Vocabulary Building

(Mr Phuoc)

 

1. Much / a lot of / lots of

“Much” is used only with uncountable nouns. It is used mainly in questions and negative sentences: It means a large amount or to a large degree:

EX:

I don't earn much money.

You haven't said much, Joan - what do you think?

I like her very much.

I don't think there's much to be gained by catching an earlier flight.

The children never eat (very) much, but they seem healthy.

In statements a lot of or lots of (informal) is much more common:

How much (money) does she earn?

She earns a lot of money.

You can also use plenty (of). These phrases can also be used in questions and negative sentences.

“A lot of/​lots of” is still felt to be informal, especially in British English, so in formal writing it is better to use much, a great deal of or a large amount of.

Very much and a lot can be used as adverbs:

I miss my family very much.

I miss very much my family.

I miss my family a lot.

Thanks a lot.

 

2. Target

There are several ways to replace ‘target’ with the following words.

These are all words for something that you are trying to achieve.

objective

goal

object

end

* “target” is something that you try to achieve:

EX:

Set targets in your life

“objective” (rather formal) something that you are trying to achieve:

EX:

What is the main objective of this project?

“goal”  is something that you hope to achieve:

EX:

She pursued her goal of becoming a pilot.