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I think the good thing about rom-coms is that they're both romantic and funny.
I like no rom-coms.
I like most comedies, but it depends on the director.
Some directors, I like every comedy that they make.
Hello and welcome to Learning English Grammar.
I'm Phil.
And I'm Pippa.
We just heard Beth and Neil talking about film genres they like.
Film genre means type of film, like comedy, horror, action or sci-fi.
And in this episode, we'll learn quantifiers like all, most, both and any.
You can read along with this podcast using the transcript on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
So, Phil, what's your favourite film genre?
I think I like dramas that really make you think.
It's got a clever script and nice characters.
OK, I think I'm the opposite of you.
I like comedy films because when I watch a film, I don't really want to think too much.
I want to relax.
Well, here's the full conversation between Beth and Neil about films.
As you listen, think about whether you agree more with Beth or Neil.
I think I like all genres of film, probably.
Or maybe most.
I don't really like any horror films.
What about you?
Yeah, I like most genres, I would say.
But I don't like horror either.
Do you like comedies?
I like most comedies, but it depends on the director.
Some directors, I like every comedy that they make.
And others, I don't really like any, to be honest.
I really like a rom-com.
Rom-coms are romantic comedies.
Do you like those?
No.
Not really.
They're a bit corny, aren't they?
No, I like no rom-com.
No, I don't like any of them.
I think the good thing about rom-coms is that they're both romantic and funny.
So you get the best of both worlds.
Every rom-com I've seen is a bit silly.
Yeah, but silly is fun.
So Beth said she likes all genres of film.
All is used with plural or uncountable nouns.
In this case, genre was plural, so that's why she used all.
An all plus a noun is used when we talk about something general.
For example, Beth likes all genres of film.
But we can also use all of the if we want to talk about something specific.
For example, Beth likes all of the rom-coms she's ever seen.
She's talking about the specific film she's seen.
And Neil used a similar word to all.
He used every.
We use every with singular nouns.
Every rom-com I've seen is a bit silly.
We can call words like all and every quantifiers.
These are words that tell us the amount of something.
Here's Georgie, our grammar guru, to tell us more about them.
Hi guys, I've come to help our listeners with words like all, any and both.
So you've already talked about all and every, but we heard most earlier as well.
Yeah, I like most genres, I would say.
We use most to say the majority.
We use most when we talk about something general like I like most genres and most of when we want to be more specific.
For example, Neil could have said, I like most of the films I've seen directed by Steven Spielberg.
And we can also use quantifiers to talk about zero amounts, can't we?
Earlier I heard no and anything.
I don't really like any horror films.
That's right.
We use the word any plus a noun after the negative form of a verb.
Beth used the negative don't like and Neil does in this sentence.
Listen to the word any.
No, I like no rom-coms.
No, I don't like any of them.
And Neil used the word no there too.
We use the word no plus a noun after a positive or affirmative verb form.
Neil used a verb in the affirmative, like.
He said, I like no rom-coms.
So, we've talked about every and all and no and any.
Can you tell us about both?
How can we use it?
Both is used when we're talking about two things.
I think that the good thing about rom-coms is that they're both romantic and funny.
Beth said she likes rom-coms because they're both romantic and funny.
She uses two adjectives so she also adds both.
The word both is optional.
It's often used to emphasise that you're talking about two things.
Thanks Georgie for all the help you've given us.
You help us out in every episode.
See you later guys.
Right, Pippa.
We're going to make sentences using quantifiers.
I'll start a sentence and you need to finish it.
OK.
Play along as you listen.
Try to finish the sentence before I do.
Let's start.
I have two dogs and they're… Both very naughty.
Oh yes, another one.
I love Star Wars.
I like Every film.
OK.
Time for some negatives.
I don't like... Any shopping centres.
OK.
I like... No Christmas films.
Do you like rom-coms like Beth does or do you prefer a different kind of film genre like Neil?
Send an email to learningenglish at bbc.co.uk to let us know.
That's it for this episode.
We've learned to use all with plurals and uncountable nouns and every with singular nouns.
And we've learned that Neil hates rom-coms.
We'll be back next week to learn some more grammar tips.
In the meantime, you can test what you've learnt in this episode with the worksheet on our website.
To learn more English grammar, go to our website now, bbclearningenglish.com.
Goodbye for now.
Goodbye.
