Here are seven more of our mini English lessons – this time on the theme of ‘Quality and Quantity’.

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ONE:

There aren’t ……. flowers in my garden as there were last year.

(a) far or near as many

(b) anywhere near as many

(c) any ones as many

Answer: (b) anywhere near as many

We use ‘not anywhere near’ to express a large negative difference when comparing things.

EXAMPLE: There aren’t anywhere near enough chairs for everyone. A lot of people will have to stand.

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TWO:

Ursula used …… sugar than she needed for the cake.

(a) way more

(b) lots more

(c) a lot more

Answer: all three

These are all very common ways of expressing a bit positive difference when comparing things.

NOTE: all are very commonly used by native-speakers and all are informal, but ‘way more’ is the most informal.

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THREE:

There is …………. for all the cars.

(a) plenty of space

(b) loads of space

(c) far more of space

Answer: both (a) and (b)

‘loads of’ something means a high amount of that thing. (EXAMPLE: There’s loads of toast for breakfast – we’ll never eat it all.)

‘plenty’ means enough plus more.

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FOUR:

The girls had ……………. day at the beach.

(a) a totally awesome

(b) a very awesome

(c) an absolutely awesome

Answer: (a) and (c) are correct

‘awesome’ is an extreme adjective and can’t be graded by ‘very’. It needs an extreme adverb, so ‘a totally awesome’ and ‘an absolutely awesome’ day are possible, but ‘a very awesome’ day is not.

NOTE: some extreme adverbs go together (collocate) with particular extreme adjectives more commonly. EXAMPLE: utterly ridiculous

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FIVE:

That’s ……… the biggest bird I’ve ever seen.

(a) by far

(b) by far and away

(c) by far and close

Answer: both (a) and (b)

‘by far’ is semi-formal to formal

‘by far and away’ is more informal

NOTE: There are lots of ways of qualifying comparative differences, and these are only one way. You might have heard others, and it doesn’t mean they’re wrong.

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SIX:

Adrian has got ……….. of books.

(a) a ton

(b) tons

(c) kilos

Answer: both (a) and (b)

Just like we can use ‘a lot of’ or ‘lots of’, we can use ‘a ton of’ or ‘tons of’. It’s the speaker’s choice.

It is exaggeration to show that the speaker believes that the number of books is extremely high.

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SEVEN:

Penny asked for ……….. in her coffee.

(a) a bit more milk

(b) a sliver more milk

(c) a smidge more milk

Answer: both (a) and (c)

‘a smidge’ denotes a tiny, tiny bit. (EXAMPLE: There’s only a smidge of difference between them – you can hardly tell which is which.)

‘a sliver’ is only for solid things (not liquid things like milk). It’s usually used for things you slice, like cake, bread, and pie.

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