Thinking About Language

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III. Read this sentence:

He shook himself, and I half expected a cloud of dust. The author uses a cloud of dust to give a picture of a large quantity of dust. Phrases like this indicate a particular quantity of something that is not usually countable. For example: a bit of land, a drop of blood, a pinch of salt, a piece of paper.

Use a bit of/a piece of/a bunch of/a cloud of/a lump of with the italicized nouns in the following sentences. The first has been done for you as an example.

(i) My teacher gave me some advice. My teacher gave me a bit of advice.

(ii) Can you give me some clay, please.

(iii) The information you gave was very useful.

(iv) Because of these factories, smoke hangs over the city.

(v) Two stones rubbed together can produce sparks of fire.

(vi) He gave me some flowers on my birthday.