Grammar in Context 2 / English in the World

5.7 A Lot Of, Much, Many Notice which quantity words go with count (C) and noncount (NC) nouns.

EXAMPLES

EXPLANATION

Affirmative

(C) You need a lot of cranberries for this recipe.

(NC) We use a lot of sugar to make cranberry sauce.

We can use a lot of with both count and noncount nouns in affirmative statements.

Affirmative

(C) I am thankful for many things.

(NC) We eat a lot of food on Thanksgiving.

In affirmative statements, we use: many with count nouns. a lot of with noncount nouns.

Much is rare in affirmative statements.

Negative

(C) The Pilgrims didn’t have many skills in American agriculture.

(NC) Today American Indians don’t have much land.

In negative statements, we use: many with count nouns. much with noncount nouns.

Negative

(C) The Pilgrims didn’t have a lot of skills in American We can use a lot of with both count and agriculture. noncount nouns in negative statements.

(NC) Today American Indians don’t have a lot of land.

Question

(C) Did you invite many people for dinner?

(NC) Did you eat much turkey?

In questions, we use: many with count nouns. much with noncount nouns.

Question

(C) Did you invite a lot of guests for Thanksgiving?

(NC) Did you eat a lot of turkey?

We can use a lot of with both count and noncount nouns in questions.

Question

(C) How many hours did you cook the turkey?

(NC) How much time did you spend on food preparation?

In questions, we use: how many with count nouns. how much with noncount nouns.

Note: With a quantity word, we can sometimes omit (leave out) the noun when we know what the noun is.

I usually drink a lot of water, but I didn’t drink a lot today. (We know that a lot refers to water.)

GRAMMAR IN USE We use quantity words often in speaking and in writing, so it’s a good idea to recognize which one to use in different situations. Notice how these words express different levels of formality.

Formal: Less formal: Least formal:

many, much a lot of lots of

We’re having many problems at work.

We’re having a lot of problems at work.

We’re having lots of problems at work.

Nouns, There + Be, Quantity Words Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).

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