Commonly Confused Words Part I

         much, many – a little, a few

1. When do we use much and when many?

• much: uncountable nouns (milk, marmalade, money, time etc.)
• many: countable nouns (bottles of milk, jars of marmalade, dollars, minutes etc.)

Examples:

• How much money have you got?
• How many dollars have you got?

In informal English these questions are often answered with a lot of, lots of. There is no much difference between the two phrases.

2. When do we use a little/little and when a few/few?

• a little: non countable nouns (milk, marmalade, money, time etc.)
• a few: countable nouns (bottles of milk, jars of marmalade, dollars, minutes etc.)

Examples:

• He has a little money left.
• He has a few dollars left.

We use few and little without the article a to point out a more negative meaning.

Examples:

• A few students of our school know this. (There are some student who know it.)
• Few students know this. (It is almost unkonown.)

borrow or lend

When do we use borrow and lend?

Word	Explanation	Example
borrow	to take and use sth. that belongs to sb. else	I'd like to borrow your umbrella.
lend	to give sth. to sb. that belongs to you	I can lend you my umbrella.

some and any – English Grammar

When do we use some and when any?

We use some and any for an amount which is not known e.g. Have you got any crisps?

Use of some and any

• some: affirmative statements, offers, requests and in questions when you expect the answer ›yes‹
• any: negative statements, questions

Have you got any bananas? No, we haven't got any. But we've got some oranges.

Exceptions:

I would like to buy fruit at a market. I see the man has wonderful apples so I can ask him:

• Can I have some of these apples?

If I do not see apples or if I am not sure whether there are apples at all I use any in this question.

• Have you got any apples?

have or have got

When do we use have got and when have

In British English have got is used quite often, in other areas it is common to use the main verb have.

1. Affirmative sentences

have	have got
I have a brother.	I have got a brother.
	I've got a brother.
You have a sister.	You have got a sister.
	You've got a sister.
He has a cat.	He has got a cat.
	He's got a cat.
She has a dog.	She has got a dog.
	She's got a dog.
It has Bluetooth.	It has got Bluetooth.
	It's got Bluetooth.
We have books.	We have got books.
	We've got books.
You have a nice room.	You have got a nice room.
	You've got a nice room.
They have pets.	They have got pets.
	They've got pets.

have got is often used in its contracted form even in written language.

2. Negations

have	have got
I do not have a brother.	I have not got a brother.
	I haven't got a brother.
I don't have a brother.	I've not got a brother.
You do not have a sister.	You have not got a sister.
	You haven't got a sister.
You don't have a sister.	You've not got a sister.
He does not have a cat.	He has not got a cat.
	He hasn't got a cat.
He doesn't have a cat.	He's not got a cat.
She does not have a dog.	She has not got a dog.
	She hasn't got a dog.
She doesn't have a dog.	She's not got a dog.
It does not have Bluetooth.	It has not got Bluetooth.
	It hasn't got Bluetooth.
It doesn't have Bluetooth.	It's not got Bluetooth.
We do not have books.	We have not got books.
	We haven't got books.
We don't have books.	We've not got books.
You do not have a nice room.	You have not got a nice room.
	You haven't got a nice room.
You don't have a nice room.	You've not got a nice room.
They do not have pets.	They have not got pets.
	They haven't got pets.
They don't have pets.	They've not got pets.

3. Questions

have	have got
Do I have time?	Have I got time?
Do you have pets?	Have you got pets?
Does he have a computer?	Has he got a computer?
Does she have a mobile phone?	Has she got a mobile phone?
Does it have mudguards?	Has it got mudguards?
Do we have ketchup?	Have we got ketchup?
Do you have a yellow car?	Have you got a yellow car?
Do they have nice teachers?	Have they got nice teachers?

There can be negations in questions too.

have	have got
Don't you have a brother?	Haven't you got a brother?

4. Be careful

4.1. The contracted forms 've or 's are only used with have got – not with have.

right	wrong
I've got a new mobile phone.	I've a new mobile phone.
He's got a new car.	He's a new car.

4.2. Do not use an auxiliary with have got – only with have. Be careful when using negations.

right	wrong
Have you got a garden?	Do you have got a garden?
Do you have a pet?	Have you a pet?
They haven't got a brother.	They haven't a house.

4.3. have cannot always be substituted with have got. You can only substitute have with have got when you talk about possession and relationships.

have got	have
I've got a brother.	I have a brother.
wrong: I had got an accident.	I had an accident.
wrong: We had got lunch.	We had lunch.

► In American English have is dropped in informal speech like in the following example.

We've got a problem. → We got a problem.