¡Ayuda! ¿Cuándo uso a lot, lots, make, do, raise, rise, etc?

Help! When do I use a lot, lots, make, do, raise, rise?

Cantidades

A lot, a lot of

• You’ve got a lot of money.
• I have a lot of time on my hands.
• We have a lot of different ice cream flavours.
• I’ve done a lot to help you pass your exams.
• Thanks a lot for helping me.

Como usar “a lot of”, “a lot”, y “lots of”.

“a lot of” y “lots of” = many (muchos)

• There are a lot of flowers in your garden. (sustantivo contable)
• There are lots of flowers in your garden. (sustantivo contable)
• There are many flowers in your garden. (sustantivo contable)
• A lot of people like coffee. (sustantivo incontable)
• Lots of people like coffee. (sustantivo incontable)
• Many people like coffee. (sustantivo incontable)

“a lot” = often o frequently

• I play football a lot.
• We go to the cinema a lot.

Much

• How much money have we got left in this year’s budget?
• How much does that cost?
• I haven’t seen much of Dave recently.
• I don’t speak much Swahili.
• There’s so much to do I will be working late.

Usa “Much” sustantivos incontables.

Suele utilizarse en preguntas y afirmaciones negativas.

• How much coffee is left?
• There isn’t much coffee left.

“Much” se utiliza a veces en afirmaciones positivas.

• Much of the detail has already been defined.

“Much” no suele ir seguido inmediatamente de un sustantivo. En su lugar, se utiliza “a lot of” o “lots of”.

Many

• There weren’t many bottles of wine that we liked.
• How many sheep do you have?
• How many children are there in the school?
• Not many people like black pudding.
• Many people detest fox hunting.
• There aren’t many people who can swim the channel.
• There weren’t as many mistakes as I thought there would be.

“Many” se utiliza con sustantivos contables. Se utiliza con frecuencia para preguntas y afirmaciones negativas.

• Did you buy many souvenirs?

“Many” se utiliza a veces en afirmaciones positivas.

• Many people support Manchester United.

“Many” no suele ir seguido inmediatamente de un sustantivo. En su lugar, se utiliza “a lot of” o “lots of”.

A few/few

“A few” o “few” = not many (no muchos)

• There were only a few people at the concert.
• We’ll be back in the black in a few weeks’ time.
• I’ve been to Zurich a few times.
• I’d like to talk to you for a few minutes.
• Very few English men went out in the mid-day sun.
• I spoke to David a few days ago.
• Very few people have been to the moon.
• Few tourists visit this area in the summer.

A little/little

“A little” o “little” = not a lot o small (no muchos o pequeños)

• There is only a little milk left.
• He has little reason to try harder.
• He knows a little geometry.
• We have only a little money left so watch what you spend.
• I need a little more time to finish this.
• They’ve made very little progress.

“A little” = pequeña cantidad de…

• I’d like a little more time to think about this.
• A: “More tea?”

B: “Just a little, please.”

• I have only a little money left.

“Little” se utiliza para resaltar la pequeñez

• There was little he could do about it.

(There was not a lot he could do)

• I have little time.

(I don’t have as much time as I would like.)

“Little” + “very” hace que el énfasis sea aún mayor

• There was very little he could do about it.

(Generally a polite way of saying he couldn’t do anything about it)

• I have very little time.

(Generally a polite way of saying go away I’m extremely busy)

Cómo indicar la cantidad

Both, Neither, Either

Both

“Both” se utiliza para hablar de dos cosas.

“Both” lleva un verbo en plural.

• Both of his children are girls.
• I have two vintage cars. I’m going to have to sell both of them.
• Both London and Madrid are going to bid for the Olympics.
• You ought to try them both.
• Both of you failed your maths exam.
• Both of us failed our maths exam.
• Both of them failed their maths exam.

Neither

“Neither” = not either.

Se refiere a dos elementos.

• I looked at two video recorders but neither of them looked attractive.
• I don’t like this and neither does my wife.
• Neither of them got promoted.
• Neither of these cameras is suitable.

Neither .. nor

• PC Smith questioned the two suspects, but neither suspect A nor suspect B admitted to the burglary.
• Neither Mario nor Andrea lives in Rome.

Neither of…

• Neither of the candidates is suitable.
• I cannot make up my mind, neither of them is ideally what I want
• Maria and Eddie revised for their exams but neither of them passed.

Puedes estar de acuerdo con una afirmación negativa utilizando “Neither do I” or “Nor do I”.

• A: “Frank can’t swim.”
• B: “Neither can I.” Or “Nor can I.”

Either

Utiliza “either” para referirte a dos elementos.

• I was snowed under last week so I couldn’t go to either of my friends’ parties.
  • A: “Would you like beer or wine?”
  • B: “Either. I don’t mind which.”

Usa “either .. or” para indicar una elección.

• We ought to play golf either on Monday or Tuesday.
• I think either you or Margaret should do the presentation.
• Pencil them in for either today or tomorrow.
• Please order me a take away for lunch I’d like either Indian or Thai.

Using “Either of” to refer to two things or people.

• I didn’t get to see either of my brothers today.
• Can either of you fix this?

Agree to a negative statement using “Either”.

• A: “Frank can’t swim.”
• B: “I can’t either.”

Comparación de acuerdos positivos y negativos

Each and Every

Each

• Each design was different.
• The students were each given a manual.
• Each of them is a specific colour.
• We have our team building “away day” each year in June.
• There is a separate form to fill out for each type of query.

Utiliza “Each” con sustantivos contables en singular.

“Each” puede ser usado sin un sustantivo.

• Here are four rare stamps. Each is unique to its country of origin.

Podemos decir

• Each one is unique.
• Each of them is unique.

Every

• I have a full English breakfast every morning.
• Elizabeth usually wins the top sales prize every month.
• Every employee gets reviewed in February.
• The Financial Times is printed every day.

Utiliza “Every” con sustantivos contables en singular.

“Each” se refiere a objetos o personas individuales.

• Each product is checked prior to shipping.

“Every” se refiere a un grupo de artículos o personas.

• Every product that has been shipped has also been checked. (In this context “every” = “all”)

Make or Do?

Make

“Make” se utiliza normalmente para referirse a la producción o creación de algo.

• Have you made any plans for your summer holiday? (Have you done any preparatory work regarding going on holiday?)
• We’re going to make changes to your business proposal. (Something will be changed)
• I’d like to make some suggestions about the plan.
• I’ve made an appointment to see the HR Director.
• I made a phone call from my office.
• They make doll houses in that speciality store.
• I’m sorry. I made a mistake with the estimates.
• Have you made a curriculum plan?
• Therese made a film in Greece.
• One of our students made a list of all the good points of the course.
• The car made a strange noise when we were on the motorway.

Do

“Do” = para hablar del trabajo/lo que te gusta o no/obligaciones

• I was sick yesterday. I couldn’t do my lesson plan.
• Bill, could you do me a favour?
• My father does a lot of work for engineering firms in Japan.
• I do my running in the morning.
• Karen has just done a TEFL training course in Madrid.
• I’ve got a lot of planning to do.
• Contrast this to “Make plans”, making the plans is the result of doing planning.
• Young people seem to hate doing their homework.
• Young people do not like having to perform the activity of homework.

“Do” = para preguntar sobre acciones/actividades actuales o futuras

• We’ve got a big student turnout. I don’t know what to do about it.
  • A: “What are you doing on your birthday?”
  • B: “Well, I’m doing something special with my family.”

Ejemplos de cosas que utilizan “make” y “do”

Rise or raise

Rise

• Bond prices always rise when interest rates fall.
• Profits rose by five per cent last year.
• The sun rises in the east.
• The demand for ADSL lines is rising all the time.
• The cost of petrol has risen since Iraq was invaded.

Raise

• The Government raises petrol tax every year.
• We raised our glasses to the bride and groom.
• I’m sorry I can’t hear you. Could you raise your voice a little?
• The captain told them to raise the flag.
• As nobody raised any objections, we ended the meeting and went to lunch.
• They raised a lot of capital from 3i.

“Raise” debe ir seguido de un objeto.

Cómo utilizar rise y raise

So or Such?

So

• It was very hot so we turned on the air conditioning.
• He looks so handsome. I’m sure he won’t be single for long!
• There is so much work to do.
• The new students are so organised. We are really happy with their course work.

“So … that” es usado para mostrar un resultado.

• The weather was so hot at the weekend that we went to the beach.
• The strawberries were so good that we went out and bought some more.
• The plan was so complicated that I couldn’t understand it.

Such

• It’s such a long time since we saw Sally.
• Such a high-quality product is bound to be expensive.
• He’s such a good boy.

“Such … that” es usado para mostrar un resultado.

• We had such a good holiday in Spain that we have decided to go again next year.
• It is such an old house that we should really consider buying a new one.
• It was such a challenging project that I decided to discuss it with Management.
• It was such a cold day that I decided to put on an extra pullover.
• He was such a hard worker that he finished the assignment two hours early.
• It was such a long way to Paris that we had to stop for a rest in Bordeaux.

Cómo utilizar so y such