Much vs many
Much and many suggest a large quantity: 'a lot of'.
Important:
• MUCH precedes uncountable nouns:
Important:
• MUCH precedes uncountable nouns:
I don't have much time, and you don't have much money. I don't have a lot of time, and you don't have a lot of money.
• MANY precedes countable nouns:
We have many friends, in many countries. We have a lot of friends, in a lot of countries.
This important distinction is found in the way of asking 'How much, how many' questions:
How much + uncountable noun / how many + countable noun:
How much + uncountable noun / how many + countable noun:
How much did you pay for the car? How much money did you pay?
How many children does Bob have?
How many women has Philip slept with?
Watch out for the following traps:
• people is a plural noun always preceded by many, and never by much:
• people is a plural noun always preceded by many, and never by much:
There are too many people.
• information, luggage (or baggage), and equipment are uncountable nouns and therefore are always singular:
How much luggage did you bring? or How many bags did you bring?
How much information do you want?
Other constructions:
I drank too much wine. I drank more wine than I should have done.
Do you play tennis as much as you play golf? Do you play tennis as often as you play golf?
This movie is much better than I thought it would be. This film is a lot better, significantly better than I expected.
There are as many Americans here as there are in California. There is the same number of Americans here as in California.
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