Much/Many

Many/Much
Indefinite pronouns
Indefinite Pronoun - Definition
Indefinite pronouns refer to one or more unspecific object, beings, or places.

They are called indefinite simply because they do not indicate the exact object,
being or place to which they refer.

- Examples:

- Partitives such as: any, anybody, anyone, either, neither, nobody;

- Universals: every, all, both, each;

- Quantifiers: any, some, several, enough, MANY, MUCH.

How and When can we use Many?
Many is a pronoun for countable nouns. It does it mean "a large quantity of",
because of this, can be used for:

-Quantifier

-Many rooms;

-Very many Bottles (Adverb + quantifier)

- We most commonly use it in questions and in negative sentences:

-Were there many children at the party?

-I dont have many relatives. Were a small family.

How and When can we use Many?
-We can use the expression as many as to talk about a high number that is
surprising or shocking:

- As many as 5,000 people are believed to have died in the earthquake.

-We can use the expression in as many to mean in the same number of:

-He doesnt seem to be very lucky in love. Hes had three girlfriends in as many months. (Hes had
three girlfriends in three months.)

Reference: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/quantifiers/many
How and When can we use Many?
-We dont normally use many alone before a noun in an affirmative statement:

-There were a lot of people at the swimming pool this morning.

-Not: There were many people

How and When can we use Many?
-But, we can use many for positive phrases, in formal contexts:

-When many is placed instead a lot of :

- Many politicians have suffered at the hands of the popular press. (formal) ?????

-Many of his friends and colleagues were shocked upon hearing of his sudden death. (formal)
How and when can we use much?
Much is as pronoun, also usually used in questions or negative clauses with
uncountable nouns.

For example:

- How much physical exercise do you do every week?

- You shouldnt give much information about yourself to strangers.

There are many uncountable nouns, such as: homework, advice, news,
accomodation, knowledge, sleep, etc.
How and when can we use much?
Much is also frequently used with words that indicates substances:

Sugar, coffee, milk, water, flour, juice, bread, rice, pasta, etc.

For example:

- How much sugar do you take with your coffee?

- How much water do you drink a day?

- They havent ate much pasta yesterday.

How and when can we use much?
Just like many in affirmative sentences, much is more used in formal written
english and a lot, a lot of, lots of in informal written.

Informal written:

- A lot of time was spent on studying.

Formal written:

- Much time was spent on studying.

Countable nouns
Believe me, are nouns that we can count...

FEATURES THEY BECOME

PLURAL
(+S or Irregular)

THEY TAKE
ARTICLES
(A or AN)

SOME/ ANY/
A FEW/ MANY
Uncountable nouns