Let’s learn how to use quantifiers many much a lot of.
We use MUCH with uncountable nouns. It’s often used in negative and interrogative sentences, but it can also be used in the affirmative:
There isn’t much lemonade in the jar.
How much money do we have?
Play as much as you can.
We use MUCH in expressions such as: as much as, so much, too much.
There’s so much work to do!
You play computer games too much.
Do sports as much as you can.
We use MANY with countable nouns in the plural. It’s oftenused in negative and interrogative sentences, but it can also be used in the affirmative sentences:
There aren’t many foreign students in our school.
How many bananas have we got?
I have been to Kyiv many times.
We use MANY in expressions such as: as many as, so many, too many.
There were so many people at the meeting.
There are too many books on this shelf.
Pick up as many flowers as you can.
Students can ask as many questions as they want.
Many and much are used in affirmative sentences in formal styles:
There is much concern about many obese people in the US.
He had heard many stories about natural disasters in that part of the world.
In informal styles, we prefer to use lots of or a lot of:
I went shopping and spent a lot of money.
She bought a lot of vegetables.
They eat lots of fruit.
You spend lots of time and energy on learning English.
We use A LOT OF with countable and uncountable nouns. It is commonly used in affirmative sentences, although it is possible to see it in questions and negative sentences:
There are a lot of things to do.
Do you drink a lot of coffee?
I don’t like a lot of salt in my food.
Were there a lot of people at the football match?
We use a noun after the preposition of: a lot of pears, a lot of children, a lot of sugar, a lot of flour.
When it is not followed by a noun, we do not use the preposition of: Do you have tomatoes? Yes, I have a lot. Do you have any time to help me? – Yes, I have a lot.
If the noun is countable, we use a plural verb (are, were, have, etc):
There are a lot of cars in the street.
Lots of new houses were built last year.
There were some children on the playground.
If the noun is uncountable, we use a singular verb (is, was, has, etc):
There is a lot of noise in the classroom.
There was a lot of food on our picnic.
There is a lot of traffic in the city.
Task 1. Complete the sentences with much or many.
My sister Anne has got ___________ friends. I can’t count them!
There isn’t ___________ wine left, only a couple of cups. We should buy some more.
There were so ___________ ties in the shop that Kevin didn’t know which one to choose.
Don’t worry about the bread. We have ___________ flour in the cupboard, three kilos, I think.
How ___________ bread is he baking?
There aren’t ___________ Christmas decorations this year. Last year, there were more!
I haven’t got ___________ time.
Do you play ___________ football?
I don’t eat ___________ meat.
There aren’t ___________ people here.
We don’t have ___________ rain in summer.
Are there ___________ Americans in your country?
Have you travelled to ___________ countries?
Was there ___________ traffic on the road?
Task 2. Change the following sentences into the negative using much or many.
Example: There is a lot of water. – There isn’t much water.
There are a lot of people waiting outside.
There were a lot of children in the park yesterday.
We spent a lot of time in the shopping centre.
My sister has got a lot of homework to do.
There is a lot of beer in the fridge.
David speaks a lot of foreign languages.
The students take a lot of exams during the school year.
My father eats a lot of fruit.
Young children should drink a lot of milk.
She buys a lot of clothes every year.
Task 3. Partitives. Quantifiers. Choose the correct option.
Would you like ____ bread?a. a slice ofb. a bar ofc. a bunch ofd. a can of
I eat ____ boiled egg every morning.a. ab. anc. a fewd. a little
Can you give me ____ tomato juice?a. a fewb. manyc. somed. any
How ___ carrots do you need?a. muchb. manyc. a fewd. a little
I ate only ____ cake tonight.a. a loaf ofb. a bottle ofc. a pinch ofd. a piece of
We have ____ bread,don’t we?a. a fewb. a littlec. too manyd. too much
There aren’t ____eggs in the basket.a. too muchb. a lot ofc. anyd. some
You should eat __ orange every day.a. ab. anc. anyd. a few
There is __cheese on the plate.a. someb. manyc. anyd. a few
There is ____ honey in the pot.a. anyb. manyc. a lot ofd. a few
Please give me ____ onions.a. a lotb. a fewc. too muchd. a little
There isn’t ____ water in the glass.a. a fewb. manyc. and. any
How ___chicken would you like, sir?a. muchb. manyc. a fewd. a little
There is __ milk in the baby bottle.a. manyb. a lot ofc. a fewd. any
We have ____ strawberries here.a. a littleb. a lot ofc. anyd. too much
We have ____ strawberry jam.a. a bar ofb. a bottle ofc. a jar ofd. a can of
Don’t put ____ salt in the soup.a. a fewb. manyc. too muchd. too many
I’ll make ____ lemonade to drink.a. a fewb. manyc. anyd. some
There is ____ food on the table.a. too muchb. too manyc. a fewd. many
Give me ____ coke with the pizza.a. a can ofb. a jar ofc. a bunch ofd. a pinch of
Task 4. How Much or How Many
____________ stars are there in the sky?
____________ people live on islands?
____________ birds are there?
____________ water is in the ocean?
____________ money is in a bank?
____________ countries are there in the world?
____________ bread is eaten per day?
____________ bones are there in the human body?
____________ sand is in the deserts?
____________ information is on the internet?
____________ apples have you got?
____________ bread have we got?
____________ chairs do you need for the party?
____________ water do you drink a day?
____________ sugar did you put in your coffee?
____________ bottles of orange juice do we have?
____________ seasons are there in a year?
____________ students are there in your class?
____________ cars are there in the garage?
____________ people can fit in the lift?
____________ meat do we need for the barbecue tonight?
____________ rain do you get every year?
____________ teachers do you have in your school?
____________ applicants are there for the vacant position?
____________ milk does a baby need daily?
____________ friends do you have?
____________ sugar does Mum need for the cake?
____________ money have you spent?
____________ lumps of sugar do you put in your coffee?
____________ people were on strike?
____________ does it cost?
____________ petrol can you put in the tank?
____________ exercises did the teacher give us?
____________ children are there in your son’s class?
____________ sandwiches shall I prepare?
____________ television does he watch every day?
____________ water do you drink every day?
Task 5. Fill in the blanks with MANY MUCH A LOT OF.
John hasn’t got __________ money.
There is __________ gold in the bag.
I haven’t got ________ birds in the sky!
There aren’t ________ cars in the street.
Are there __________ apples on the tree?
Jane spends __________ money at the shops.
Have you got __________ bread in the cupboard?
Are there __________ children on the beach?
We are early. We have __________ time.
Task 6. Choose the correct item: many much a lot of a little a few
Have got _______ friends?a. many b. much c. a lot of
There are _______ people in the room.a. much b. a little c. a lot of
Can I have _______ sugar, please?a. a few b. a little c. little
How _______ oranges are on the table?a. many b. a few c. much
How _______ money has Fred got?a. many b. little c. much
There are _______ monkeys at the zoo.a. much b. a few c. a little.
Task 7. Much Many Enough Choose the right option.
Jennifer is always at home. She doesn’t go out ____________ .a. enough b. many c. too many
I don’t like the weather in London. There is ____________ rain.a. too many b. much c. too much
We couldn’t sit anywhere at the concert. There were ____________ people.a. many b. too many c. too much
I haven’t got ____________ time to finish my test.a. too many b. too much c. enough
You drank ____________ coffee. That’s why you feel sick.a. too much b. many c. enough
I made ____________ mistakes with her. That’s why she left me.a. enough b. too much c. too many
If you don’t eat ____________ fruit, you can get ill.a. many b. much c. enough
Claire is tall ____________ to be a fashion model.a. too much b. enough c. too many
Oh no! You put ____________ milk in the pancakes dough.a. enough b. too much c. too many
Why did you buy so ____________ bottles of milk?a. many b. much c. enough
Task 8. Write the missing quantifier on the line: enough, many, much, too much, too many
Teenagers like ____________ fast food today. Are you among them, too?
You should make sure you’ve saved ____________ money to buy a new motorbike.
In the USA children watch ____________ violence on TV. This is really scary.
How ____________ classes do you have today? Five or six?
How ____________ sugar do you use for your chocolate cake?
There are ____________ chairs in this classroom. Take some out.
Is there ____________ lemonade for everyone? I don’t want you to be thirsty.
We lost ____________ time with talking yesterday. We should have worked more.
How ____________ money did you spend in amusement park?
How ____________ coins do you have in your pocket?
We bought ____________ bread for this weekend. Let’s make some bread balls.
He ate ____________ slices of bread for breakfast. He won’t be able to eat lunch.
Task 9. Correct the mistakes in these sentences. Use many much a lot of
They don’t have much people here.
How many does it cost?
The hotel doesn’t have much rooms left.
I don’t drink many coffee.
I drink much tea.
There isn’t many traffic in my hometown.
I bought much vegetables.
How a lot of cities has she visited in Germany?
Is there many lettuce in the fridge?
How many time do you need to pack your luggage?
Task 10. Choose the correct word or words.
The difference between a lot of/lots of and plenty of
A lot of / lots of
are used before a noun: There is lots of cola. There are a lot of children in the yard.
are used with uncountable and plural nouns: There is a lot of ice cream in the freezer. There are lots of people in the street.
Plenty of = More than enough
There’s no need to hurry. We’ve got plenty of time (more than enough)
We have plenty of ideas (more than enough)
There is plenty of food here (more than enough)
There isn’t (a lot of/ plenty of ) sugar in the bowl.
We don’t have ( plenty of / many) copiers left in the department.
Fiat doesn’t have (much/many) different cars.
There aren’t (much/ many) students in the classroom.
Use MANY MUCH A LOT OF in your own sentences as well as other quantifiers.
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