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Study in the app →English · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 35
How much do you eat? 얼마나 먹어요?
음식과 양에 대해 말하기. 어휘: food, meat, fish, rice, bread, water, milk, sugar, egg, vegetable, fruit. 핵심 문법: 셀 수 있는 명사(eggs, apples, vegetables)와 셀 수 없는 명사(water, rice, bread, milk, sugar)가 있어요. 셀 수 있는 명사는 복수가 되고 "many"와 "How many?"를 써요: "many eggs". 셀 수 없는 명사는 복수가 없고 "much"와 "How much?"를 써요: "much water". "A lot of"와 "lots of"는 둘 다에 써요. 한국어는 복수 표시도, 셀 수 있음/없음 구분도 안 해서 한국어 학습자는 이를 헷갈려요: "many water" ✗, "much apples" ✗ → "much water", "many apples"(또는 둘 다 "a lot of"). 발음 코너: "sugar", "fish", "delicious"의 /ʃ/ 소리.
Dialogue
many water or much water? — many water 아니면 much water?
- Emma Minsu, do you drink a lot of water? 민수 씨, 물을 많이 마셔요?
- Minsu Yes, I drink many water and I eat much apples. 네, 저는 물을 many 마시고 사과를 much 먹어요. (실수: water는 셀 수 없음 → "much water"; apples는 셀 수 있음 → "many apples")
- Emma Swap them: water is uncountable, so "much water"; apples are countable, so "many apples". 바꾸세요: water는 셀 수 없어서 "much water"; apples는 셀 수 있어서 "many apples".
- Minsu I see — I drink much water and I eat many apples. 알겠어요 — 저는 물을 많이 마시고 사과를 많이 먹어요.
- Emma Perfect! And "a lot of" is easy — it works for both: a lot of water, a lot of apples. 완벽해요! "a lot of"는 쉬워요 — 둘 다 돼요: a lot of water, a lot of apples.
- Minsu Great, that's easier! I have a lot of homework tonight, though. 좋아요, 그게 더 쉽네요! 그런데 오늘 밤 숙제가 많아요.
Dialogue
Shopping for dinner — 저녁 장보기
- Minsu Emma, what do we need for dinner? 엠마, 저녁으로 뭐가 필요해요?
- Emma We need some fish, a lot of vegetables, and a little rice. 생선 조금, 채소 많이, 밥 약간이 필요해요.
- Minsu How many eggs should we buy? 달걀은 몇 개 살까요?
- Emma Six eggs, please. And we don't have much milk, so buy some. 달걀 여섯 개요. 그리고 우유가 많지 않으니 좀 사요.
- Minsu Got it. How much bread do you want? 알겠어요. 빵은 얼마나 필요해요?
- Emma Just one loaf. That's a lot of food — let's cook a great dinner! 한 덩이면 돼요. 음식이 많네요 — 멋진 저녁을 만들어요!
Vocabulary
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| food | n. (uncount.) | 음식 | |
| meat | n. (uncount.) | 고기 | |
| fish | n. (uncount.) | 생선 | |
| rice | n. (uncount.) | 쌀, 밥 | |
| bread | n. (uncount.) | 빵 | |
| water | n. (uncount.) | 물 | |
| milk | n. (uncount.) | 우유 | |
| sugar | n. (uncount.) | 설탕 | |
| egg | n. (count.) | 달걀 | |
| vegetable | n. (count.) | 채소 | |
| fruit | n. (uncount.) | 과일 |
Grammar
much, many, a lot of much, many, a lot of
In English, nouns come in two kinds. Countable nouns are things you can count one by one — an egg, two eggs, three apples; they can be plural. Uncountable nouns are seen as a mass you cannot count singly — water, rice, bread, milk, sugar, meat; they have NO plural (not "waters", not "breads"). This matters for "how much". With countable nouns use "many" and "How many?": "many eggs", "How many apples?". With uncountable nouns use "much" and "How much?": "much water", "How much sugar?". The easy friend is "a lot of" (or "lots of"), which works with BOTH: "a lot of eggs", "a lot of water". Korean has no plural marking and no count/non-count split, so learners mix them: "many water" ✗, "much apples" ✗ → "much water", "many apples" ✓.
영어의 명사는 두 종류예요. 셀 수 있는 명사는 하나하나 셀 수 있는 것 — an egg, two eggs, three apples; 복수가 돼요. 셀 수 없는 명사는 낱개로 못 세는 덩어리로 봐요 — water, rice, bread, milk, sugar, meat; 복수가 없어요("waters" 아님, "breads" 아님). 이게 "얼마나"에 중요해요. 셀 수 있는 명사엔 "many"와 "How many?": "many eggs", "How many apples?". 셀 수 없는 명사엔 "much"와 "How much?": "much water", "How much sugar?". 편한 친구는 "a lot of"(또는 "lots of")로, 둘 다에 써요: "a lot of eggs", "a lot of water". 한국어엔 복수 표시도, 셀 수 있음/없음 구분도 없어서 학습자는 섞어요: "many water" ✗, "much apples" ✗ → "much water", "many apples" ✓.
- I eat a lot of vegetables and not much meat. 저는 채소를 많이 먹고 고기는 많이 안 먹어요.
- How many eggs do you want? — Two, please. 달걀 몇 개 드릴까요? — 두 개 주세요.
- How much water do you drink every day? 매일 물을 얼마나 마셔요?
- There isn't much bread, but there are lots of apples. 빵은 많지 않지만 사과는 많아요.
pronunciation
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