Much, Many, a Lot

 

1. Study the rule.

 

 

 

 

 

We use much with singular uncountable nouns and many with plurals.   Much and many are most common in questions and negatives, and after so, as, too and very. e.g. How much time have you got? How many tickets do we need?   In informal affirmative sentences we generally prefer a lot (of), lots (of) or plenty (of). All three of these can be used with both uncountable and plurals. e.g. Are there many opera houses in London? – Not many, but a lot of theatres and plenty of cinemas.

 

 

 

 

 

2. Say at least five sentences about yourself. Have you got not much, not many, a lot/lots of, plentyof __________?

     Ambition    relatives    problems    nice clothes    energy    books    confidence    work to do old friends   free time 

 

3. Write much/many with so, as, too or very for each blank.

 

1. Thank you ___ for your help.
2. Are there ___chairs as people?
3. You can never have ___ love.
4. I like your haircut ___.
5. Bob feels ___ better today.
6. I don’t know ___ poems as you.
7. She’s got ___ relatives!
8. There are ___ people there.

 

4. Choose the words possible in these sentences.

 

1. Surprisingly, there wasn’t much discussion/debate/quarrel/row at the meeting about the location of the new office.
2. The new factory provided jobs in a region where there was not much job/work/jobs/ employment.
3. Many questions/information/research/problems need to be considered before a decision can be made.
4. Will you be taking much bags/baggage/ luggage/suitcases on the trip?
5. Are there many equipment/resources/facilities/computers in your school?
6.  I didn’t have many information/details/ facts/ news to help me make my decision.

 

5. Complete the sentences.

 

1. Why haven’t you given __________ attention to this problem?
2. He remembered a large room with __________ windows.
3. There are always __________ jobs to be done.
4. There is too __________ chance of error.
5. They have so __________ money and we have so little.
6. Too __________ people still smoke.
7. I’m making soup for twenty people, I’ll have to cook __________.
8. __________ effort has been put into this project.
9. I don’t know why she feels lonely, she’s got __________ friends.
10. Being a primary school teacher, she must have __________ patience.
11. Come on, everyone. There’s __________ of food, so help yourself.
12. It’s kind of you to offer, but there isn’t really __________ work to do.
13. I have complained about it __________ times, but they still haven’t done __________ about it.
14. There’s no need to get __________ more petrol. There’s __________ in the tank.
15. __________ people have asked me the same questions.
16. He didn’t sell very __________ books, that’s why he never made __________ money.
17. There weren’t __________ trains to Birmingham, but there were __________ buses.
18. There’s __________ work to do, so we haven’t __________ time to spare.

 

6. Complete the following story.

 

     What was the party like?

      There were too __________ people there, so there wasn’t __________ room to dance or move about and talk to people.

      How __________ people were there?

      About forty, I should think. Mind you, I didn’t know __________ them. I didn’t get there till late anyway, so, by the time I got there, there wasn’t __________ food left or __________ drink either. I’ve been to one or two of her parties before, but not __________. I don’t think I’ll go to another one. It wasn’t __________ fun.

 

7. Complete this paragraph from a travel book.

 

     The main town on the island is very small and does not have __________ important buildings. The islanders don’t have __________ money, and they have __________ contact with the outside world. There isn’t __________ chance of the place attracting large numbers of tourists. The roads are not very good. There are __________ bicycles but not __________ cars. There are hardly __________ of the modern facilities which visitors expect. There are __________ shops and there is __________ entertainment.

                                               

8. Make any necessary corrections.

 

1. There’s much food left. Take as many as you want. – Thank you. I’ve already eaten a lot of.
2. I take photos, but not as much as I used to. At one time I took a lot.

      3.   Plenty people eat too much meat.

1. There were so much people at the last party, that I didn’t get a chance to talk to many of my friends.
2. Tim spends much of his time listening to music, and he spends too much time playing computer games.
3. A great deal of the exhibition was devoted to his recent work.
4. I don’t drink a lot of German wine, and I think much English wine is too sweet.
5. He’s putting on much weight. He’s always eating many of biscuits and chips.
6. I’d say there were twice as a lot of women at the meeting as men.
7. A large amount of the food was inedible.

 

9. Complete the following letter by selecting the correct quantifiers.

 

Dear Marco,

Well, you certainly seem to be having (a lot of/many) fun in the United States now. I see that (a few/ a little) friends in your life makes (a number of/ a great deal of) difference to your state of mind. You should send (a little/ a few) news about the lady you wrote about. Is she special, or do you have (many/much) girlfriends? You never used to have (any/some) girlfriends at all, Marco. What happened? Did you have (a couple of/a bit of) luck suddenly? Did you suddenly get handsome? Are (a great deal/some) the girls calling you up every day? If I sound jealous, I am. (A little/a couple) weeks ago you were complaining that every person you had met was ignoring you; now it seems that you have (an amount of/ a bunch of) friends and that you are even doing well in (a couple of/ a bit of) your classes. I, on the other hand, may fail most of my classes. Besides that, I lost (a great many/ a lot of) money last month when I invested in a ‘get-rich-quick’ scheme. I borrowed money from everybody, and now I owe (many/ a great deal of) money to (a bit of/ a few of) our friends. Marco, do you think that you could lend me (a few/a little) money? I’ll pay back soon.  

Your friend,

Ricardo.