HOW AND WHEN TO USE:

MUCH – MANY – A LOT OF

with revision of:

Countable and Uncountable nouns
 COUNTABLE NOUNS
Countable nouns are nouns that refer to things or objects and can be counted (1, 2, 3…)
A pen – 3 pens / A dog – 2 dogs / My cousin – my 2 cousins / A book – 10 books

Countable nouns can be sigular or plural.

They can be used with a/ an and with numbers and with other determiners
(these, a few, etc)
 UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Uncountable nouns are things that are seen as a whole, a mass or abstract and cannot be separated or counted

Ideas or expressions: advice, information, progress, news, luck, fun, work, research
Materials and substances: wood, wool, water, rice, sugar, milk, coffee
Weather words: weather, thunder, lighting, rain, snow
Names to talk about a groupe of items: furniture, equipment, rubbish, luggage

Uncountable nouns cannot be used with a/an or numbers and are not used in the plural form.

Ex: We are going to get new furniture for the living room.

NOT: We’re going to get a new furniture for the living room
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Exceptions and rules:

 Some nouns are uncountable but end in –s.
(shorts, trousers, pants , glasses (for the eyes), scissors

 In some languages uncountable nouns are considered countable!!

(accommodation, advice, furniture, information)

 Some words can be countable or uncountable:depending upon how they are used
chocolate/chocolates , cake /cakes , paper/papers
 MANY MUCH
(Countable nouns) (Uncountable nouns)

Many is used with countable nouns
(a/an – numbers – plurals)
It can be used for:
* Affirmation
* Negative form
* Interrogative form
Ex: How many cups of tea do you drink a day?
Were there many students in the class?
We didn’t see many houses on the east end.
There aren’t many people tonight.
Much is used with uncountable nouns
It can be used for:
* Negative form
* Interrogative form
**Not affirmation: it sounds too formal
Ex: How much tea do you drink in a day?
I won’t cook much rice as I am alone?
How much do you love me?
How much money do you have?
 MANY MUCH
(Countable nouns) (Uncountable nouns)

Many can be used alone without a noun. Much can be used alone without a noun.

Ex: I baked 12 cookies yesterday. Ex: I’ve just poured myself a coffee.
How many are left? (cookies) How much is left in the pot? (coffee)

WHEN ASKING A QUESTION

We use How many + a countable noun : We use How much + uncountable noun :
to ask about a number to ask about the quanty and the amount.

** How many students are there in the classroom? ** How much milk is there in the bottle?
There are 13… About half the bottle…
 A LOT OF / LOTS
OF
A lot of (lots of) is used with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns

I made a lot of friends this year There’s a lot

of food in the fridge.

We omit ‘of’ when a lot is not followed by a noun.

Ex: Have you got many books? Yes, I’ve got a lot.

We use a lot of/ lots of in affirmative sentences!

There is a lot/lots of coffee in the jug.
In general:
a lot of /lots of is used for positive statements
and many or much for negative statements and questions

* I have invited a lot of friends so I need to buy a lot of food. - positive statement
* I haven’t invited many friends so I don’t need to buy much food. - negative statement
* There are many a lot of people here tonight - affirmation