Much, many, a lot of, lots of etc

SEPTEMBER 27, 2013 -

We can use numbers with countable nouns. For example, we can say two
girls and six eggs.

Many and much

Sometimes it is not possible or necessary to give an exact number like this. Then
we use a quantifier like many.

There were many children in the park. (We dont know the exact number of
children.)
There are many mangoes on the tree.
She has many friends.

We cannot use numbers with uncountable nouns. For example, we cant say two
water or three honey.

However, we can give an idea of amount or quantity by using the word much with
uncountable nouns. Note that much is mainly used in questions and negative
sentences.

How much money do you have?

There isnt much food left.
There isnt much space in this room.

Some
Some can be used with countable and uncountable nouns.

I have bought some eggs. (Here we use some with the countable noun
eggs.)
There is some water in the bottle. (Here we use some with the uncountable
noun water.)

Some is mainly used in affirmative sentences. In negative sentences, we use any.

Is there any water in the bottle?

A lot of / lots of
A lot of / lots of can also be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
Note that there is hardly any difference between a lot of and lots of. A lot
of and lots of are mainly used in affirmative sentences. In questions and negatives
we express the same idea using much and many.

I have watched lots of English films.

I havent watched many English films. (More natural than I havent watched
lots of English films.)
She has been giving me a lot of trouble. (Here we use a lot of with the
uncountable noun trouble.)
Much, many, a lot of, lots of: quantifiers
de English Grammar Today

We use the quantifiers much, many, a lot of, lots of to talk about quantities,
amounts and degree. We can use them with a noun (as a determiner) or without
a noun (as a pronoun).

Much, many with a noun

We use much with singular uncountable nouns and many with plural nouns:

[talking about money]

I havent got much change. Ive only got a ten euro note.

Are there many campsites near you?

Questions and negatives

We usually use much and many with questions (?) and negatives ():

Is there much unemployment in that area?

How many eggs are in this cake?

Do you think many people will come?

It was pouring with rain but there wasnt much wind.

There arent many women priests.

Affirmatives

In affirmative clauses we sometimes use much and many in more formal styles:

There is much concern about drug addiction in the US.

He had heard many stories about Yanto and he knew he was trouble.

In informal styles, we prefer to use lots of or a lot of:

I went shopping and spent a lot of money.

Not: I went shopping and spent much money.

See also:
Lots, a lot, plenty
Much of, many of

When we use much or many before articles (a/an, the), demonstratives (this,
that), possessives (my, your) or pronouns (him, them), we need to use of:

How much of this book is fact and how much is fiction?

Claude, the seventeenth-century French painter, spent much of his life in Italy.

Unfortunately, not many of the photographers were there.

How many of them can dance, sing and act?

This much, that much

Spoken English:

When we are talking to someone face-to-face, we can use this much and that
much with a hand gesture to indicate quantity:

[the speaker indicates a small amount with his fingers]

I only had that much cake.

A lot of, lots of with a noun

We use a lot of and lots of in informal styles. Lots of is more informal than a lot
of. A lot of and lots ofcan both be used with plural countable nouns and with
singular uncountable nouns for affirmatives, negatives, and questions:

Weve got lots of things to do.

Thats a lot of money.

There werent a lot of choices.

Can you hurry up? I dont have a lot of time.

Are there a lot of good players at your tennis club?

Have you eaten lots of chocolate?

See also:
Lots, a lot, plenty

Much, many, a lot of, lots of: negative questions

When we use much and many in negative questions, we are usually expecting
that a large quantity of something isnt there. When we use a lot of and lots of in
negative questions, we are usually expecting a large quantity of something.

Compare

(No, they havent.)

Havent they sold many tickets? The speaker expects that they have sold a small
quantity of tickets.

(Yes, they have.)

Havent they sold a lot
The speaker expects that they have sold a large quantity
oftickets? (or lots of)
of tickets.

(No, there isnt.)

Isnt there much food left? The speaker expects that there is a small quantity of
food left.

(Yes, there is.)

Isnt there a lot of food left? (or lots of) The speaker expects that there is a large quantity of
food left.
Much, many, a lot, lots: without a noun

We usually leave out the noun after much, many and a lot, lots when the noun is
obvious:

A:

Would you like some cheese?

B:

Yes please but not too much. (not too much cheese)

A:

Can you pass me some envelopes?

B:

How many? (how many envelopes?)

A:

How many people came?

B:

A lot. (or Lots.)

Much with comparative adjectives and adverbs: much older,

much faster

We can use much before comparative adjectives and adverbs to make a stronger
comparison:

Sometimes the prices in the local shop are much better than the supermarkets
prices.

I feel much calmer now I know shes safe. (much calmer than I felt before)

Shes walking much more slowly since her operation. (much more slowly than
before)
Too much, too many and so much, so many
Too much, too many with a noun

We often use too before much and many. It means more than necessary. We
can use too muchbefore an uncountable noun and too many before a plural noun,
or without a noun when the noun is obvious:

I bought too much food. We had to throw some of it away.

They had a lot of work to do. Too much. (too much work)

There are too many cars on the road. More people should use public transport.

There are 35 children in each class. Its too many. (too many children)

So much, so many with a noun

We use so rather than very before much and many in affirmative clauses to
emphasise a very large quantity of something:

He has so much money!

Not: He has very much money!

There were so many jobs to do.

As much as, as many as

When we want to make comparisons connected with quantity, we use as much

as and as many as:

Try and find out as much information as you can.

You can ask as many questions as you want.

See also:
As as
 As much as, as many as

Much, many and a lot of, lots of: typical errors

We use much with uncountable nouns and many with countable nouns:

It doesnt need much effort.

Not: It doesnt need many effort.

We usually use a lot of and lots of rather than much and many in informal
affirmative clauses:

There are a lot of monuments and a lot of historic buildings in Rome.

Not: There are many monuments and many historic buildings in Rome.

She gave me a lot of information.

Not: She gave me much information.

We dont use of after much or many when they come immediately before a
noun without an article (a/an, the), demonstrative (this, that), possessive (my,
your) or pronoun (him, them):

They havent made many friends here.

Not: They havent made many of friends here.

We dont use a lot of without a noun:

A:

Do many people work in your building?

B:

Yes. Quite a lot. (quite a lot of people)

Not: Quite a lot of.

TRADUCCINDICCIONARIO CORRECTORCONJUGACINGRAMTICA

Espaol

Traduccin de "enough" en espaol

demasiadobastantestanalcanzabastansobra
So community trade is not enough.

De manera que el comercio comunitario no es suficiente.

But stage directions are not enough.

Pero la direccin de escena no es suficiente.

Benidorm got enough interest among the attendees.

El destino Benidorm despert bastante inters entre los asistentes.

The exploitation of research results is not efficient enough.

La explotacin de los resultados de la investigacin no es bastante eficaz.

Life is complicated enough without legal fear.

La vida es lo suficientemente compleja sin miedo legal.

Crab water's almost cool enough for your bath.

El agua de los cangrejos ya casi est lo suficientementefra para su bao.

But constancy in love is not enough.

Pero la constancia en el amor no es suficiente.

Watching Lexie in a diaper is punishment enough.

Ya es suficiente castigo ver a Lexie con un paal.

And Ghana was not paying enough attention.

Y en Ghana no se estaba prestando suficiente atencin.

AK: Stopwatches aren't accurate enough.

AK: Los cronmetros no son lo suficientementeprecisos.

The specter of rising racial tensions is worrying enough.

El espectro de las crecientes tensiones raciales es lo

suficientemente preocupante.

For Saturn, Cine-Credit wasn't enough.

Para "Saturno", Cin-Crdit no era suficiente.

But controlling supply is not enough.

Sin embargo, controlar la oferta no es suficiente.

But reaching this target is not enough.

Sin embargo, no es suficiente alcanzar esta meta.

Planning does not provide enough affordable land.

El planeamiento no ofrece suficiente tierra a precios asequibles.

However, compassion is not enough.

Sin embargo, la compasin no es suficiente.

If you've had enough profanity.

Si es que ya has absorbido suficiente profanidad.

My folks worry enough about me.

Mis padres ya se preocupan bastante por m.

Reality is bizarre enough for me.

La realidad ya es bastante extraa para m.

Naturally it is debatable whether any budget is enough.

Naturalmente, respecto de cualquier presupuesto se puede opinar si
es suficiente o no.

30 Ejemplos oraciones many, much y a lot of en ingls y

espaol
Many se usa con sustantivos plurales que son contables: cups of sugar (tazas
de azcar), students (estudiantes), books (libros), friends (amigos), windows
(ventanas), houses (casas), potatoes (patatas), cars (carros), etc. Son los
sustantivos que podemos enumerar: un libro, dos libros, tres libros,
Much se usa con sustantivos que no son contables: sugar (azcar), rain (lluvia),
oil (petrleo), time (tiempo), snow (nieve), milk (leche), money (dinero), water
(agua), air (aire), etc. Son sustantivos que no podemos contar, no es lgico decir:
un dinero, dos dineros, tres dineros,
A lot of se puede usar en lugar de many o much indistintamente.
Ejemplos con many:
30 Ejemplos oraciones many, much y a lot of en ingls y espaol

Many se usa con sustantivos plurales que son contables: cups of sugar (tazas
de azcar), students (estudiantes), books (libros), friends (amigos), windows
(ventanas), houses (casas), potatoes (patatas), cars (carros), etc. Son los
sustantivos que podemos enumerar: un libro, dos libros, tres libros,

Much se usa con sustantivos que no son contables: sugar (azcar), rain
(lluvia), oil (petrleo), time (tiempo), snow (nieve), milk (leche), money
(dinero), water (agua), air (aire), etc. Son sustantivos que no podemos contar,
no es lgico decir: un dinero, dos dineros, tres dineros,

A lot of se puede usar en lugar de many o much indistintamente.

Ejemplos con many:

There are many students in my class. (Hay muchos estudiantes en mi clase)

I had been working in that firm for many years. (Yo haba estado trabajando
en esa empresa por muchos aos)

You and he have many things in common. (T y l tienen muchas cosas en

comn)
They have many friends in Germany. (Ellos tienen muchos amigos en
Alemania)

The lawyer has many clients. (El abogado tiene muchos clientes)

He has many cousins. (l tiene muchos primos)

There are many men working in the street. (Hay muchos hombre trabajando
en la calle)

They were good friends for many years. (Ellos eran buenos amigos por
muchos aos)

The telephone rang many times, but no one answered. (El telfono son
muchas veces, pero nadie respondi)

I mentioned it to you many times. (Te lo mencion muchas veces)

Ejemplos con much:

I dont drink much coffee. (Yo no bebo mucho caf)

He needs much water to fill the bucket. (l necesita mucha agua para llenar la
cubeta)

It will cost much money. (Eso costar mucho dinero)

She needs much time to finish her homework. (Ella necesita mucho tiempo
para terminar su tarea)

You drink coffe with much sugar. (T bebes caf con mucha azcar)

There is much flour in the bowl. (Hay mucha harina en el tazn)

There isnt much milk in the fridge. (No hay mucha leche en la nevera)

I spend much time studying Math. (Yo paso mucho tiempo estudiando
matemticas)

There is much snow in the ground. (Hay mucha nieve en el suelo)

There wont be mucho oil in the world. (No habr mucho petrleo en el
mundo)
Ejemplos con a lot of:

There are a lot of students in my class. (Hay un muchos estudiantes en mi

clase)

You and he have a lot of things in common. (T y l tienen muchas cosas en

comn)

They have a lot of friends in Germany. (Ellos tienen muchos amigos en

Alemania)

The lawyer has a lot of clients. (El abogado tiene muchos clientes)

The telephone rang a lot of times, but no one answered. (El telfono son
muchas veces, pero nadie respondi)

He needs a lot of water to fill the bucket. (l necesita mucha agua para llenar
la cubeta)

She needs a lot of time to finish her homework. (Ella necesita mucho tiempo
para terminar su tarea)

You drink coffe with a lot of sugar. (T bebes caf con mucha azcar)

There is a lot of flour in the bowl. (Hay mucha harina en el tazn)

I spend a lot of time studying Math. (Yo paso mucho tiempo estudiando
matemticas)