Countable & Uncountable — a / some / any / much / many (Food)

A2 — grammar, vocabulary, listening, reading, writing

Sofía: Let's cook! There's some cheese and there are some tomatoes in the fridge.

Ben: Bad news... there isn't any milk. And there aren't any eggs.

Kenji: Is there any rice left? I can make onigiri!

Abuela Carmen: Would you like some coffee while you decide? There's a lot of coffee in this house!

Common mistake: “We don't have some eggs.” — Correct: “We don't have any eggs.”

A/an, some and any talk about quantity without counting exactly — a/an for one countable thing, some for affirmatives and offers, any for negatives and questions.

• 🥛 milk — uncountable dairy liquid
• 🥚 eggs — countable food items
• 🧀 cheese — uncountable dairy food
• 🍎 apples — countable sweet fruit
• 🍞 bread — uncountable baked staple
• 🧈 butter — uncountable dairy spread
• 🍚 rice — uncountable grain food
• 💧 water — uncountable essential drink
• 🧅 onions — countable savory bulbs
• 🍅 tomatoes — countable juicy red fruit
• 🍌 bananas — countable curved yellow fruit
• 🥕 carrots — countable orange root vegetable

• There is some cheese in the fridge.
• I need some sugar for the cake.
• I have some friends in Cartagena.
• There is a lot of rice in the cupboard.
• There isn't any milk left in the carton.
• We don't have any eggs.
• There isn't much bread for breakfast.
• There aren't many apples in the basket.
• Is there any space left in the fridge?
• Are there any apples in the fridge?
• How much butter do we need?
• Would you like some coffee?
• Is there any milk left? No, there isn't.
• Are there any onions? Yes, there are.
• Would you like some coffee? Yes, please!

Practice

1. I need ___ sugar for the cake. (some, any, a)
2. We don't have ___ eggs. (any, some, much)
3. She is ___ doctor — I don't know her name. (a, the, an)
4. When Abuela Carmen was young, there weren't ___ supermarkets in her town. (any, some, much)
5. 'Milk' is uncountable, so we ask 'How much milk?', not 'How many milk?'.
6. We use 'some' in negative sentences.
7. Is there ___ milk left in the carton?
8. Don't worry, there is ___ cheese in the fridge.
9. How ___ apples are there in the basket?
10. Unscramble: is, there, any, space, left, in, the, fridge
11. Unscramble: would, you, like, some, coffee
12. Find the mistake: We don't have some eggs.
13. Find the mistake: There isn't many milk in the fridge.
14. Find the mistake: There is a onion in the salad.
15. There is some juice in the fridge. — Write the negative form.
16. There are some tomatoes in the salad. — Write the yes/no question.
17. Is there any rice left? — Answer with a short answer (Yes).
18. There is a lot of bread. — Write the negative form (use 'much').
19. There aren't any bananas. — Write the affirmative form (use 'some').
20. Are there any apples in your fridge? (short answer)
21. Is there any milk left? (short answer, No)

Listening

Sofía: What's in the fridge? We need to make dinner.

Ben: There's some cheese and there are some tomatoes. But there isn't any milk.

Kenji: Are there any eggs?

Ben: No, there aren't. And there isn't much rice either.

Sofía: OK — eggs, milk and rice. Anything else?

Abuela Carmen: Would you like some coffee before you go? There's a lot of coffee in this house!

Reading

Every Saturday, Abuela Carmen visits the market. She doesn't buy much: some fruit, some cheese, and a little bread. 'When I was a girl, there weren't any supermarkets,' she says. 'There was a market in the plaza, and there was a lot of noise! We didn't have much money, but there was always some food on the table.' Today there are three supermarkets in her neighborhood, but she still prefers the market. 'The supermarket tomatoes don't have any flavor,' she says. 'And at the market, my friend Rosa always gives me an extra apple.'

• Abuela Carmen buys a lot of things at the market.
• When she was a girl, there weren't any supermarkets.
• Her family had a lot of money.
• Rosa always gives her an extra apple.