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Grammar, compared

Much vs many, few vs little

Many goes with things you can count. Much goes with things you cannot. A lot of works with both.

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The short answer

Countable / Uncountable
CountableUncountable
How many students are there?How much time do we have?
There are a few chairs. (Enough.)There is a little milk. (Some.)
There are few chairs. (Not enough.)There is little milk. (Almost none.)

Which word to use

Quantity words compared
WordGoes withExample
manyCountable plural, in questions and negativesHow many friends do you have?
muchUncountable, in questions and negativesI don't have much time.
a lot ofBoth, in positive sentencesI have a lot of friends. A lot of money.
a fewCountable plural, someA few days ago.
a littleUncountable, someA little sugar, please.
few, littleAlmost none, a negative ideaFew people came. There is little hope.

Watch out if you speak Spanish

  • Mucho covers both in Spanish: mucha gente, mucho tiempo. In English choose: many people, much time.
  • In positive sentences, say a lot of: I have a lot of friends, not I have much friends.
  • Information, advice, news, furniture, homework, luggage, money and traffic are uncountable. Say some information, a piece of advice.
  • A few and a little sound positive. Few and little sound negative: I have a few friends (good) or I have few friends (sad).

Practice

Grammar practice

Choose or type the answer for each sentence, then check.

  1. 1. How money do you need?
  2. 2. How people came to the party?
  3. 3. I don't have time today.
  4. 4. She has friends here. She feels lonely.
  5. 5. Can I have sugar in my coffee, please?
  6. 6. I need some about the trip.
  7. 7. We have a

    of work today.
  8. 8. There is very

    traffic today, so we will be on time.

0 of 8 checked

Questions

Can I use much in a positive sentence?
It sounds formal or odd in speech. Use a lot of instead: We have a lot of work.
What is the difference between a few and few?
A few means some, which is positive. Few means almost none, which is negative.

Keep going

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