ESL CONNECT | Much, Many and A Lot Of

Explanation: much, many and a lot of

Use much, many and a lot of to talk about quantity. The correct word depends on the noun and the type of sentence.

1. Countable and uncountable nouns

Type	Meaning	Examples
Countable nouns	Things you can count one by one.	apple, chair, student, book, problem
Uncountable nouns	Things we do not usually count one by one.	water, milk, money, time, rice, information

2. Many

Use many with plural countable nouns.

Examples:
There are many students in the class.
I don’t have many books.
How many apples do you want?

3. Much

Use much with uncountable nouns. It is very common in negative sentences and questions.

Examples:
I don’t have much time.
There isn’t much milk.
How much money do you need?

4. A lot of

Use a lot of with plural countable nouns and uncountable nouns. It is common in affirmative sentences.

With countable nouns	With uncountable nouns
There are a lot of people.	There is a lot of water.
She has a lot of friends.	He drinks a lot of coffee.

5. Basic rules

Word	Use with	Common sentence type	Example
many	plural countable nouns	questions, negatives, sometimes affirmatives	How many books do you have?
much	uncountable nouns	questions and negatives	There isn’t much water.
a lot of	countable plural and uncountable nouns	affirmatives	We have a lot of homework.

Remember:
How many + plural countable noun: How many chairs?
How much + uncountable noun: How much time?
A lot of + both types: a lot of books / a lot of money

Many with countable nouns

Choose the correct answer.

1. There are __________ in the classroom.

much students many students many student

2. I don’t get __________ on Sundays.

many emails much emails many email

3. __________ do you want?

How much apples How many apple How many apples

4. The students ask __________.

much questions many questions much question

Much with uncountable nouns

Choose the correct answer.

1. I don’t have __________ today.

many time much time many times

2. There isn’t __________ in the bottle.

much water many water much waters

3. __________ do you need?

How many money How much money How much moneys

4. We don’t have __________ about the course.

many information much informations much information

A lot of with countable and uncountable nouns

Choose the correct sentence.

1. Which sentence is correct?

There is a lot of people here. There are a lot of people here. There are much people here.

2. Which sentence is correct?

She drinks a lot of coffee. She drinks many coffee. She drinks a lot of coffees.

3. Which sentence is correct?

We have many homework. We have a lot of homeworks. We have a lot of homework.

4. Which sentence is correct?

They know a lot of people. They know much people. They know a lot of person.

How much or how many?

Use how many with plural countable nouns and how much with uncountable nouns.

1. __________ chairs are in the room?

How much How many

2. __________ sugar do you want?

How many How much

3. __________ time do we have?

How much How many

4. __________ exercises are there?

How many How much

5. __________ milk is in the fridge?

How many How much

6. __________ students are in your class?

How many How much

Mixed practice

Choose the best answer.

1. I don’t have __________ money.

many much many of

2. There aren’t __________ restaurants near here.

much many a much

3. I have __________ friends at school.

a lot of much a much

4. She has __________ work today.

many a lot of many works

5. How __________ books do you read every month?

much many lot

6. How __________ coffee do you drink?

many much a lot

Correct the mistake

Correct: I don’t have many time.

Answer: I don’t have much time.

Correct: How much students are there?

Answer: How many students are there?

Correct: There are many informations.

Answer: There is a lot of information.