Allen Career Institute
In the previous blog, we talked about quantifiers, their use in English Grammar and had a fair look at the different types of quantifiers.
Today we will understand the three quantifier types used for denoting or describing ‘a large quantity’.
These are – a lot, much and many. While they signify the same thing, their usage holds a difference. ‘Much’ normally comes with sentences that have uncountable nouns whereas ‘Many’ goes with the countable nouns. ‘A lot’ as well as ‘lots of’ are used for both countable and uncountable nouns.
Let us here understand their usage in different types of sentences:
1. The use of ‘Much’ and ‘Many’
We use much with singular uncountable nouns. Sentences that have singular uncountable nouns like water, tea, money, etc. will always have much to describe the quantity.
Example sentences
a) How much money do you need right now?
b) Too much tea is not good for health.
c) She doesn’t have much bread left.
‘Many’ on the other hand is used for the plural nouns, which are countable like desks, windows, chairs, people, etc.
Example sentences
a) I have many friends in town.
b) How many days do you think it will last?
c) Many people still believe in ghosts.
In certain cases, we even use much and many by adding ‘of’. It usually happens in sentences where we have to use much and many before articles (a, an & the), possessive pronoun (my, your), demonstrative pronoun (that, those) or pronouns like him, them, etc.
Examples
a) How many of them were actually present at the party?
b) You have spent much of your life in isolation.
2. The use of ‘A Lot’
A lot is used for both the countable and uncountable nouns and it usually describes a quantity for which there is no specific number provided. In more informal ways, it is often used as ‘a lot of’ to describe larger quantities.
Example Sentences
a) This is a lot to finish in two days.
b) There are a lot of good books you can read.
c) I don’t have a lot of time to wait for you the whole day.
‘Lots of’ happens to be more informal as compared to ‘a lot of’. They both are used with the plural countable nouns as well as the singular uncountable nouns with the affirmative, negative, and question sentences.
Now that you have understood the use of these three quantifier types, keep practicing them while we bring to you some more kinds. Keep reading!
