Things we can count and things we can't count
Ex. Cars (Les Voitures) and Traffic (Circulation)
We can use them to mean the same thing but
cars we can count - How many cars are there?
and traffic we can't count - How much traffic is there?
Things we can count can be singular or plural
There is one car. There are two cars.
Things we can't count can only be singular
There is traffic.
When we talk about things we can count we use many
There aren't many cars on the road today.
There are too many cars on the road today.
When we talk about things we can't count we use much
There isn't much traffic today.
There is too much traffic today.
In both situations we can use a lot of
There are a lot of cars on the road today.
There is a lot of traffic on the road today.
A Few. A Little.
There are a few cars on the road today.
There is a little traffic on the road today.
Recap.
| Countables | Uncountables | |
| How many cars were there today? | How much traffic was there today? | |
| There were too many cars. | There was too much traffic. | |
| There were a lot of cars. | There was a lot of traffic. | |
| There weren't any cars. | There wasn't a lot of traffic. | |
| There were a few cars. | There was a little traffic. |
Note: to give a quantity to an uncountable noun we must use a quantifier.
For example : Traffic is counted in cars on the road or people on the internet.
Another example : There is some wine.
There is one glass of wine. There are two glasses of wine.
There is one bottle of wine. There are two bottles of wine.
Glasses and bottles can be counted. Wine can not.
Now you try
"You're late!"
"Yes. There 1____________ 2____________ cars today."
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