Quantitative pronouns a lot of, much, many: rule, usage examples and exercises

The basics of English grammar are pretty easy to master. However, those who seek to reach an advanced level will have a more in-depth study. In any language, there are many nuances that require detailed study. One such topic is the use of the word "many." Translation into English may vary depending on context and some other factors. Further in the article, various semantic nuances of this concept and its translation variants are described.

Quantitative pronouns a lot of, much, many: rule of use

The word many is most often used to express the plural. It is used mainly in cases when it refers to countable nouns. Antonym - few.

• Many (few) things, people, ideas, thoughts, countries - many (few) things, people, ideas, thoughts, countries.

The concept of "many" in English in combination with uncountable nouns is translated by the word much. The opposite meaning is little.

• Much (little) luck, energy, time, money - a lot of (little) luck, energy, time, money.

Affirmative sentences often use a lot of . Also often comes across the phrase lots of .

• A lot of time, books, people, friends, ideas - a lot of time, books, people, friends, ideas.

Many and much are used in denial or questioning.

• I didn't spend much money. - I did not spend a lot of money.
• Has she got many books? “Does she have many books?”

In affirmative sentences, the expressions too much and so much also quite often come across.

• There's too much sugar in the coffee. “There is too much sugar in coffee.”
• This car costs too much. - This car is too expensive.

As for the main cases of using the words a lot of, much, many, the rule is quite simple to master. But for a more in-depth study of this topic, some more aspects should be considered.

Persistent expressions

The main difficulty of stable phrases is translation, since understanding each individual word does not always help to comprehend the meaning of a common phrase. The rules for using many, much, a lot of and other analogues also do not in all cases give an exhaustive answer. Therefore, many such expressions must simply be remembered.

So, phrases with the word many :

• a good / great ~ - pretty much decent;
• a good ~ times - many times;
• a good ~ people - many people;
• a great ~ of - many;
• as ~ as five years - as much as five years;
• in ~ regards / respects - in many ways;
• in ~ ways - in various ways;
• ~ others - a number of others;
• ~ other things - much more.

Phrases with the word much :

• as ~ as is needful - how much is needed;
• as ~ as all that - so much / strong;
• as ~ as to say - equivalent to / anyway, what to say, as if speaking;
• as ~ as possible - as far as possible;
• as ~ as practical - as much as possible;
• how ~? - how much, what is the price?
• however ~ - no matter how much / no matter how;
• in so ~ as - because, since;
• make ~ of - appreciate, be highly regarded;
• ~ like - akin to;
• ~ of something - most of something;
• ~ the same - almost the same thing;
• pretty ~ - very, perhaps, to a large extent;
• so ~ for - there you have it (expression of indignation, disappointment).

Expressions with the words a lot of :

• ~ red tape - a lot of paperwork, a lot of bureaucratic barriers;
• ~ practice - an abundance of practice;
• do ~ walking - walk a lot;
• get ~ mileage out of - to derive considerable profit from;
• get ~ play - be in the spotlight;
• give ~ thought - devote a lot of time to thinking;
• get through ~ money - spend a lot of money;
• spend ~ time - spend a lot of time.

Other ways to characterize a large number

In addition to the above common words, "a lot" in English can be expressed in a host of other ways. When translating, it is very important to consider the fact whether a countable noun is used in a sentence or not.

The table provides analogues of the above quantitative pronouns:

With countable nouns (with countable nouns)	With uncountable nouns (with uncountable nouns)	In both cases
A large number of - a large number. Several are several.	A great deal of - a large number, many.	Plenty of - many (more than enough).

Despite the widespread use of the words a lot of, much, many in English, the rule of use is not limited to well-known vocabulary. In fiction there are original ways to convey a concept that implies a large number. Here are some examples of figurative expressions:

• He has pots of money. “He has a ton of money.”
• I have bunch of stuff. - I have a lot of things.
• Investigator has a mountains of evidence. - The investigator is full of (mountain) evidence.
• There is an ocean of flowers in my garden. “There is an ocean of flowers in my garden.”

Practical part

One of the best ways to consolidate theoretical material into practice is to work with exercises. Here is an example of one of the assignments. You can find the bulk of the practical material in the relevant topics of grammar books.

Task : translate into English using the words a lot of, much, many (the rule of use is described above).

1. How many children are in your school?
2. My car uses a lot of gas.
3. Do not bother her. She has lots of work.
4. I can’t eat this soup. It has too much salt.
5. Anna has many friends.

The answer is :

1. How many children are there in your school?
2. My car uses a lot of petrol.
3. Don't disturb her. She's got a lot of work to do.
4. I can't eat this soup. There's too much salt in it.
5. Ann has many friends.

In order to make training as effective as possible, you should include new vocabulary in your oral and written speech. One of the common mistakes typical for beginners is an attempt to memorize a list of words without further use in a conversation.

Such a method will help enrich only a passive vocabulary. That is, having met this vocabulary in a book or having heard in conversation with a native English speaker, you will understand what it is about. However, in order to be able to express your own thoughts with these words, new expressions must become an integral part of your vocabulary.

One of the best methods is as follows: select a few phrases, come up with 5-10 sentences with each of them, and try to include them in your speech in a conversation in a foreign language soon. This will allow you to naturally get used to the new way of thinking and transmitting information.