Much, many, little, few, a lot, plenty

UNIT 82    Much, many, little, few, a lot, plenty

A.   Much   many   few   little

We use much and little with uncountable nouns:

• much time.

• much luck.

• little energy.

• little money.

We use many and few with plural nouns:

• many friends 

• many people

• few cars  

• few countries

B.   A lot (of)      lots (of)       plenty (of)

We use a lot of/lots of/plenty of with uncountable and plural nouns:

• plenty of money

• a lot of luck

• lots of time

• plenty of ideas

• lots of books

• a lot of people

Plenty= more than enough:

• "Have some more to eat.''  ''No, thank you. I've had plenty.''

• There's no need to hurry. We have plenty of time.

C.   We use much and many mainly in negative sentences and questions:

• We didn't spend much money.

• Do you have many friends?

In positive sentences it is usually better to use a lot (of). Much is not normally used in positive sentences:

• We spent a lot of money. (not we spent much money)

• There has been a lot of rain recently. (not much rain)

But we use too much and so much in positive sentences:

• I can't drink this tea. There's too much sugar in it.                       

D.   Little/a little/few/a few

Little and few (without a) are negative ideas:

• Hurry up! There's little time. (= not much, not enough time)

• He's not popular. He has few friends. (= not many, not enough friends)

We often use very before little and few (very little and very few):

• There's very little time.

• He has very few friends.

''A little" and "a few" are more positive ideas. A little/a few = some, a small amount, or a small number:

• Let's go and have a cup of coffee. We have a little time before the train leaves. (= some time, enough time to have a drink)

• "Do you have any money?" "Yes, a little. Do you want to borrow some?"

• I enjoy my life here. I have a few friends and we get together. (a few friends = not many but enough to have a good time)

• "When did you last see Tom?" "A few days ago." (some days ago)

But "only a little" and "only a few'' have a negative meaning:

• Hurry up! We only have a little time.

• The town was very small. There were only a few houses.