Countables: All the things that can be put in the plural:
| how many — > used for countables |
| How many reais do you have? I have few reais. |
chair –> chairs
box –> boxes
phone –> phones
disk –> disks
knife –> knives
dollar –> dollars
Real –> Reais
Euro –> Euros
| Quantifiers
Their use is relative because it depends on the person’s perception or needs. Let’s use the example “Money to go to the cinema” and the admittance is R$ 13,00. |
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| Quantifier | Value | Sentences |
| A lot of | R$ 1,000,000.00 | I have a lot reais. |
| Many | R$ 200,00 | I have many reais. |
| Some | R$ 20,00 | I have some reais. |
| A few | R$ 15,00 (sufficient) | I have a few reais. |
| Few | R$ 10,00 | I have few reais. (not sufficient) |
Uncountables: All the things that can NOT be put in the plural:
| how much — > used for uncountables |
| How much money do you have? I have little money. |
money
air
coffee
cement
sugar
report
power
energy
love
peace
hapiness
sadness
health
justice
baggage
liquids in general
| Quantifiers
Let’s use the same example again: “money to go to the cinema” and the admittance is R$ 13,00.
|
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| Quantifier | Value | Sentences |
| A lot of | R$ 1,000,000.00 | I have a lot of money. |
| Much | R$ 200,00 | I have much money. (only in negative) use plenty of Use it in the negative à I don’t have much money. |
| Some | R$ 20,00 | I have some money. |
| A little | R$ 15,00 | I have a little money. (sufficient) |
| little | R$ 10,00 | I have little money. (not sufficient) |
Indicating inexistence: NO
I have no money. I have no car. – I have no sugar. I have no idea.
Measurements
A cup of – uma xicara de
A glass of – um copo de
A mug of – um caneco de
A piece of – um pedaço de
A spoon of – uma colher de
A tea spoon of – uma colher de chá de
A leaf of – uma folha de (natureza)
A sheet of – uma folha de (papel)
A slice of – uma fatia de
A sprinkle of – uma pitada de
A pinch of – um punhado de
A bottle – uma garrafa de
A drop of – uma gota de
Kilo (kg) – quilo
Grams (0.001 kg) – gramas
Pounds (0.450 kg) – libras
Tons (1000 Kg) – Toneladas
Ounce (0.028 Kg) – onça
Liters – litros
Gallons (3.78 liters) – Galões
Pint (0.47 liters) – sem tradução
Foot (0,3048 m) – pés
Mile (1,60 Km) – milhas
Inch (2.54 cm) – polegadas
Translation problems from portuguese to english
In portuguese some of these nouns are countable but In english they are always uncountable:
Accommodation
Advice
Baggage
Bread
Equipment
Furniture
Garbage
Information
Knowledge
Luggage
Money
News
Pasta
Progress
Time
Travel
Work
Real