Everyday English (Vocabulary Building)

Topic: Drinks & Containers

Lesson Notes July 18, 2023 (Vocabulary Building)

• I watched the baseball game between the school I graduated from, and the school my son graduated from. (NOT my graduated school)

• He hit his thirty-fifth home run (of the season). (NOT he hit thirty-five home runs)

• A: Will you see the movie in 4D?
  B: I think I’ll see it in IMAX.

• I won tickets to my favourite band’s upcoming concert! There was a (lottery / raffle) to get them.

How to talk about sports results

• “Team A” won [score]-[score] (against “Team B”).

• Team A won 7-2 against Team B.

• “Team B lost [score]-[score] (to “Team A”).

• Team B lost 2-7 to Team A.

Drinks & Containers

Compare “A little”, “A bit” & “A little bit”

• A little: It refers to a small amount or quantity, and it is commonly used with non-countable nouns

• "Could you please add a little sugar to the coffee?”

• "She has a little experience in gardening.”

• A bit: This phrase is used in a similar way to "a little," but it can be used with both countable and non-countable nouns

• "I need to rest a bit after running.”

• "Can you wait for me a bit longer?”

• A little bit of: It is a combination of both "a little" and "a bit" and is used to refer to a small amount of something. Like "a bit," it can also be used with both countable and non-countable nouns.

• "He only needs a little bit of assistance to finish the project.”

• "Would you like a little bit of cake?”

• In general for non-countable nouns, "a little" and "a bit" are interchangeable. However, when you need to emphasize a small amount, "a little bit of" is a better choice.

• For countable nouns, "a bit" and "a little bit of" are more commonly used.

Compare “Few” and “Little”

• We use few with plural nouns, and little with singular (non-countable) nouns

• When we use few and little, our sentence has a negative sound, and the meaning is “not much / not many”.

• When we use a few and a little, our sentence has a positive sound, and meaning is “some”

• His ideas are very difficult, and few people understand them. (= not many people, hardly any people)
  His ideas are very difficult, but a few people understand them. (= some people — better than no people)

• Cactuses need little water.

• Give the roses a little water every day.

• Few politicians are really honest.

• I have little interest in politics.