🎯 Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

📚 Grammar Explanation

To talk about the amount or quantity of something, we use quantifiers. The quantifier you use depends on two things:

Here is a simple guide:

Quantifier Use with Nouns... Use in Sentences... Example
some Countable & Uncountable Positive (+) We have some new clients. / I need some help.
any Countable & Uncountable Negative (-) & Questions (?) We don't have any problems. / Do you have any questions?
many Countable Negative (-) & Questions (?) There aren't many empty desks. / How many people are coming?
much Uncountable Negative (-) & Questions (?) We don't have much time. / How much money is in the budget?
a lot of Countable & Uncountable Positive (+) He makes a lot of phone calls. / She has a lot of experience.
🔑 Key Learning Tip: For positive sentences, some and a lot of are your best friends. For negative sentences and questions, think any, much, or many.

💼 Professional Contexts

🏢 Context Card 1: Quantifiers in Professional Context
Meetings: "Do we have any feedback from the team?" / "There are a lot of points on the agenda today."
Projects: "We don't have much budget left for marketing." / "We need some more time to finish the project."
Schedules: "I don't have many free appointments this week." / "We have a lot of meetings on Friday."
Workload: "She has a lot of work to do." / "I don't have much energy today."
🤝 Context Card 2: Quantifiers in Daily Business
Communication: "Did you get many emails about the update?" / "There is some news from head office."
Office Supplies: "There isn't any paper in the printer." / "Can you order some new pens?"
Reporting: "The report has a lot of useful data." / "There isn't much progress to report this week."
Team Management: "How many people are on your team?" / "We have some new team members starting Monday."

🎧 Listening Exercise

0:00 / 1:55

Listening Questions

1. Why does David say "there isn't much sugar"?
2. What is David's biggest problem?
3. Complete the sentence from the audio: "We have some new monitors, which is great. But I don't see ________ keyboards or mice."

🧠 Interactive Quiz

Choose the correct quantifier for each sentence.
1. How ___ new emails do you have this morning?
2. I'm sorry, I don't have ___ advice for you right now.
3. The sales team achieved ___ success with the new strategy.

📧 Exercise A: Multiple Choice Cloze

Read the email below. For each blank, choose the correct quantifier.
Email:

Hi Team,

Just a quick update on the preparations for the client visit next week.

We have ordered (1)___ food for the lunch meeting, so everyone will be happy. We don't have (2)___ time to prepare the presentation, so please focus on that today. Sarah asked how (3)___ people are attending. The answer is ten, so please make sure there are enough chairs.

Also, I don't see (4)___ new whiteboard markers in the cupboard. Can someone please check?

Thanks,
Maria
1. We have ordered ___ food for the lunch meeting
2. We don't have ___ time to prepare the presentation
3. Sarah asked how ___ people are attending
4. I don't see ___ new whiteboard markers in the cupboard

✅ Exercise B: True/False Grammar Check

Read the sentences below. Are they grammatically correct? Choose True or False.
1. How much tickets did you sell for the event?
2. There is some information we need to discuss.
3. I don't have many experience in project management.
4. Are there some updates from the marketing team?

📋 Exercise C: Fill the Table

You are checking office supplies with a colleague. Complete your part of the dialogue using some, any, much, or many.
Item Colleague's Question Your Answer
Coffee Do we have any coffee? Yes, we have .
Laptops How new laptops are there? There aren't . Just one.
Time Do we have time to talk? No, sorry. I don't have time right now.
Pens We need pens. I don't think we have left.

🗣️ Speaking Practice - Preparation for Class

⚠️ Preparation for Class Only
These tasks are for practice with your teacher. Prepare this topic for your next class.
Task 1: Checking Office Resources (Controlled Practice)
1 minute

Instructions: You are a new employee. Ask your colleague (the teacher) if the office has certain items. Use the structure "Do we have any...?" Your teacher will respond.

Preparation Tips: Think of 5 office items (e.g., printers, paper, coffee, comfortable chairs, fast internet). Prepare your questions.

Example Student Question: "Do we have any good coffee?"

Example Teacher Response: "Yes, we have some great coffee from a local shop." or "No, we don't have any coffee at all. We only drink tea!"

📝 Prepare this topic for your next class

Task 2: Planning a Team Lunch (Guided Practice)
2 minutes

Instructions: You and your colleague (the teacher) are planning a small team lunch. You need to decide what to buy. Discuss how much or how many things you need.

Ask about:

  • Food: pizza, salad, sandwiches
  • Drinks: water, juice, soda
  • Supplies: plates, napkins

Example Framework:

  • "How much pizza should we order?"
  • "We don't need many sandwiches, just a few."
  • "Do we have any water in the fridge?"

📝 Prepare this topic for your next class

Task 3: Project Update Meeting (Free Practice)
2 minutes

Instructions: Imagine you are giving your manager (the teacher) an update on your project. Talk about your progress, resources, and any problems. Use quantifiers naturally.

Preparation Tips: Prepare to talk about:

  • Time: How much time is left? Do you need more?
  • Budget: How much money have you spent?
  • People: Do you have enough people helping?
  • Problems: Are there any big problems?

Example Student Response: "The project is going well, but we don't have much time left. We have spent a lot of the budget, but we still have some money for the final stage. We don't have any major problems, but I have some questions about the next steps."

📝 Prepare this topic for your next class

👨‍🏫Ready for Class - Teacher Notes

Lesson Summary

This lesson focuses on quantifiers (some, any, much, many, a lot of) and their correct usage with countable and uncountable nouns in positive, negative, and question forms. Students learn to discuss quantities and amounts in professional business contexts.

Key Challenges for Students

  • Countable vs. Uncountable: Students often confuse which nouns can be counted
  • Much in Positive Sentences: Using "much" incorrectly in positive statements
  • Some vs. Any: Confusion about when to use each in different sentence types
  • Many vs. Much: Choosing the wrong quantifier for the noun type

Speaking Practice Guidance

Task 1: Focus on question formation with "any." Respond with "some" or "a lot of" in positive answers, "any" in negative answers.

Task 2: Guide students to use different quantifiers naturally. Ask follow-up questions to elicit more quantifier usage.

Task 3: Act as an engaged manager. Ask specific questions about quantities to encourage quantifier use: "How many people are working on this?" "How much budget do you have left?"

Common Student Errors to Watch For

  • "We have much coffee" (should be "a lot of coffee" or "some coffee")
  • "I need any help" (should be "some help" in positive sentences)
  • "How much people are coming?" (should be "many people" - countable noun)
  • "We don't have many time" (should be "much time" - uncountable noun)

Additional Teaching Tips

  • Use real office items to practice countable/uncountable distinction
  • Create scenarios where students must ask about office supplies using quantifiers
  • Practice the common business expressions from the context cards
  • Emphasize the difference between formal and informal quantifier usage