The words many, much, a lot of and their usage. Use much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty A lot translation into Russian

Have you noticed how often we use the words “many”, “little”, “several” in speech and how we do not like to give exact numbers? Secretive by nature, the British also very often use these words in speech. When we say "a lot" in English, we use the words many, much, a lot of, plenty of and when we say "little" - few, a few, little, a little. These words are called determiners(defining words), they indicate an indefinite amount of something. From the article you will learn when and where to use much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty of in English.

The noun plays a key role in the choice of the defining word. It is from what kind of noun is in front of us, countable ( countable noun) or uncountable ( uncountable noun), depends on what will be determiner. Recall once again that we can count countable nouns and they have a plural form ( a boy – boys). And uncountable nouns do not have a plural form ( water – some water) and we can't count them.

We have divided all words into three groups depending on the noun they are used with. We will consider each group separately.

Many, few, a few with countable nouns

The words many(lot), few(few), a few(several) are used with countable nouns. Many means a large amount of something: many apples(many apples), many friends(many friends), many ideas(many ideas).

Opposite many- This few: few apples(few apples) few friends(few friends), few ideas(few ideas). At few often a negative meaning: there is very little of something, not enough, so little that there is practically none.

A few is intermediate between many and few, translated as "several": a few apples(several apples) a few friends(some friends), a few ideas(several ideas).

– Do you have many friends in this part of the city? - By you lot friends in this part of town?
- No, I don't. I have few friends in this part of the city. - I do not have few friends in this part of town. (that is, not enough, I would like more)
– I have a few friends in the city centre. - I have some friends in the city center.

Much, little, a little with uncountable nouns

The words much(lot), little(few), a little(a little) are used with uncountable nouns. Usually uncountable are liquids ( water- water, oil- oil), too small objects that cannot be counted ( sand- sand, flour- flour), or abstract concepts, since they cannot be seen or touched with hands ( knowledge- knowledge, work- Job).

Much denotes a large amount of something uncountable: much sugar(a lot of sugar), much milk(a lot of milk), much time(a lot of time).

Opposite much- This little: little sugar(little sugar) little milk(little milk) little time(little time). Little, like few, means that something is not enough, very little.

A little means a small amount of something that cannot be counted: little sugar(a little sugar), a little milk(some milk), a little time(a little time).

– Did she put much salt in the soup? - She is lot did you put salt in the soup?
- No, she didn't. She put little salt in the soup. No, she put few salt in soup. (could have done more)
– I added a little salt in her soup. - I added Little salt in her soup.

A lot of, plenty of - universal words

The words a lot of(many) and plenty of(much) the most "convenient": we can use them with both countable and uncountable nouns.

A lot of (lots of) replaces much and many: a lot of people(many people), lots of tea(a lot of tea). Plenty of means that there is a lot of something, that is, enough or even more than you need: plenty of people(a lot of people), plenty of tea(a lot of tea).

We bought lots of souvenirs and plenty of tea when we were on vacation in Sri Lanka. - We bought lot souvenirs and lots of tea while on holiday in Sri Lanka.

Features and exclusions

1. Much, many, few, little, a lot of with uncountable nouns

   There are a number of nouns that appear to be countable but are actually not. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine the "countability" of a noun. If you are not sure which noun is in front of you, it is better to check it in . Note that in English, uncountables include advice(advice), news(news), work(Job), money(money), research(study), travel(travel), furniture(furniture).

   They have much work to do. - They have lot work.

   She told me a little fascinating news. - She told me some interesting news.

   And now a little life hack. You can add to an uncountable noun that will help us count these same uncountable nouns.

   She drank much water. - she drank plenty of water.
   She drank many glasses of water. - she drank many glasses water.

   Can you buy canned food and bread? Can you buy canned food and bread?
   Can you buy a can of corn and a loaf of bread? - You can buy bank canned corn and bun of bread?

2. Much, many, few, little, a lot of in different types of offers

   In affirmative sentences, you will often hear a lot of, how much or many. In negative and interrogative sentences, it is preferable to use much or many, but a lot of also occurs.

   – Did you take many photographs when you were in New York? - You did lot photos from when you were in New York?
   – It was a business trip! I didn't take many photographs as I didn't have much time. - I was on a business trip! I did not do lot photos because I didn't have lot time.
   – But I had a lot of meetings and Iate a lot of unhealthy foods. - But I had lot meetings and I ate lot junk food.

   However, if there are adverbs very(very), too(too much), so(so), then in affirmative sentences after them there can only be much and many.

   I ate a lot of fish. - I ate lot fish.
   I ate too much fish. - I ate too much fish.

   You ask me a lot of questions. - you ask me lot questions.
   You ask me so many questions. - you ask me so much questions.

   At few and little also has one important feature. Very often in the flow of speech we can not distinguish, said the interlocutor few or a few, little or a little. To prevent this from happening, few and little word joins very, the meaning of the statement does not change.

   He has very little experience in this field. He has a little experience in another one. - Him few experience in this area (almost no). He has Little experience in another area.

   He knows very few people in the building. He knew a few people where he lived before. - He knows few people (almost no one) living with him in the same house. He knew some people where they used to live.

3. Degrees of comparison much, many, few, little

   We can not only name a quantity, but also compare it with another quantity. Comparative form for much and many – more(more).

   She usually spends much money on clothes but that time she spent even more. She usually spends lot money for clothes, but that time she spent more more.

   She usually buys many dresses and many bags but yesterday she bought more dresses than bags. – She usually buys lot dresses and lot bags, but yesterday she bought more dresses than bags.

   Comparative degree for little- This less(less), for few – fewer(smaller).

   I have known her for a long time and she used to have fewer cats. I have known her for a very long time, she used to have smaller cats.

   I drink very little tea and I drink even less milk. - I drink a lot. few tea, but still milk smaller.

About other features much, many you can learn from the video from the teacher Ronnie.

You can download our plate and use it whenever you want. We also recommend that you practice using much, many, few, little, a lot of in our test.

(*.pdf, 181 Kb)

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Test

Eating much, many, few, little, a lot of, plenty

Hello people! In this article, we will analyze in detail the rules for using the words “much”, “many” and “a lot of” in English, find out the differences between them, discuss the nuances of using them in speech, and also show examples for clarity.

Much

Translation and transcription: much - a lot, very, a lot, significantly, very much;

Use: is used in a sentence when we mean a large number of uncountable nouns, i.e. those that cannot be counted individually;

Example:

There is much black paint left in the garage.
Left in the garage lot black paint.

Also, it is usually used in negative (negative) or interrogative (interrogative) sentences:

Chris does not have much change. Only a few five dollar bills.
Chris doesn't have much money to change. Just a few five dollar bills.

In affirmative sentences, "much" is sometimes used when a more formal and formal style is meant.

For example:

There is much concern about genetically modified food in the UK.
In Great Britain the question is acute regarding genetically modified foods.

Many

Transcription and translation: like "much", "many" ["menɪ] is translated as "many";

Use: used exclusively with plural countable nouns;

Example:

However, despite many many problems remain unsolved.
However, despite significant efforts, many problems remain unresolved.

AT denials and issues with countable nouns "many" is also quite common:

How many quail eggs are in this salad?
How much quail eggs in this salad?

Anthony does not have many bottles of wine in his own private bar. At least that's what he's saying.
Anthony Little bottles wine in his own bar. At least he says so.

Can be used in affirmative suggestions when you need a shade formalities.

There were many scientific articles taken into account to make a decision.
It was taken into account many scientific articles to make a decision.

A lot of

Transcription and translation: in meaning “a lot of” [ə lɔt ɔf] is similar to “much” and “many” and implies the same translation - a lot;

Use: used both with countable nouns in the plural and with uncountable ones, mainly in colloquial and informal speech.

Example:

Jack had a lot of peanut butter left in the jar.
Jack has left lot peanut pasta in the bank.

The equivalent of "a lot of" is " lots of' (an even more informal form).

Lots of teenagers learn Korean because they are into k-pop.
Many teenagers are learning Korean because they are into the K-pop music genre.

1. noun
   1. lot; in a figurative sense fate, share, fate;
      to cast (to draw) lots
      to settle by lot decide by lot;
      to cast (or to throw) in one "s lot with smb. tie, share (one's) fate with someone;
      the lot fell upon (or came to) me

      Examples of using

      lots

      1. "The ladies are excluded, however, the men will begin. We"ll arrange it by drawing lots as we did then!

         Ladies, however, are excluded, men begin; the matter is settled by lot, as then!

         Moron. Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, p. 169

      2. If you believe that humans can improve their lot, I've been told

         I was told that if you believe that people can change their destiny,

         Video caption "Is the world getting better or worse? Look at the numbers. Steven Pinker", page 1
   2. plot (land);
      across lots straight, the shortest way;
      parking lot

      Examples of using

      1. He was of a clean, saving disposition, and had already paid a number of monthly installations on two lots far out on the West Side.

         Hanson was by nature a man of high order and thrift; for several months he had been paying dues for two plots of land bought far away, in the western part of the city.

         Sister Kerry. Theodore Dreiser, page 11

      2. "It is fortunate, then, that they fall to my lot instead of yours."

         Well, you're lucky that I got it.

         Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen, page 38

      3. If he wished, he could linger here, in comfort, and follow the entire hunt on through its swift. phases, down alleys across streets, over empty running avenues, crossing lots and playgrounds, with pauses here or there for the necessary commercials, up other alleys to the burning house of Mr. and Mrs. Black, and so on finally to this house with Faber and himself seated, drinking, while the Electric Hound snuffed down the last trail, silent as a drift of death itself, skidded to a halt outside that window there.

         If he wanted to, he could stay here and comfortably follow the whole chase to the end, step by step, through alleys and streets, deserted wide boulevards, through lawns and playgrounds, stopping here and there with the announcer for the necessary explanations, and again through the alleys, straight to the flames of the house of Mr. and Mrs. Black, and finally here, to this house, where he and Faber sit and drink whiskey, while the electric monster is already sniffing the trail of his recent steps, silent as death itself . Here it is under the window.

         451 degrees Fahrenheit. Ray Bradbury, page 104
   3. item sold at auction or several items sold at the same time

      Examples of using

      1. The tech guy built a mobile app and sold it very fast for a lot of money.

      2. They all said afterwards that it was the best of the lot-the most ghastly and terrible-but I could not make any sense of it myself. It seemed so incomplete.

         Everyone later admitted that it was the best of the stories, the darkest and most terrible, but I didn’t really understand it - it was kind of confused.

         A haunted party. Jerome K. Jerome, page 14
   4. colloquial - a group, a handful (of people); company

      Examples of using

      1. Once I saw an ad, and it was a lot of friends,

      2. many, mass;
         a lot (of), lots of a lot, a lot; many;
         lots and lots of colloquial huge amount

         Examples of using

         And how many kisses under the mistletoe, how many jokes, practical jokes, laughter; everyone is having fun.

         Christmas Holidays. William Somerset Maugham, page 133

         1. The tech guy built a mobile app and sold it very fast for a lot of money.

            The guy invented a mobile application and quickly sold it for a lot of money.

            Video subtitle "5 ways to kill your dream. Bel Pesce", page 1

         2. and we tend to do it a lot.

         3. batch (of products);
            we "ll send you the texstbooks in three different lots

            Examples of using

            1. For answer Chichikov folded three together, and, having dipped them in melted butter, consigned the lot to his mouth, and then wiped his mouth with a napkin.

               In response to this, Chichikov rolled three pancakes together and, dipping them in melted butter, put them in his mouth, and wiped his lips and hands with a napkin.

               Dead Souls. Poem. Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich, p. 59

            2. “Such a fine lot, too - all good workers!

               And such an all-glorious people died, all the workers.

               Dead Souls. Poem. Gogol Nikolai Vasilievich, p. 51
         4. tax, duty
         5. lot;
            a bad lot colloquial
      3. verb
         1. divide, split into sections, parts (often lot out)

            Examples of using

            1. They waited there for half a day, and the food still remained warm and smoking, and at length they were so hungry that they sat down and ate, and agreed with each other that they would stay and live in that castle, and that one of them, who should be chosen by casting lots, should remain in the house, and the two others seek the King's daughters. They cast lots, and the lot fell on the eldest; so next day the two younger went out to seek, and the eldest had to stay home.

               They sat there, waiting, for half a day, and the dishes were still hot, and steam came from them; they were so hungry that they sat down and began to eat, and decided among themselves to stay in this castle and cast lots, who should stay in the house, and who should go together in search of the royal daughters; so they did; and the lot fell to the eldest to remain in the castle.

               Underground man. Brothers Grimm, page 2
         2. rare - draw lots The mysterious incident at Stiles. Agatha Christie, page 7

All the words in question are translated in the same way: " lot" and are used with nouns. But how do you know which word to use? Many or much? Or a lot of?

We learned from school textbooks that the words many and much are used always and everywhere, regardless of the type of sentence. Therefore, after several years of studying English, for many it is simply a revelation that in English the words many and much are used mainly in interrogative and negative proposals, and statements it is preferable to use a lot (of) , which will be discussed a little later.

Dealing with the use of the words many and much, it's time to remember about countable and uncountable nouns. To countable items that can be counted. I draw your attention to what cannot be measured, namely count and name their exact number. Category uncountable belong to nouns denoting something that cannot be counted, but can only be measured. You can learn more about the two categories of nouns.

The choice of the word many or much directly depends on which noun is used with it. If countable, many is used, and if uncountable, then much :

Many houses - many houses
many words - many words
many shirts - many shirts
much information - a lot of information
much clothes - a lot of clothes
much attention - a lot of attention

As mentioned above, many and much are used in questions and negations. Let's start with questions. In questions, many and much are combined with the question word how:

How many- how many (if asking about countable nouns)
how much- how many (if asking about uncountable nouns)

How many lessons did you have yesterday? How many lessons did you have yesterday?
How many cups of tea do you drink? - How many cups of tea do you drink?
How much money did you spend yesterday? How much money did you spend yesterday?
How much tea do you drink? - How much tea do you drink?

These questions can be answered specifically by naming the quantity, or you can answer: "Not a lot": not many or not much. And if you want to answer that there is a lot, then you need to use a lot:

How many cups of tea do you drink? — A lot.
How much tea do you drink? — A lot.

A lot (of) is usually used in affirmative offers. This quantifier can be combined with both countable and uncountable nouns, which makes our task much easier. However, don't forget the preposition of if it's followed by a noun:

A lot (of) has equivalents. These are lots of and plenty of . They denote a large number and can be used in the same way as a lot of , whether it is a countable noun or not:

Lots of and plenty of are used without an article and correspond in meaning to a lot of. The only difference between these qualifiers is that a lot of and lots of are more colloquial, while plenty of emphasizes sufficiency:

I "ve got plenty of money. - I have a lot (enough) money.
We "ll have plenty of time. - We will have a lot (enough) time.

By the way, the question is often asked whether the verb are can be used in combination with a lot of, because are is the plural, and the article a stands for the singular. If you use a lot of with countable nouns, then the noun will be in the plural and, accordingly, the verb are will refer to it, and not to a lot of:

When a lot of is used with uncountable nouns, this question does not arise, since is is used with uncountable nouns:

Let's go back to the words many and much, which are also used in negations. If the sentence contains a negative particle not or another word with a negative meaning, then it is better to use many and much, and not a lot of:

He doesn't have many friends. - He doesn't have many friends.
I never eat much in the evening. — I never eat much in the evenings.
They hardly ever spend much money. They rarely spend a lot of money.
I did not see many sights because I did not have much time. I didn't see many sights as I didn't have much time.

To sum up today's lesson: in affirmative sentences you should use a lot of (or its equivalents) to mean "a lot", and in negative and interrogative sentences, you need to choose between many and much, depending on which noun they refer to: countable or uncountable.

In this article, we looked at the main uses of the words many and much, in fact, there are many more, including various nuances and exceptions. But this topic deserves a separate and detailed explanation, so we will talk about this in one of our next articles.

lot territory at the film studio; a bad lot dec. bad, bad person building lot building lot building lot inaccessible lot inaccessible lot lot rare to draw lots lot item sold at auction or several items sold at the same time lot item sold at auction or several items sold at the same time lot much, much; a lot better (more) group, bunch (of people); company lot group lot divide, split into sections, parts (often lot out) lot lots; trans. fate, share, fate; to cast (to draw) lots to settle by lot to decide by lot lot lot, fate, share, fate lot lot lot lot land lot lot lot lot lot, mass; a lot (of), lots of a lot, a lot; many; lots and lots of open huge amount, mass lot many, mass; a lot (of), lots of a lot, a lot; many; lots and lots of open huge amount, mass lot tax, duty lot tax, duty lot tax lot lot lot (products); we "ll send you the textbooks in three different lots .) lot series lot sort; break into lots (for auction sale) lot standard size of the contract at auction lot standard size of the lot of goods at auction lot standard size of the transaction at auction lot territory at the film studio; (land); across lots straight, the shortest route; parking lot parking lot lot lot (land) lot much, much; a lot better (more) much better (more) to cast (or to throw) in one "s lot (with smb.) bind, share (one's) fate (with someone); the lot fell upon (or came to) me the lot fell on me a lot, a lot; a lot (of), lots of a lot, a lot; many; lots and lots of open huge amount, mass lot many, mass; a lot (of), lots of a lot, a lot; many; lots and lots of open huge amount, mass odd lot incomplete lot lot lot (of land); across lots straight, the shortest way; parking lot parking lot parking lot parking lot parking: lot lot parking lot round lot full lot round lot standard deal sale lot sale lot lot lots; trans. fate, share, fate; to cast (to draw) lots to settle by lot decide by drawing lots trial lot trial lot of products trial lot trial lot of products lot batch (of products); we "ll send you the textbooks in three different lots