Quantifiers

Quantifiers 量词 tell us about the amount of something.
Some of them express a small or large quantity数量
Small: I have a few things to do before finishing work.
Large: I have many things to do before finishing work.

Some of them express part of or all of a quantity:
Part: It rains most of the days.
All: It rains all the time

Quantifiers can be simple:
-  all, another, any, both, each, either, enough, every, few, fewer, little, less, many, more, much, neither, no, several, some
And complex:
- a few, a little, a lot of, lots of

Where do we put quantifiers?
At the beginning of a noun phrase名词短语

quantifier + noun
some people
both of us
every man

quantifier + adjective + noun
many old books
few young ladies
lots of beautiful girls

quantifier + adverb + adjective + noun
a lot of very crazy drivers
few very smart man

Sometimes we don’t need a noun:
These books are old but some are still in good condition. (Some means here some books)

Sometimes quantifiers can make a sentence more formal or more informal.

Many people were invited to the wedding. (formal)
A lot of people arrived late. (informal/natural)

They made little progress. (formal)
They didn’t make much progress. (informal/natural)

What does it mean?

What does it mean?

  1. Vocabulary…yes, nobody really wants to learn vocabulary, but it’s essential. To learn how to learn vocabulary you can go to one of our previous lessons.
  2. When you are talking to someone and you don’t understand what do you say?
    A. I’m sorry, what does……mean?
    B. Sorry, I didn’t get you.
    C. Pardon?
    D. Could you say that one more time?
    All of those answers are correct! The fastest and easiest to remember is Pardon? Which is French for Sorry?
  3. In this class we’ve learned many new vocabulary items:
    - locality地方
    - rainfall雨量
    - humidity湿度
    - identify鉴定
    - shipment装船
    - crush粉碎
    - reference参考
    - ethical合乎道德的

A very good way to learn vocabulary and to understand a new vocabulary item is to ask for an example, like here:
- This is a very luxurious豪华car.
- I’m sorry, what does luxurious mean?
- Very expensive, costing a lot of money.
- Can you give me an example?
- A Cadillac is a luxurious car.
- Thank you!
You can also use phrases such as:
- For example- 例如
- For instance- 举例
- A good example is
- Another way to say it is- 另一种说法是
- Another way to put it- 另一种方式把它
- In other words- 换句话说

Shopping #2

  1. Talking about size (S/M/L/XL) and models.
  2. We’ve learned new vocabulary:
    Ma’am – Madame -夫人
    evening dress -晚礼服
    Particular -特别是
    Purse -钱包
    Bright -  光明
    To try on -试穿
    Fitting room-试衣间
    Cashier -出纳
    pure -纯
    wool -羊毛
    Skirt -裙子
  3. Our task was to ask for a sweater of pure wool to go with a skirt. Size M.We can do this like this:
    - Hi, how can I help you?
    - Hello. I would like to buy a sweater of pure wool to go with this skirt. I want size M.
  4. We’ve also learned 4R
    Replacement -更换
    Refund -退
    Repair -修复
    Receipt -收据
  5. What do we say when we want to return something?
    - I would like to return (something).
    - I would like to get a replacement.
    - I would like to get a refund.
    - I would like to have it repaired.
    - Here is the receipt.
  6. We’ve also practiced:

-          Asking for medicine over the phone.
- Hello, I would like to buy…Can you deliver it to my home?

-          Asking for directions in a shop.
- Excuse me, I would like to buy…where is it?

  1. Homework:
    Task 2.2. DIY 2
    Task 3 DIY1

Next week bring new books

Shopping #1

  1. In TASK 1 on page 116 we learned how to ask about general shop information.
    - I would like to know (find out) when is your shop open on Sunday morning.
    - I would like to know (find out) when is your shop closed on Thursday evening.
  2. We also learned some new vocabulary
    coupon优惠券
    vase花瓶
    pottery陶器
    porcelain瓷
    mall购物中心
    store店
  3. This is very useful, because it helps us to find out information about a shop. You can call a shop and ask about opening and closing time, ask about merchandise I would like to know if you sell…, ask where is the shop I would like to know how to get to your shop, or about anything else.
    Now you can practice with friend making a phone call and asking about different things, such as: location, opening hours and more!
  4. In TASK 2 on page 118 we learned how to ask about things in shop.
    - I would like to know where can I find (something).
    - I would like to buy (something). Can you recommend something?
  5. We also learned some new vocabulary
    dandruff头皮
    drugstore药店
    recommend推荐
  6. This is very useful, because it helps us to find out about the shop. We can ask someone to learn where something is located in a shop I would like to know where can I find…, ask for recommendation What would you recommend…, for price How much is it, or other things.
    Now you can practice with friend talking in a shop and asking about different things, such as: price and location of things in the shop.
  7. Homework: Task 1 Do it yourself 2 and Task 2 Do it yourself 2.
    My qq – 247 64 63 887
    My weixin – citizenfish

DO and MAKE

 Do and make can be very confusing 扑朔迷离, today we’re going to learn what is the difference between them.

We use DO to:

- Talk about work, job or task 工作. This work does not produce a physical object物理对
- Have you done your homework?
- I should do the housework.
- I don’t like to do this job.

- To refer to a general activity一般活动, look out for word like thing, something, nothing, anything, everything and so on.
- I’ve got things to do.
- Do something.
- Don’t do anything! Be concrete!

-  Sometimes to replace a verb when the meaning is obvious明显
- Who did your hair? (did – brush/comb刷子/梳子)
- Do the dishes! (do – wash)
- I’ll do the lawn草坪, but you do the kitchen. (do the lawn – mow修剪the lawn, do the kitchen – clean the kitchen)

We use MAKE to:

- Refer to producing, creating, building something.
This wedding ring is made from gold.
Wine should be made from grapes.
Best watches are made in Switzerland

- Refer to action or reaction.
You made me happy.
This food made me vomit

- To talk about plans and decisions.
Make a choice.
Make arrangements.

- To talk about speaking and certain sounds.
Make a comment.
Don’t make a noise.
Make a speech.

To talk about food and drink.
Make tea.
Make cake.
Make dinner.

Test #1

This week we had an oral test. You had to answer questions such as:

  1. You want to reserve table for Friday afternoon for 5 people in restaurant ABC in non-smoking section.

You want to reserve table for Wednesday lunch for 2 people in restaurant DEF in smoking section.

  1. You want to order chicken and a glass of Great Wall, your friend wants to order pork and water.

You want to order soup and a glass of orange juice, your friend wants to order vegetable salad and a glass of Great Wall.

  1. You want to share a bill with two friends.

You want to pay for your friends.

  1. You want to order hamburger, vegetable salad, small coke and a chocolate bar.

You want to order cheeseburger, big fries, big coke and a milkshake.

To remind yourself how to solve those problems you can move to previous classes, or read on.
- I would like to RESERVE a table for…
- I would like to ORDER…
- I would like to SHARE THE BILL/SPLIT THE BILL
- I would like to ORDER…
Can you spot something similar? Something that appears in every sentence?
Yes! It’s: I would like to.
This is a very useful phrase in the English language, last term we used it to say for example:
- I would like to invite you to…
- I would like to congratulate you…
- Would you like to go…?
We are going to practice using this sentence much more in the future and next week prepare yourself for talking about shopping!

How to practice listening?

This is not an easy question to answer. Many of you have great reading and writing abilities, but listening is…well, it is difficult.
English is of course very different than Chinese, it doesn’t only use other vocabulary, but also has a different melody. Plus there are so many different English dialects that it’s not very easy to understand them all.
Fortunately there are many ways to practice your listening skills. Some of them are nice, easy and enjoyable, some of them are not so easy but very helpful.
Here’s a list of my favourite methods:

  1. Listen to songs.
    Yes, you’ve read correctly. Listen to songs in English and try to write down the lyrics 歌词, then compare them with official lyrics.
    It’s just like dictation from teacher, but with things you enjoy.
  2. Watch movies.
    It’s very convenient to watch a movie and read subtitles in English and Chinese. You learn both the vocabulary and the pronunciation. And you develop your passive understanding of English.
  3. Do dictations.
    Remember the things you hate to do during class? When a teacher plays you recording and asks to write what you’ve heard? It’s actually very good for you. And you can do it at home too! You can do it with songs, or find a topic that you enjoy and download a podcast about it.
  4. Books.
    But don’t read them. Use audiobooks and listen to something you enjoy. Start with easy topics and then move on. You can check if you understood a word by checking the transcript抄本
  5. Do not worry.
    This is very important. In developing listening skills it’s not important to get every single word, it’s important to get the message. If you can understand the general idea大意 then it’s enough.
  6. Use different sources.
    Many people speak English in many different ways. Do not use only one singer, one movie or a TV show. Exchange them often and try something new so you can develop yourself.

Read out loud.
Whenever you can read to yourself. It will help you get used to English. Even if you make a mistake, you’re trying to improve your listening.

College – Dinning out part two

Dinning out #2

  1. How do we reserve a table in a restaurant? Reserve/book
  2. How do we order food in a restaurant?
  3. Look at this dialogue:
    - Do you want a separatebill/check帐单 ?
    - Yes we do.
    - No, I’ll pay.
    Two people in a restaurant eat together一起and have two bills – separate bills.
  4. Look at this dialogue:
    - Hello, may I take your order?
    - I would like a cheeseburger乳酪汉堡.
    - Anything else?
    - Vegetable salad.
    - May I offer you fries with that?
    - Yes, small fries and big coke. How much is it?
    - Just a second. It’s $10.50
    - Here you go.
    - And here’s your change.
  5. Useful vocabulary:
    vanilla -香草
    milkshake -
    奶昔
    cheese -
    奶酪
    sardine –
    沙丁鱼
    herbal tea –
    草本茶
    Fries = French fries = chips
  6. Write following dialogues:
    - You want a separate bill for 3 people
    - You want to share a bill with a friend
    - You want to order hamburger, big coke, milkshake and chocolate bar
    - You want to order a sardine sandwich, small coke, herbal tea and fries
  7. NEXT WEEK WE ARE HAVING A TEST FROM LAST TWO CLASSES
  8. You can contact me here:
    weixin – citizenfish
    QQ – 247 64 63 887

 

 

College – Dinning out

  1. What kind of food do you prefer? Home cooking or restaurant? Why?
    I prefer home cooking because I can add more spices that I like. I like to cook by myself and treat my friends. Another thing is that it’s cheaper and I can choose the ingredients. I’m always sure that the food is fresh and clean
  2. Vocabulary
    Recommend – 推荐
    What can you recommend to eat?
    Wine – 葡萄酒
    I don’t like drinking wine!
    Roast beef – 烤牛肉
    They have great roast beef in this restaurant.
    Steamed –
    Cooked -
    Fried -
    Crab -
    Crabs live in the ocean
  3. How often do you eat in a restaurant?
    Do you invite friends to a restaurant?
  4. Prepare the following dialogue:
    - Book a table in a restaurant for an evening dinner for two
    Example:
    - Good evening, this is John and Jane, how can I help you?
    - Hello, I would like to reserve a table for Friday evening.
    - Certainly. For how many people should we prepare?
    - Two people.
    - Let me check this, two people for Friday evening, is this correct?
    - Yes it is.
    - May I have your name and phone number?
    - Jeff Chen 1339287613.
    - Thank you mister Chen and see you on Friday.
    - Goodbye.
    Another example is in your book on page 108.
  5. Prepare the following dialogue:
    - Order a bottle of wine and a rare roast beef
    Example:
    - Good evening, may I take your order?
    - Certainly, I would like to order a glass of water.
    - Glass of water. And something to eat?
    - Yes, chicken breast with garlic sauce.
    - Anything for desert?
    - Strawberry ice-cream.
    - Let me check if I got it right: glass of water, chicken breast with garlic and strawberry ice-cream, yes?
    - Exactly.
    - Your order will be ready soon.
    - Thank you
    Another example is in your book on page 110
  6. Home work:
    Task 1 – DIY 2
    Task 2 – DIY 1 & 2

College – Holiday Season

  1. Discussion:
    What would you do if you got 1000 RMB?
    If I got 1000 RMB I would:
    - buy delicious food
    - invite my friends to a big dinner
    - give the money to the poor穷人
    - travel
    Why?
    - because I love delicious food, especially Kung Pao chicken宫保鸡
    - because my friends are very important to me
    - because poor people need money more than me
    - because it can broaden my horizons大开眼界
  2. Discussion:
    How did you spend your Spring Festival?
    During Spring Festival I:
    - went shopping
    - watched TV
    - traveled
    - ate big family dinner
    - watched fireworks烟花
    -
    set off firecrackers鞭炮
    - hang red couplets/scrolls春联
    Why?
    - because I’ve got lucky money紅包and I wanted to buy new clothes
    - because I wanted to relax and watch New Year’s TV gala 节日
    - because I had time and wanted to see new places
    - because Spring Festival is reunion time
    - because it’s very romantic and I don’t see them very often
  3. Discussion:
    Do you prefer active or relaxing holidays?
    I prefer active holidays because I can go hiking and see beautiful landscapes风景, when I travel I can meet many interesting people who have a lot experience经验and can tell me a lot about the world and what did they see.I prefer relaxing holidays because after long and hard term学期 I finally have enough time to enjoy my free time. I’m very tired and I think I deserve值得 to spend my time in front of the TV watching TV programs that I really find interesting.
  4. Homework:
    What kind of food do you prefer:
    - home cooking
    - restaurant
    Why?
  5. Next week we’re going to use old books -.
  6. Additional另外homework:
    - What can you do with 1000 RMB to make as many people happy as possible?
    - What is your favourite dish? Try to describe it.
    - What Spring Festival tradition is your favourite and which one you don’t like?
    - What else can broaden our horizon?
  7. You can send me homework at my QQ – 2476463887, or weixin – citizenfish