Main points
*You use ‘much’ and ‘little’ with a uncount nouns to talk about a quantity of something.
*You use ‘many’ and ‘few’ with plural nouns to talk about a number of people or things.
*You use ‘much’ in negative sentences and questions, and ‘a lot of’ or ‘plenty of’ rather than ‘much’ in affirmative sentences.
*You use ‘more’ and ‘less’ with uncount nouns, and ‘more’ and ‘fewer’ with plural count nouns.
a) You use ‘much’ to talk about a large quantity of something, and ‘little’ to talk about a small quantity of something you only use ‘much’ and ‘little’ with uncount nouns.
- I haven’t got much time.
- We’ve made little progress.
b) You use ’many’ to talk about a large number of people or things, and ‘few’ to talk about a small number of people or things. You can only use ‘many’ and ‘few’ with plural count nouns.
- He wrote many novels.
- There were few visitors to our house.
c) You normally use ‘much’ in negative sentences and questions.
- He did not speak much English.
- Why haven’t I given much attention to his problem?
In affirmative sentences you do not use ‘much’, you use ‘a lot of’, ‘lots of’, or ‘plenty of’ instead. You can use them with both uncount nouns and plural nouns.
- He demanded a lot of attention.
- I make a lot of mistakes
- They spent lots of time on the project.
- He remembered a large room with lots of windows.
- I’ve got plenty of money.
- There are always plenty of jobs to be done.
Note that you can use ‘so much’ and ‘too much’ in affirmative sentences.
- She spends so much time here.
- There is too much chance of error.
d) You use ‘so much’ to emphasize that a large quantity of something is involved.
- I have so much work to do.
- They have so much money and we have so little.
You use ‘too much’ and ‘too many’ to say that quantity of something, or the number of people or things, is larger than is reasonable or necessary.
- He has too much work.
- Too many people still smoke.
You use ‘very many’ to emphasize that a large number of people or things are involved.
- Very many old people live alone.
Note that ‘very much’ is used with nouns and verbs.
- There isn’t very much time.
- I liked it very much.
e) You use ‘few’ and ‘little’ to emphasize that only a small quantity of something or a small number of people or things are involved. They can be used with ‘very’ for greater emphasis.
- The town has few monuments.
- I have little time for anything but work.
- Very few cars had reversing lights.
- I had very little money left.
Note that ‘a few’ and ‘a little’ just indicate that a quantity or number is small.
- He spread a little honey on a slice of bread.
- I usually do a few jobs for him in the house.
f) You use ‘more’ with uncount nouns and plural count nouns to refer to a quantity of something or a number of people or things that is greater than another quantity or number.
- His visit might do more harm than good.
- He does more hours than I do.
You use ‘less’ with uncount nouns to refer to an amount of something that is smaller than another amount.
- The poor have less access to education.
- This machinery uses less energy.
You use ‘fewer’, or ‘less’ in informal English, with plural nouns to refer to a number of people or things that is smaller than another number.
- There are fewer trees here.
- They have sold less computers this year.
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Top Tips Abz Ingles: Part A - Part B
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