Many, Much, A Lot, A Few, A Little

Exercises

Many and Much

Both mean “a large quantity”, but they are used with different types of nouns:

Much - with uncountable nouns (water, time, sugar, money).
She doesn’t have much time before the train leaves.
There isn’t much milk in the fridge.

Many - with countable plural nouns (books, friends, ideas).
He has many friends at school.
I wrote many emails this morning.

We usually see many and much in questions and negative sentences.

• Do you have many books?

• I don’t drink much coffee.

In positive sentences, we often use them with emphasis:

• She has so many ideas!

• There was too much noise in the street.

A lot (of) / Lots (of)

When you’re not sure, use a lot of. It works with both countable and uncountable nouns and is very common in everyday English.

We spent a lot of money on our holiday. (uncountable)
They have a lot of games at home. (countable)
Lots of people came to the concert. (informal version of a lot of)

A few and A Little

These mean “some, but not many/much.”

A few - with countable plural nouns.
She made a few phone calls this morning.
There are a few cookies left on the plate.

A little - with uncountable nouns.
I need a little help with this project.
There’s a little sugar in my coffee.

Both a few and a little suggest a small amount, but usually enough in the situation.

Quick Comparison Table