Quantifiers

To say how much or how many, first look at the noun that follows: is it a plural countable noun (friends, eggs, people) or an uncountable noun (water, time, money)? Each type has its own words. Only a lot of, lots of, plenty of work with both.

💡Many languages use one word for both “many” and “much”, so learners often say much people or a little friends. Watch out for nouns that are uncountable in English even if they feel countable: money, advice, information, homework, furniture, luggage, news — no -s, and no many / a few. See the lesson “Countable and uncountable nouns”.

Many + plural noun, much + uncountable noun. They are most common in questions and negative sentences.

• How many cousins have you got?

• We don't have much time, so let's take a taxi.

• How much is this bag?

  asking the price: How much…?

• Are there many tourists in Sa Pa in winter?

In affirmative sentences, native speakers usually prefer a lot of / lots of. “I have much time” sounds very strange. Many is possible in affirmatives (Many people think…) but sounds a little formal. Exception: too much, so much, too many, so many are completely normal in affirmatives.

• Lan has a lot of friends at university.

• I drink lots of water when it's hot.

• You put too much salt in the soup.

• There were so many people at the night market!

• a lot of + noun; with no noun after it, drop of: I eat a lot of fruit. / I eat a lot.
• Short answers drop the noun too: How many eggs do we need? — Not many. / Just a few.
• Much on its own after a verb (without very / so / too) is mostly used in negatives and questions: I don't sleep much. In an affirmative, say: I sleep a lot.

The little word a changes the meaning. A few / a little = some, a small amount — enough, a positive idea. Few / little (no a) = very few / very little, almost none — a negative idea, often meaning “not enough”.

• I bought a few mangoes at the market.

• Can I have a little sugar in my coffee?

• The museum is boring, so few people visit it.

• We have little money this month, so we're eating at home.

💡Few / little on their own sound a bit formal. In everyday speech people more often say not many / not much or only a few / only a little: Not many people came. / I only have a little time.

Plenty of = a lot, more than enough. It goes with both plural and uncountable nouns, mostly in affirmative sentences.

• Don't rush. We've got plenty of time.

• There are plenty of cheap restaurants near the station.

None of = not one, not any of a particular group. After none of comes the / my / these… + noun, or a pronoun: us / you / them / it.

• None of my friends can cook.

• I tried three shops, but none of them had my size.

• None of this food is spicy.

• How many tickets are left? — None.

  none on its own, with no noun

• If the noun has no the / my… in front, use no, not none of: I have no friends here (not: none of friends). See the lesson “No / none / any, nothing / nobody”.
• None of + plural noun: the verb can be singular or plural — None of my friends smoke / smokes. Speech often uses plural; formal writing often uses singular.
• To say “all / most / some of…”, see the lesson “All / most / some / none of”.

• ✗How much students are there in your class?

  ✓How many students are there in your class?

  Students can be counted → how many.

• ✗I have a little friends in Hanoi.

  ✓I have a few friends in Hanoi.

  friends is plural → a few.

• ✗I don't have many money.

  ✓I don't have much money.

  money is uncountable → much.

• ✗She gave me many advices.

  ✓She gave me a lot of advice.

  advice is uncountable, with no -s.

• ✗There are a lot people here.

  ✓There are a lot of people here.

  Before a noun you need of.

• ✗None of students passed.

  ✓None of the students passed. / No students passed.

  none of needs the / my… before the noun.