Quantity
How many or how much is there?
Significado
Quantity tells us how many things there are or how much of something there is. It can give an exact number, a rough amount, or a measured portion. Languages use number words, amount words, or measuring phrases, even if they have no special endings for quantity. Unlike One or more, Quantity can give a number or an amount rather than just distinguish one from several.
Como identificar
Look for a number, an amount word, or a measuring phrase that answers how many or how much.
Na tua língua materna
Quantity is expressed with numbers, amount words such as muito and pouco, and measured portions. In standard Portuguese, nouns are plural after numbers greater than one, and amount words normally match the noun in gender and number. A unit or container is linked to its contents with de, as in duas xícaras de farinha.
Comprei três tomates.
Tem pouca água na garrafa.
Pouca matches the feminine noun água and is followed directly by it.
A receita leva duas xícaras de farinha.
De links the counted cups to the ingredient being measured.
Na tua língua de aprendizagem
English uses numbers and amount words such as some, many, and much. Many goes with plural countable nouns, which name things counted one by one, while much goes with uncountable nouns, such as milk, which are not normally counted that way. Units and containers let speakers count portions of an uncountable noun, as in two bags of rice.
We need six chairs.
The number gives an exact quantity, and chairs is plural.
There isn't much milk left.
Much is used with the uncountable noun milk.
I bought two bags of rice.
The bags are counted, while rice stays unchanged.
Learners whose language keeps nouns singular after numbers may leave out the plural ending in English. Learners whose language does not make the same distinction between countable and uncountable nouns may confuse many and much.