B1.

1
Unit 4 Fíjate
Algunos de estos nombres acaban en -s (news, maths,
DAR CONSEJO gymnastics, politics…) pero el verbo solo puede ir en
singular.
Para dar consejo se usan should, ought to y had (‘d)
better. The news was a real surprise.
SHOULD Algunos sustantivos incontables en inglés son plurales
en español (cereal, toast, spaghetti…)
You should eat less fast food.
We shouldn’t drink too much alcohol. Spaghetti is a good source of carbohydrates. (Los
espaguetis son una buena fuente de carbohidratos.)
Should they bake the cake first?
Cereal is healthier than muffins for breakfast. (Los
OUGHT TO cereales son más sanos para desayunar que las magdalenas.)

• Expresa
 consejo en ocasiones más informales.
• Las formas negativa e interrogativa son poco • Sustantivos
 contables o incontables según contexto
comunes. Algunos sustantivos pueden usarse como contables o
I ought to change my diet. incontables: chocolate, salad, coffee…
He oughtn’t to have so much fat. Chocolate is good for your heart. (El chocolate es bueno
What things ought we to buy to prepare that recipe? para el corazón)
I eat one or two chocolates every day. (Me como uno o
HAD BETTER dos bombones todos los días)
• Uso
 de sustantivos incontables como contables
• Expresa
 consejo de forma autoritaria. Implica una
amenaza velada. En algunas ocasiones necesitamos indicar una parte de
un sustantivo incontable. Para ello podemos recurrir a
• 
Had better no es usual en la forma interrogativa.
las siguientes expresiones:
You’re putting on weight. You’d better start doing
some exercise. a slice of (una loncha de) ham
We’d better not change our Mediterranean diet. a loaf of (una barra de) bread
a piece of toast (una tostada)
a tin of (una lata de comida) soup
SUSTANTIVOS CONTABLES E
a can of (una lata de bebida) coke
INCONTABLES
a spoonful of (una cucharada de) sugar
a teaspoonful of (una cucharadita de) flour
Los sustantivos pueden ser contables o incontables.
a pinch of (una pizca de) pepper
• Sustantivos contables
a bottle of (una botella de) wine
Son nombres que admiten singular y plural.
a glass of (un vaso de) beer
I eat a banana every day.
I eat bananas because they’re healthy. a cup of (una taza) coffee
a drop of (una gota de) brandy
Fíjate a packet of (un paquete de) biscuits
Algunos de estos nombres son siempre plurales
a bar of (una tableta de) chocolate
trousers, scissors, clothes…
a box of (una caja de) cereal
Casual clothes are my favourite.

• 
Sustantivos incontables EL ARTÍCULO INDEFINIDO (A/AN)
Solo admiten singular.
1 Forma
I eat rice every day.
a/an + sustantivo singular: a bottle, an orange
You shouldn’t drink wine.
2 Uso
El artículo indefinido se usa:
• Con los nombres contables en singular.
You need an orange to make that cake.
• Con los sustantivos que indican profesión u oficio.
He’s a cook.
Her mother is a nutrionist.
 Grammar Reference

SOME Y ANY
Some y any acompañan a los nombres contables en plural.
• 
Some se utiliza en oraciones afirmativas. (unos / unas,
algunos / algunas)
There are some oranges on the table.
Any se utiliza en oraciones negativas (ninguno / ninguna) y
• 
en oraciones interrogativas (unos / unas algunos / algunas).
I haven’t bought any oranges yet.
Are there any fresh oranges in the fridge?

CUANTIFICADORES
Para indicar la cantidad se añaden las siguientes
expresiones a los sustantivos.

SUSTANTIVOS SUSTANTIVOS
CONTABLES INCONTABLES
some some
You need some carrots They want some bread
to cook that stew. and butter.
any (negativa e interrogativa) any (negativa e interrogativa)
Did you have any There isn’t any water
vegetables yesterday? left.

a lot of / lots of a lot of / lots of

no + sustantivo no + sustantivo
There is no coffee in the
What foods have no cupboard. Do you want
carbohydrates? some tea instead?

many much
There weren’t many I didn’t put much salt
grapes so I had to buy in the scrambled eggs
some more. because I’m on a low-
salt diet.
a few (some) a little (some)
You can have a few cups You can have a little
of coffee a day but no sugar but not too much
more than 3. if you don’t want to put
on weight.
little (not much)
few (not many)
They usually drink little
We have few spoons. We water and the doctor
need to buy some more. said they should drink
at least 2 litres.
fewer less
There are fewer groceries I eat less meat and
now than 20 years ago. more fish now.

Fíjate
Some y a lot of / lots of se usan normalmente en
afirmativa mientras que any, many y much se utilizan en
negativa e interrogativa.
None es un pronombre y significa ‘ninguno’. Se usa en
oraciones afirmativas.
We tried a lot of new dishes and we liked none.