of water every day. Bill Gates has a lot of money.

:: STAY ALERT

Much is normally used with the negative form:

There is not much work to do today. (There’s little work to do today.)

Uncountable nouns can be counted with countable elements:

Water → Uncountable Glasses of water / Bottles of water → Countable

Bread → Uncountable Loaves of bread / Slices of bread / Buns → Countable
Money → Uncountable Dollars → Countable
Time → Uncountable Hours → Countable

Time (as in hours, minutes, seconds) → Uncountable vs. Times (as in frequency) → Countable

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:: EXAMPLES IN CONTEXT

Family Dinner
Carly – Oh my God! That is too much food!
Gail – It’s not, you’ll see. There are many people
to eat, too.
Carly – Well, that is true, but I’m on a diet, so
I’ll only eat a little of the chicken.
Gail – You say that all the time, but you can never
resist having dessert.
Carly – Dessert? Is there dessert?
Gail – Of course there is dessert. There is
chocolate pie, cherry crumble, lemon curd...
Carly – Good thing I lost a few pounds already!

:: COMMON MISTAKES

IN C O R R E C T CORRECT
I think I exaggerated and ate much food. I think I exaggerated and ate a lot of food.
Tony needs a loan because he has a little money. Tony needs a loan because he has little money.
Traffic jams happen because of too much cars. Traffic jams happen because of too many cars.

OBJECT PRONOUNS
:: USE AND STRUCTURE

Object Pronouns → After a verb, as the object of a sentence.

→ Refers to something that was previously mentioned or that is clear in context.

Liam gave Cindy flowers. She loved them! (the flowers)

Subject Pronouns Verb Object Pronouns

Sentence Structure Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns

Subject + Verb + Complement (Object Pronouns) I Me

→ Jake likes me. You You
Imperative + Complement (Object Pronouns) He Him
→ Talk to us. She Her
It It
We Us
You You
They Them

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:: EXAMPLES IN CONTEXT

At Work
Secretary – Mr. Atkins, Janet is here.
Mr. Atkins – Please, tell her to wait a little. (Her = Janet)
Secretary – OK, sir. Call me when I can tell her to come
in. (Me = I / Her = Janet)
Mr. Atkins – I will do it. (It = call the secretary)

:: COMMON MISTAKES

INCORRECT CORRECT
Mary’s mom wants to talk to she. Mary’s mom wants to talk to her.
Me don’t work on Sundays. I don’t work on Sundays.
You and me need to talk. You and I need to talk.

SHOPPING
:: USE AND STRUCTURE

Do you like to go shopping? If so, what do you like to buy?

You can shop for:

C L OT H ES SHOE S

G ROC ERI ES E LE CTRONICS

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Here are some typical steps while shopping:

• Approaching and Greeting

Salesperson → Hello.
Welcome!
How can/may I help you?
Can/May I help you?

Customer → Hi.
Yes, please.
No, thanks, I’m just browsing.

• Asking for or Offering a Product

Salesperson → Are you looking for something specific?

Would you like to try this on?

Customer → I’d like to try those shoes on.

Can/May I see that (product)?

• Asking for Details

Salesperson → What’s your size?

Customer → Do you have it in (color)?

Do you have it in (size)?
Do you have it in size (number)?

• Asking about Price and Payment

Salesperson → Cash or credit? / Debit or credit?

Customer → How much is it? / How much are they?

How much does it cost? / How much do they cost?
Do you take all credit cards?
Do you take debit cards?

• Reacting to Prices (customer only)

High Prices → Oh my, that’s expensive!

That’s a pretty penny!
That’s more than I can afford…

Low Prices → That’s a bargain!

That’s cheap!
That’s not half bad…

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:: STAY ALERT

VS.

C OI N S BILLS

U.S. Currency

P E NNY = 1 C EN T NI CK EL = 5 CE NTS

D I M E = 1 0 C EN TS QUA R T ER = 25 CE NTS

ten dollars → neutral

ten bucks → informal (slang)

:: EXAMPLES IN CONTEXT

Shopping at a Fancy Store

Salesperson – Excuse me. May I help you, ma’am?
Carla – Sure. I love this blue dress…Do you
have it in size 12?
Salesperson – Yes, we do. Would you like to try it on?
Carla – Maybe…How much does it cost?
Salesperson – Eighty-five hundred dollars.
Carla – Oh my, that’s expensive! Sorry, I’ll find
something else…
Salesperson – No problem, ma’am. Call me if you
need any assistance.
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SIMPLE PAST REVIEW

:: USE AND STRUCTURE

Simple Past → completed actions at a specific time in the past

Past Present

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

Regular Verbs Did Not (Didn’t) + Did + Subject +

(–D / –ED / –IED) Bare Infinitive Verb Bare Infinitive Verb

Irregular Verb Did Not (Didn’t) + Did + Subject +

Bare Infinitive Verb Bare Infinitive Verb

To Be (Was/Were) Was Not (Wasn’t) Was/Were + Subject

Were Not (Weren’t)

Regular Verbs—Affirmative Form—Spelling

Drop Add Examples

Verbs ending in –E --- –D love – loved

Verbs ending in –Y –IED spy – spied

consonant + –Y

Other regular verbs --- –ED open – opened

Note that the pronunciation of regular verbs in the past varies according
to the ending sound of the infinitive form.

Verbs ending in voiced sound: pronounce /d/

Verbs ending in voiceless sound: pronounce /t/
Verbs ending in sibilant sounds (e.g., /t/ and /d/): pronounce /ɪd/

Irregular Verbs

Verb To Be

Affirmative Negative Interrogative

I, He, She, It was was not (wasn’t) Was I, he, she, it...?
You, We, They were were not (weren’t) Were you, we, they...?

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• Verb to be is an irregular verb with its own conjugation: I, He, She, It was / You, We, They were.

• Verb to be doesn’t take the auxiliary verb did to form the negative and interrogative forms:
I was You were
I was not (wasn’t) You were not (weren’t)
Was I…? Were you…?

Other Verbs
Check the list of irregular verbs in the past at the end of this Language Guide.

have – had think – thought go – went

take – took bring – brought come – came
do – did see – saw put – put
buy – bought spend – spent drive – drove

:: EXAMPLES IN CONTEXT

On Vacation
Carl – I’m having trouble to decide where to go
on my next vacation…
Cindy – Well, last year, I went to Prague and I
totally recommend it!
Carl – Really? What did you do there?
Cindy – I walked the city to learn about its history,
went to the Prague Castle complex…
Carl – Oh, what was the castle like?
Cindy – It’s hard to explain, but I think you’ll love it!
Carl – OK, I’ll take a look at it. Thanks, Cindy.

Did you meet Alan yesterday? Yes, I did. / Yes, I met him yesterday.

Did you have lunch with Sammy last night? No, I didn’t. / No, I didn’t have lunch with Sammy last night.

:: COMMON MISTAKES

INCORRECT CORRECT
Did you went to Paris last year? Did you go to Paris last year?
Paul bringed me a present for my birthday. Paul brought me a present for my birthday.
Did you were home last night? Were you home last night?

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