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determiner + noun phrase (increasing range)

Here’s a student example of a determiner + uncountable noun: My teacher told me “enjoy the music and you will dance naturally.” PELIC Taiwanese female level 3 writing class A2 point 18 in the category of  NOUNS is defined: form simple noun phrases by pre-modifying nouns with an increasing range of determiners. A2 point 24 in the category of NOUNS: form […]

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not + any | many | much + NOUN

In negative contexts, “much” and “many” denote a small amount or number of uncountable and countable nouns respectively. “Any” implies the absence of something, applicable to both countable and uncountable nouns. For instance, “Not many companies can build planes” implies a small number of such companies. “There’s not much difference between them” suggests a minimal difference. “I don’t have any apples” means zero apples are present.

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too | so + much

We use too before an adjective or adverb to mean ‘more than we need or want’. For example:

This shirt is too big for me.
You are driving too fast.
We use too much or too many before a noun to mean ‘more than we need or want’. For example:

There is too much sugar in this cake. (uncountable noun)
There are too many people in this room. (countable noun)
We use so much or so many before a noun to mean ‘a large amount of something’. For example:

I have so much work to do. (uncountable noun)
She has so many friends. (countable noun)

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a little | bits of | a bit of | a bit of a | a little bit of

‘BIT’ related to quantity is countable = a bit of … bits of … For example: By inserting those genes into yeast, we could produce little bits of that smell and be able to, maybe, smell a little bit of something that‘s lost forever. TED A2 in the English Vocabulary Profile: bit = a small amount or piece of something B1 in the Oxford Learner Dictionary: [countable] bit of something (especially British English) a small

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most | enough | plenty of + NOUN

B1 Point 43 in the category of DETERMINERS is defined as: increasing range of quantifying determiners with both plural nouns and uncountable nouns (‘most’, ‘enough’, ‘plenty of’, ‘loads of’). *This overlaps another B1 point. PELIC WRITING CLASS EXAMPLES: Most students eat lunch and dinner in a cafeteria. Korean, Female, Level 3   In addition, the people who lived in Korea 100 years ago didn’t have enough transportation. Korean, Male, Level 3   *Note that

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WHERE (relative clause)

In the English Grammar Profile, B1 point 78 in the category of CLAUSES is described as: defining relative clauses with ‘where’ to define nouns referring to place. For example: Her laptop computer is on the top of the desk where it is easy for her to reach. PELIC STUDENT: Chinese, Female, Level 3, Writing Class. *One could argue that ‘where’ could refer to a situation and not just a physical place, and

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present simple passive affirmative (range)

Here are two grammar points from the English Grammar Profile. A2 point 3 in the category of PASSIVES: present simple passive affirmative with a singular subject. B1 point 13 in the category of PASSIVES is defined as: PRESENT SIMPLE, AFFIRMATIVE with a range of pronoun and noun subjects. For example: The proposed mission is called the Uranus Orbiter and Probe and would shed some light on the mostly unexplored ice giant.

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some | any | no | more | a lot of | lots of + NOUN phrase

In this post, we give a detailed explanation of the use of certain determiners in English grammar, specifically ‘some’, ‘any’, ‘no’, ‘more’, ‘a lot of’, and ‘lots of’. These determiners are often used with both plural and uncountable nouns to indicate quantity or amount. We also discuss the English Grammar Profile (EGP) and its classification of these determiners at different proficiency levels (A1, A2). We provide examples of usage and notes on the application of these.

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