Lesson Ten
a lot / some / any
These words are used with
count and noncount nouns.
a lot of = many or much
There is a lot of traffic on one side of the street.
There are a lot of cars on one side of the street.
A lot of traffic = many cars
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not a lot of = not many or not much
There isn’t a lot of traffic on the other side.
There are some cars but not very many.
(some = a relatively small amount but “some” is not easy to quantify or equate to a particular number.)
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There were a lot of people at the beach yesterday. |
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There aren’t a lot of people at the beach today.
There aren’t many people at the beach today. There are some but not many.
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Use “any” with negatives and questions.
There isn’t any traffic in the street.
There aren’t any cars. (not any = 0)
Do you see any people?

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Watch this video: some / any
A lot, some, and any are used with indefinite amounts:
Example:
Q: How many students are there in the classroom:
A: There are a lot. (This is a large number). Or….
A: There are some students. (This is a small number but the number is not known.) Or….
A: There aren’t any students. (This is zero or a very, very small number and the number is not known.)
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Next: Lesson Eleventhe future tense |