Food, Market and Health
Primary 3 · English
Food, Market and Health
Lesson 2 of 3
14 min
Let's begin
It is Saturday morning. Mama gives Gatete a basket and 2,000 Frw. “Go to the market,” she says. “Bring avocados and eggs.”
At the market the sellers call out, the tomatoes shine red, and Gatete suddenly stops. How do you ASK for things in English?
You only need two little questions today: How many? and How much? Learn them, and you can shop anywhere.
Gatete stands in front of a basket of tomatoes. He can touch them and count them: one, two, three, four. So the seller asks him:
How many tomatoes do you want?
Gatete answers: Four, please.
He can also ask her a question back:
How many eggs are there in the tray? → There are thirty.
Did you see it? Every time he could COUNT the thing, he used how many. And the thing after how many always wears its s: how many tomatoes, how many eggs, how many bananas.
Now Gatete wants to know the price. Money is never counted with how many. For price we always say how much:
Look at the small word in the middle. One avocado → is. Three avocados → are. One thing takes is; more than one takes are.
Gatete looks at the big sack of rice. Can he count rice? One rice, two rices? No! Rice is scooped, not counted. Sugar too. Milk too.
So for those we use how much as well:
Now the rule is easy, because you have already seen it work:
Here is Gatete at the avocado stall. Read it slowly, then read it again as if you were him.
Gatete: Good morning. How much is one avocado?
Seller: It is 200 Frw.
Gatete: How many avocados are in that small heap?
Seller: There are three.
Gatete: I will take the three, please. And how much are four eggs?
Seller: One egg is 150 Frw, so four eggs are 600 Frw.
Gatete: Thank you. How much is it all?
Seller: It is 1,200 Frw.
Gatete: Here is 2,000 Frw.
Seller: Your change is 800 Frw. Thank you, come again!
Never hand over your money before you check. Let us do it together.
Two more useful market sentences to keep:
Tip
Remember it like this: maNY is for things you can couNT — tomatoes, eggs, bananas. How much is for money and for anything you pour or scoop — rice, sugar, milk, water.
Try first, then tap Show answer to check.
Fill the gap: How ______ bananas do you want?
Answer: many. (You can count bananas: one, two, three.)
Fill the gap: How ______ sugar do you want?
Answer: much. (Sugar is scooped, not counted.)
You want the price of one mango. Ask the seller.
Answer: How much is one mango? (One mango, so we use is.)
One mango costs 300 Frw. How much are two mangoes?
Answer: They are 600 Frw. (2 × 300 = 600. And with two mangoes we say are, not is.)
Uwase buys 5 eggs at 150 Frw each. She pays with a 1,000 Frw note. How much change does she get?
Answer: 250 Frw. (5 × 150 = 750 Frw. Then 1,000 − 750 = 250 Frw.)
What you learned today
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