How much, how many

Quanto?

Per chiedere quanto/quanta o quanti/quante in inglese usiamo How much e How many.
Si usa:

• How many per sostantivi numerabili plurali (es. How many brothers do you have?)

• How much per sostantivi non numerabili - che sono sempre singolari (es. How much beer do you drink?)

Ma cosa sono questi sostantivi numerabili (countable) o non numerabili (uncountable)?

Vediamo:

a) se un nome è countable:
- se è usato al singolare, usiamo a/an prima di esso;
- ha un plurale e può essere usato in frasi con domande tipo How many?
- Possiamo usare un numero prima di esso.

b) se un nome è uncountable:
- non usiamo a/an prima di esso, ma preferiamo le espressioni come some, any (un po' di, qualche)- non ha un plurale ed è usato con domande tipo How much?
- Non usiamo un numero davanti a esso.

Attenzione:
- i nomi di bevande, di liquidi in generale, di sostanze in polvere e di tutti quei materiali (o nomi astratti) che necessitano di un'unità di misura per essere quantificati sono generalmente uncountable (es: water, flour, sand, coke, salt, time, money, coffee, milk, sugar,...);

- i nomi di materiali ed alimenti prodotti (plastic, oil, bread, cheese, ham, iron, steel,…) sono uncountable;

- alcuni nomi plurali vogliono il verbo singolare : news, hair, people…

N.B.: alcuni nomi sono countable o uncountable a seconda della circostanza in cui sono utilizzati (es: glass: se è countable ed ha il plurale significa bicchiere; se è uncountable ed ha solo il singolare, significa vetro; chocolate: se è uncountable significa cioccolato in genere, se è countable significa cioccolatino).

Practice:
http://www.learn-english-online.org/Lesson36/Lesson36.htm
http://www.learn-english-online.org/Lesson36/countuncount.htm
http://www.better-english.com/easier/howmuch.htm
http://www.english-4u.de/how_much_many_ex1.htm
http://a4esl.org/q/j/ck/ch-countnouns.html


 

A lot of, much, many

Molto + sostantivo

Quando molto precede un sostantivo è grammaticalmente un aggettivo e in italiano si concorda con il sostantivo che accompagna.
In inglese si esprime in modo diverso a seconda che la frase sia  affermativa, interrogativa o negativa.

Ho molto tempo libero.
Ho molti libri inglesi.
Ho molte amiche.

In queste frasi molto precede un sostantivo (tempo, libri, amiche), si tratta pertanto di un aggettivo.

Forma della frase	"Molto" in inglese	Esempio
frase affermativa	a lot of  + sostantivo (sia countable che uncountable)	I’ve got a lot of books. Ho molti libri.
frase negativa o interrogativa	Many + sostantivo countable Much + sostant. uncountable	I haven’t got many English books. Non ho molti libri inglesi. Have you got many English books? Hai molti libri inglesi? I don’t have much time. Non ho molto tempo. Do you have much spare time?Hai molto tempo libero?

Practice:
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=3198
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/vocabulary/much-many/exercises
http://www.better-english.com/easier/much.htm
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/vocabulary/much-many/exercises?02
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/vocabulary/much-many/exercises?03
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/vocabulary/much-many/exercises?04
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/vocabulary/much-many/exercises?05
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/confusing_words/much_many.htm
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/confusing_words/much_many2.htm
http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-many-lot.php
http://www.1-language.com/englishcourse/unit14_grammar_exs.htm
http://www.oup.com/elt/global/products/solutions/preint_unit_page/unit3/grammar/exercise1

Some, any, no

SOME - ANY - NO

Is there any milk in the fridge? Yes, there is some milk, but there are no eggs.

SOME	Alcuni, un po’ di, dei/delle, in frasi affermative. Some può essere utilizzato sia come aggettivo che come pronome indefinito. Quando è aggettivo è seguito da un sostantivo che, se si tratta di un countable (sostantivo numerabile), deve essere messo al plurale. Quando è pronome non è seguito da un nome, ma lo sottintende. There is some milk in the fridge. (C'è del latte nel frigo.) In questo caso some è aggettivo, perché è seguito dal nome milk. There is some. (Ce n'è un po’.)  In questo caso some è pronome, sottintende il nome milk. Some si usa anche in frasi interrogative quando si offre qualcosa o si chiede per avere qualcosa. Would you like some tea? (Vuoi del tè?) Can I have some sugar, please? (Posso avere dello zucchero, per favore?).
ANY	Alcuni, un po’ di, dei/delle, in frasi interrogative e negative. Come some, anche any può essere sia aggettivo che pronome. Quando è seguito da un sostantivo numerabile, questo deve essere messo al plurale. Is there any milk in the fridge? (C'è del latte nel frigo?) Are there any eggs? (Ci sono delle uova?) There aren't any eggs. (Non ci sono uova) There aren't any. (Non ce ne sono.)  There isn't any milk in the fridge. (Non c'è latte nel frigo.) There isn't any. (Non ce n'è.) In frasi affermative, any significa qualunque, qualsiasi. Quando è utilizzato con questo significato ed è aggettivo, è sempre seguito da un sostantivo singolare. Which magazine shall I buy? (Quale rivista devo comprare?) Any magazine, I don't mind. (Qualunque rivista, non importa.)
NO	Nessuno, nessuna, niente, vuole sempre il verbo in forma affermativa. No è solo aggettivo, cioè deve sempre essere seguito da un sostantivo. There is no milk in the fridge. (Non c'è latte nel frigo.) There are no books on the desk. (Non ci sono libri sulla scrivania.)
NONE	Nessuno, nessuna, niente, pronome, cioè non seguito da sostantivo. How many English books have you read? (Quanti libri inglesi hai letto? I've read none (= no English books). (Non ne ho letto nessuno.)

Nota: Nelle frasi negative sono possibili due costruzioni:Non c'è nessun libro sulla scrivania.

1. Any con verbo in forma negativa: There aren't any books on the desk.
2. No   con verbo affermativo:  There are no books on the desk.  

Practice:
http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=1657
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/vocabulary/some-any/exercises
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/vocabulary/some-any/exercises?02
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/confusing_words/some_any.htm
http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/confusing_words/some_any2.htm
http://www.better-english.com/easier/some.htm
http://www.better-english.com/easier/someany.htm
http://www.english-test.net/esl/learn/english/grammar/ei099/esl-test.php

Reported speech

Reported Speech  -  DISCORSO INDIRETTO

Esistono due modi per riferire ciò che una persona ha detto:

- Mediante il discorso diretto: vengono riportate le parole esatte che sono state pronunciate, tra virgolette.
"Che bella giornata!", disse Mark.
'What a beautiful day!', Mark said.

- Mediante il discorso indiretto: viene riferito ciò che è stato detto senza riportare le parole esatte. Il discorso indiretto è introdotto da un’espressione tipo "disse che", oppure "spiegò che" etc.
Mark disse che era una bella giornata.
Mark said that it was a beautiful day.
Rispetto al discorso diretto, il discorso indiretto subisce alcune trasformazioni.


Facciamo un esempio:

Sei in gelateria e incontri James. Lui ti dice che Caroline è in città oggi. (“Caroline is in town today.”)
Pochi minuti dopo, arriva Helen e tu vuoi raccontarle quello che sta dicendo James. Il luogo (qui) ed il tempo (oggi) sono gli stessi, e tu puoi dire:
→ James says that Caroline is in town today.
Il giorno dopo, incontri Mary e vuoi raccontarle cosa ti ha detto James. Il luogo è lo stesso, ma non il tempo (è successo ieri). Quindi dici:
→ James said that Caroline was in town yesterday.

Il verbo nel discorso indiretto

Il verbo che introduce il discorso indiretto è solitamente espresso al Simple Past, perché viene riferito ciò che è stato detto in un momento preciso del passato.
Quando il discorso indiretto è introdotto da un verbo al Simple Past, il tempo verbale del discorso indiretto subisce alcune modifiche che generalmente consistono nel tornare indietro di un tempo, secondo il seguente schema.

Normalmente si usano i verbi to tell e to say (dire). Dopo tali verbi si può omettere that (= che).

Si usa to tell quando si dice a chi è stato detto qualcosa. La persona segue direttamente il verbo tell senza l’interposizione di alcuna preposizione.

Mark told me (that) he was tired. = Mark mi disse che era stanco.

Si usa to say quando non è espressa la persona alla quale era rivolta la frase.

Mark said (that) he was tired. = Mark disse che era stanco.
 

Discorso diretto	Discorso indiretto
Simple Present "I am tired", Mark said. "Sono stanco", disse Mark.	Simple Past Mark said (that) he was tired. Mark disse che era stanco.
Present Continuous "I’m writing a letter", Mark said. "Sto scrivendo una lettera", disse Mark.	Past Continuous Mark said (that) he was writing a letter. Mark disse che stava scrivendo una lettera.
Simple Past "I saw her on Monday", Mark said. "L'ho vista lunedì", disse Mark.	Past Perfect / Simple Past Mark said (that) he had seen her on Monday. Mark disse che l'aveva vista lunedì.
Present Perfect "I have seen that film", Mark said. "Ho visto quel film", disse Mark.	Past Perfect Mark said (that) he had seen that film. Mark disse che aveva visto quel film.
Past Continuous "I was doing my homework", Mark said. "Stavo facendo i compiti", disse Mark.	Past Continuous Mark said (that) he was doing his homework. Mark disse che stava pensando di andare in vacanza.
Futuro con will "I will buy a present for her", Mark said. "Le comprerò un regalo", disse Mark.	Condizionale Presente Mark said (that) he would buy a present for her. Mark disse che le avrebbe comperato un regalo.
Condizionale Presente "I would like to see that film", Mark said." Vorrei vedere quel film", disse Mark.	Condizionale Presente Mark said (that) he would like to see that film. Mark disse che avrebbe voluto vedere quel film.
Imperativo "Listen to me!", the teacher said. "Ascoltatemi!", disse l’insegnante.	Infinito con to The teacher told the students to listen to her. L’insegnante disse agli studenti di ascoltarla.
Infinito "I’m here to learn English", Maria said. "Sono qui per imparare l’inglese", disse Maria.	Infinito Maria said (that) she was there to learn English. Maria disse che si trovava lì per imparare l’inglese.

Nota:

Quando il verbo del discorso indiretto esprime una situazione che è ancora vera nel momento in cui si parla, si può anche lasciare lo stesso tempo (Simple Present o Simple Past) del discorso diretto.
Esempio:
"I love living in London", Mark said."Mi piace moltissimo vivere a Londra", disse Mark.
A Mark piace ancora vivere a Londra:
Mark said (that) he loves living in London. Mark disse che gli piace moltissimo vivere a Londra.

Aggettivi e pronomi possessivi - Dimostrativi - Espressioni di luogo e di tempo

Oltre al soggetto, anche gli aggettivi e pronomi possessivi, i dimostrativi e le espressioni di tempo e luogo cambiano nel passaggio dal discorso diretto al discorso indiretto.

Discorso diretto	Discorso indiretto
my - mine	his / her – his / hers
your - yours	dipende dal contesto
his / her / its – his / hers / its	his / her / its – his / hers / its
our - ours	their -theirs
their - theirs	their - theirs
this	that
these	those
here	there
today	that day
yesterday	the day before
the day before yesterday	two days before
tomorrow	the next day / the following day
next week / month / year	the following week / month / year
last week / month / year	the previous week / month / year
a week ago	the previous week / the week before

Domande

Quando si devono riportare delle domande, il verbo che le introdice non è più "say" o "tell" ma "ask" o "want to know" seguiti da if o whether (=se), non più that; inoltre si deve trasformare la domanda diretta in una domanda indiretta, in cui il soggetto sta davanti al verbo (come in una frase affermativa!). Se nella domanda c'è l'ausiliare do, nel discorso indiretto non ci sarà più. 

Esempio:


John: 'Are you happy today?' = John asked if I was happy today.
Jonh: 'Do they speak English?' = John wanted to know if they spoke Englisk.

Richieste - ordini

Quando si devono riportare delle richieste o degli ordini, di norma si usa introdurli nel reported speech dai verbi "ask", "request" oppure "order" seguiti dall'infinito del verbo (to + verbo base), come in italiano. Se l'ordine è alla forma negativa, nel reported speech sarà not to + verbo base.

John: 'Please open the door' = John asked me to open the door.

John: 'Can you give me that pen please?' = John requested me to give him that pen.

John: 'Open the door!' = John ordered us to open the door.
John: 'Don't run!' = John ordered us not to run.

Practice:

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?02

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?03

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?04

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?05

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?05

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?06

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?07

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?08

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?09

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?10

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/reported-speech/exercises?11

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/reported_speech/statements.htm

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/reported_speech/statements2.htm

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/reported_speech/questions.htm

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/reported_speech/questions2.htm

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/reported_speech/commands.htm

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/reported_speech/commands_negations.htm

http://a4esl.org/q/h/9901/tm-reported1.html

http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/lefg1_reportedspeech1.html

Julia Roberts

julia roberts

 

Her real name is Julia Fiona Roberts.
Julia Roberts is an American actress.

She was born on 28th October, 1967 in Georgia. She has got two brothers: their names are Eric and Anthony, and two sisters, their names are Lisa and Nancy. Walter Roberts was her dad and her mum is Betty Lou Bredemus.

Her dad died from cancer when she was 10 years old and she was raised by her mum. Eric, Anthony and Lisa are actors.

When she was a teenager she dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. She began to study journalism and to pay her studies she worked as a waitress.

When his brother Eric made his debut in Hollywood she decided to become an actress and went to live in New York.

Her first film was “Blood Red” with her brother Eric.

She also took part to the film “Mystic Pizza”, “Steel Magnolias”, with which she won her first Oscar.

In 1990 her first big hit was the movie “Pretty Woman” with Richard Gere. She began to become increasingly popular.

She also starred in the films: “Sleeping with the Enemy”, “Capitan Hook” with Robin Williams and and “Everyone Says I Love You".

In 1997 she decided to return to comedies, she was the star of “My Best Friend’s Wedding”.

In 2001 she won the Oscar for Best Actress.
She starred in “Mona Lisa Smile”, “Closer”, “Charlie Wilson’s War”.

Her last film is “ Eat Pray Love”. 

 

By Alice Dal Grande, 2LSA

Rodrigo Diaz

RODRIGO DIAZ!!!

Rodrigo Diaz was born at Vincente Lòpez on 18^th January 1980. He grew up with his mother because his father died when he was 11 years old. He has got two brothers: Gonzalo and Ramiro, they were born in 1982. The first is an advertising model and the second studies multimedia design. He is an Argentinian actor and model and is engaged with the Argentinian actress Jenny Williams.

He began his career as an electrician in his local area. He has also worked as a waiter in a restaurant, and as a musician, he has played the guitar since he was young. Then he began to take acting courses in the Center Cultural San Martin, and he took part first to advertising and then to "Rebelde Way", "Immortal" and "Te extraneo". In 2005 he took part to "La niñera" and "Paraíso Rock" and in 2006 to "Amas de Casa Desesperadas".

In 2007 in Italy he reached international success with"The World of Patty" in the role of Nicolás, the false brother of Bianca; in the same year he also acted in "Son de Fierro".

In 2010 he worked in an Italian production, "Terra Ribelle", where he played the main character, Andrea. When he arrived in Italy to present "Terra Ribelle", he was a guest in many RAI television programmes.

By Elena Sofia Furlan, 2LSA

Angus Young - AC/DC

ANGUS YOUNG

Angus Young
Nationality:  Australian          
Gender: Hard Rock,  Heavy Metal
Tool: Guitar, Model: DEVIL Gibson SG of 1968
Current Band: AC/DC (=AC=Alternative Current,DC=Direct Current )

ANGUS McKINNON YOUNG (Glasgow, 3 March 1955) is a Scottish guitarist and composer, co-founder of  the band AC/DC.

He is famous for his energy performance and for wearing school uniforms.
Angus Young was interested in the guitar when he was a child. He fabricated the first guitar by modifying a Banjo. His first guitar, a Hofner, was a a present from his brother Malcolm.

Angus hated school. His favorite subject was art; even in music he didn't have an easy life: his teacher said that he had no sense of rhythm. So he abandoned his studies and went to work in a butcher's shop. Thanks to that job he could buy the legendary Gibson SG guitar.

During his youth he played in a band called 'Kantuckee'. He was 18 years old when his brother Malcolm founded AC / DC in December 31, 1973, with Angus on lead guitar, Malcolm on rhythmic guitar, Colin Burgess on drums, Larry Van Kriedt on electric bass, and Dave Evans on vocals. Their first single, "Can I Sit Next To Your Girl" was later recorded a second time with Bon Scott as lead singer.

He chose the name AC / DC when he saw an inscription on a sewing machine which means Alternative Current-Direct Current.

Angus has worn many costumes on stage, like Zorro, Spider-Man, a gorilla and even Superman, calling himself Super-Ang. Then he decided that the school uniform had to be his symbol. The original uniform was from his high school, Ashfield Boys High School in Sydney. His sister Margaret suggested him to wear his uniform, which is ironic because Angus did not like school at all. To promote the image of a a rebellious schoolboy, his date of birth was falsified for several years because Angus was born in 1959, not 1955. Only in the late 70's the band testified that Angus was actually four years older.

His other famous "abilities" are playing the electric guitar with the left hand, pressing the keys without hitting the strings, and the famous Duck Walk, which was actually invented by Chuck Berry many years ago. Angus has never used drugs sud said that his favorite drink is tea. But he is a great smoker...

Angus Young prefers to keep his private life private, but we know that he lives in Sydney, Australia, and has another home in Aalten, the Netherlands.

On August 24, 2006, Angus received an award from "Kerrang!", an Australian rock magazine. The director Paul Branningan called AC / DC "one of the most important and influential bands in history".

Thunderstruck

(Thunder) (x10)
I was caught
In the middle of a railroad track (Thunder)
I looked 'round,
And I knew there was no turning back (Thunder)
My mind raced
And I thought what could I do? (Thunder)
And I knew
There was no help, no help from you (Thunder)
Sound of the drums
Beatin' in my heart
The thunder of guns!
Tore me apart
You've been - thunderstruck!
Rode down the highway
Broke the limit, we hit the ton
Went through to Texas, yeah Texas
And we had some fun
We met some girls,
Some dancers who gave a good time
Broke all the rules, played all the fools
Yeah, yeah, they, they, they blew our minds
And I was shakin' at the knees
Could I come again please.
Yeah the ladies were too kind
You've been - thunderstruck, thunderstruck
Yeah yeah yeah, thunderstruck
Oh, thunderstruck, yeah
Yeah
Now we're shaking at the knees
Could I come again please.
Thunderstruck, thunderstruck
Yeah yeah yeah, thunderstruck
Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah
Said yeah, it's alright
We're! Doing fine
Yeah, it's alright
We're! Doing fine
So fine
Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah,
Thunderstruck, thunderstruck, thunderstruck
Whoa baby, baby, thunderstruck
You've been thunderstruck, thunderstruck
Thunderstruck, thunderstruck, thunderstruck
You've been thunderstruck

Francesco Basso, 2LSA