a lot of/a lots of

With mass and count nouns in positive sentences

Theres a lot of traffic today. There are a lot of cars in the city centre. Lots of people came to our party.

much

With mass nouns in negative sentences and in questions

We didnt do much work. How much money did you spend? There werent many people at the meeting. How many suitcases ate there? Many companies are doing well right now.

many

With mass nouns in negative sentences and in questions In positive sentences

a little

With mass nouns in positive sentences

I drank only a little wine.

a few

With count nouns in positive sentences

We had a few problems.

In positive sentences we used a lot of/ lots of more than many. We use lots of mostle in spoken English.