Quantitative pronouns a lot of, much, many: rule, examples of use and exercise

The basics of the grammar of English are easy to master. However, those who are striving to reach the advanced level, will have a more in-depth study. In any language, there are many nuances that require detailed study. One such topic is the use of the word "many." Translation into English may vary depending on the context and some other factors. Further on, the article describes various semantic nuances of this concept and its variants of translation.

Quantitative pronouns a lot of, much, many: the rule of consumption

The word "many" is often used for the expression of the plural. It is used mainly in those cases when it refers to a countable noun. Antonym - few.

• Many (few) things, people, ideas, thoughts, countries - many (few) things, people, ideas, thoughts, countries.

The notion of "a lot" in English in combination with uncountable nouns is translated by the word much. The opposite is little.

• Much (little) luck, energy, time, money - a lot (little) of luck, energy, time, money.

In affirmative sentences, a lot of is often used . Also often comes across the phrase lots of .

• A lot of time, books, people, friends, ideas - a lot of time, books, people, friends, ideas.

Many and much are used when denying or questioning.

• I did not spend much money. "I did not spend a lot of money."
• Has she got many books? "Does she have a lot of books?"

In affirmative sentences, too, expressions too often come across too much and so much.

• There's too much sugar in the coffee. "There's too much sugar in the coffee."
• This car costs too much. - This car is too expensive.

As for the basic cases of the use of the words a lot of, much, many, the rule is easy to master. But for a more in-depth study of this topic, some other aspects should be considered.

Stable expressions

The main difficulty of stable phrases is in translation, since understanding each individual word does not always help to comprehend the meaning of a general phrase. The rules of using many, much, a lot of and other analogs also do not in all cases give an exhaustive answer. Therefore, many similar expressions must be remembered.

So, phrases with the word "many" :

• A good / great ~ - quite a lot, decently;
• A good ~ times - many times;
• A good ~ people - a lot of people;
• A great ~ of - many;
• As ~ as five years - for five whole years;
• In ~ regards / respects - in many respects;
• In ~ ways - in a variety of ways;
• ~ Others - a number of others;
• ~ Other things - many more.

Phrases with the word much :

• As ~ as is needful - how much;
• As ~ as all that - so much / much;
• As ~ as to say - is equivalent to / anyway, what to say, like saying;
• As ~ as possible - as far as possible;
• As ~ as practical - as much as possible;
• How ~? - How much is it, what is the price?
• However ~ no matter how / howsoever;
• In so ~ as - because, since;
• Make ~ of - appreciate, be of high opinion;
• ~ Like - akin;
• ~ Of something is a big part of something;
• ~ The same - almost the same;
• Pretty ~ - very, perhaps, to a large extent;
• So ~ for - here you are (an expression of resentment, disappointment).

Expressions with the words a lot of :

• ~ Red tape - a bunch of paper red tape, a lot of bureaucratic barriers;
• ~ Practice - an abundance of practice;
• Do ~ walking - walk a lot;
• Get ~ mileage out of - to derive considerable benefit from;
• Get ~ play - to be in the spotlight;
• Give ~ thought - give a lot of time to reflections;
• Get through ~ money - pretty much spent;
• Spend ~ time - spend a lot of time.

Other ways to characterize a large number

In addition to the aforementioned common words, "a lot" in English can be expressed in a mass of other ways. When translating it is very important to take into account the fact, whether the noun is calculated in the sentence or not.

The table gives analogues of the above-mentioned quantitative pronouns:

Despite the widespread use of the words a lot of, much, many in the English language, the usage rule is not limited to well-known lexicon. In fiction, there are original ways of conveying a concept that implies a large number. Here are some examples of figurative expressions:

• He has pots of money. "He has a lot of money."
• I have bunch of stuff. - I have a lot of things.
• Investigator has a mountains of evidence. - The investigator has a lot of evidence.
• There is an ocean of flowers in my garden. "There's an ocean of flowers in my garden."

Practical part

One of the best ways to consolidate theoretical material in practice is to work with exercises. Here is an example of one of the tasks. The main part of the practical material can be found in the corresponding topics of the grammar textbooks.

Task : Translate into English using the words a lot of, much, many (the rule of use is described above).

1. How many children in your school?
2. My car uses a lot of gasoline.
3. Do not bother her. She has lots of work.
4. I can not eat this soup. There's too much salt in it.
5. Anna has many friends.

Answer :

1. How many children are there in your school?
2. My car uses a lot of petrol.
3. Do not disturb her. She's got a lot of work to do.
4. I can not eat this soup. There's too much salt in it.
5. Ann has many friends.

In order to make the training as effective as possible, new vocabulary should be included in your oral and written speech. One common mistake common to beginners is trying to memorize a list of words without further use in conversation.

This method will help enrich only passive vocabulary. That is, having met this vocabulary in a book or hearing in a conversation with a native speaker of English, you will understand what it is about. However, to be able to express these words your own thoughts, new expressions should become an integral part of your vocabulary.

One of the best methods is as follows: select several phrases, come up with 5-10 sentences from each of them and try to include them in your speech in a foreign language in the near future. This will allow us to naturally get used to a new way of thinking and communicating information.