Hedging/ Generalising/ Adverbs of frequency/ Quantifiers/ Xmas vocabulary
Use phrases like those below to explain things related to winter festivals/ holidays such as attitudes and actions, making sure that you use the right level of phrase to reflect how many people, how often, etc. You don’t have to use words from all columns below (although it is possible). Instead, it’s probably better to choose a word from one column and use words from one or more other columns to make a sentence from it. See if your partner agrees, discuss it for as long as you like, then do the same with your partner’s statement.
| How many | Kinds of people | How often | |
| According to
Amongst people I know In my experience I get the feeling that (From discussions I’ve had on the subject) I have formed the impression that A survey has shown that If you can believe… It wouldn’t surprise me if Judging from the movies Judging from… |
(absolutely) all
a considerable number of a fairly large number of a large number of a substantial number of a small minority of a substantial minority of a tiny minority of almost all almost no few many most not many practically all practically no the vast majority of very few very nearly all virtually all virtually no
|
Americans
(East) Asians baby boomers bosses British people cool kids English speakers Europeans Generation X hipsters intellectuals (late) middle-aged people millennials people in developed countries people in developing countries people in this city people in this country pre-school kids retired people shopkeepers students teachers teenagers the (lower/ upper) middle class toddlers tweens working class people young children young people |
almost always
almost never always frequently generally hardly ever occasionally often rarely seldom usually without fail |
————————–
| Verb | Objects/ Topics | |
| are confused by
are (well/un-)informed about are sceptical about are stressed by (try to) avoid believe in…/ that… is… buy/ purchase can(’t) afford/ buy/ pay for can’t be bothered celebrate cook decorate drink/ (over)eat enjoy/ like – dislike feel confident about feel nostalgic about forget about give – receive hang/ put up have have a bad impression of have (…) memories of have given up have (never) heard of have (no) interest in have problems with have tried ignore – pay attention to know about know… (off by heart) learn… (by heart) listen to/ watch make (homemade)/ prepare pray prefer… (to…) record sing (over)spend take part in/ attend think of (mis)understand use… (properly) visit want to/ would (like to) waste time/ money on wear write (to) |
advent calendar
angel argument/ quarrel/ row baubles cake candles candy (cane) (post)card(s) carol singer(s) carrots champagne (cork) (fried/ roast) chicken Chinese horoscope chocolate(s) Christmas crackers A Christmas Carol/ Scrooge church coal cranberry sauce dates decorations dessert dress up (smart) eggnog fair/ market fairy figs fireworks gingerbread house grapes Jesus (fairy) lights (good/ bad) luck (un)lucky… |
mandarin/ tangerine
marzipan midnight (mass) mince pies nativity play nativity scene nuts/ nutcracker paper hat (roast) parsnips party party poppers (roast) potatoes presents pudding red underwear reindeer (headdress) (New Year) resolutions restaurant roast… robin Salvation Army Santa hat/ costume Santa/ Father Xmas shop(ping) skate ski sleigh/ sledge snowball (fight) snowman songs/ music speech spring clean stocking stollen superstition a toast (real/ plastic) tree turkey TV white Christmas wreath |
Ask about anything above you don’t understand, making generalisations each time.
Generalising language presentation
First of all without looking above, brainstorm suitable language into the right places below, with the strongest top. Ones which have the same meaning should go next to each other.
How many
(absolutely) all
virtually no
How often
always/ without fail
almost never
Mixed answers
Use the mixed answers below to help with the task above. Ones with the same meaning should go next to each other.
How many
(absolutely) all
a considerable number of
a fairly large number of
a large number of
a small minority of
a substantial minority of
a substantial number of
a tiny minority of
almost all
almost no
few
many people
most people
not many
practically all
practically no
the vast majority of
very few
very nearly all
virtually all
virtually no
How often
almost always
almost never
always
frequently
generally
hardly ever
occasionally
often
rarely
seldom
usually
without fail
———————-
Suggested answers
How many
(absolutely) all
virtually all/ practically all/ very nearly all
almost all
the vast majority of
most
many/ a large number of
a considerable number of/ a substantial number of
a fairly large number of
a substantial minority of
not many/ few
a small minority of
very few/ a tiny minority of
almost no
practically no/ virtually no
How often
always/ without fail
almost always
usually/ generally
often/ frequently
occasionally
seldom/ rarely
hardly ever
almost never
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PDF for easy saving and printing: Generalising about Xmas and New Year
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