Dear Members and Students.
Yesterday evening, I was at a very nice function, (in the UK), for Refugees, Asylum-Seekers, and Foreign Nationals. Generally speaking, their knowledge of English was elementary, or even non-existent.
I was happy to meet a previous student of mine. He proudly introduced me to the Organiser, with the words: �He was an excellent teacher. In his class, I learned too much. He gave us good worksheets. He gave us too many beautiful worksheets�.
I was very pleased to be described as an excellent teacher, but my politeness prevented me from correcting his words.
�Too much!� is a NEGATIVE remark; it is NOT a compliment; it refers to something EXCESSIVE! You have more than you want or need.
1) �Teacher, in your class I learned TOO MUCH.� = �Teacher, I learned more than I needed; I learned facts that were useless to me; I was over-worked; I was buried under the work; you gave me too many exercises; I did not like it; you are not a good teacher�.
Here are some much more acceptable phrases, (and there are others).
2) Teacher, in your class, I learned MUCH; I learned VERY MUCH; I learned LOTS; I learned A LOT; I learned A GREAT DEAL; I learned A GOOD DEAL; I learned PLENTY; I learned A LARGE AMOUNT; I learned A GREAT NUMBER OF THINGS; I learned MANY THINGS; I learned LOADS (colloquial); I learned HEAPS (colloquial); I learned TONS (colloquial), etc.
�Too many!� is a NEGATIVE remark; it is NOT a compliment; it refers to something EXCESSIVE! You have more than you want or need.
3) �Teacher, in your class, you gave me TOO MANY worksheets.� = �Teacher, you gave me more worksheets than I needed; you gave me worksheets that were useless to me; I was over-worked with the worksheets; I was buried under the worksheets; you gave me too many worksheets, more than I could use; I did not like it; you are not a good teacher�.
Here are some much more acceptable phrases, (and there are others).
4) Teacher, in your class, you gave me MANY worksheets; VERY MANY worksheets; LOTS OF worksheets; A LOT OF worksheets; A LARGE NUMBER OF worksheets; NUMEROUS worksheets; INNUMERABLE worksheets; COUNTLESS worksheets; MULTIPLE worksheets; COPIOUS worksheets; SEVERAL worksheets; VARIOUS worksheets; VARIED worksheets; SUNDRY worksheets; DIVERSE worksheets; etc.
I hope that this is of help to you.
Les
