Many & Much

The use of "Many" and "Much" can be somewhat confusing for English as a Second Language students (ESL), but they have key differences.

"Many"

"Many" is used to indicate quantities when we refer to a high number of something, and we do not know the exact figure.

There are many buildings in the city. I have many students.

Countable Nouns

"Many" is only used when referring to things that can be used in plural form, words that can be used with an "s" at the end, we call these words: "Countable Nouns".

Some common examples of countable nouns include:

• One apple / Two apples (apples)
• That car / Many cars (cars)
• A student / 45 students (students)
• My pen / My many pens (pens)

Note that countable nouns are not necessarily things, they can also be people.

And now that I mention the noun "people", I must tell you about some words that do not follow the "s" rule. In English, some words (not many) look different in their plural form.

Some common examples of countable nouns include:

• One person / Seven people (people)
• A tooth / Three teeth (teeth)
• Super man / X-men (men)
• That woman / Those women (women)

"How Many?"

We use "how many" to ask specific questions about the number of countable items. Here are some examples:

How many apples are there in the basket? How many cars are there in the garage? How many students are there in the classroom? How many pens are there?

In each of these examples, "how many" is used to ask about the quantity of something that can be counted individually.

"Much"

"Much" is used to indicate large quantities of something that cannot be counted individually, that is, uncountable nouns.

There is much water in the bottle. She has much experience on the guitar.

It is not possible to count a liquid or the experience you have playing an instrument with your fingers.

Uncountable Nouns

"Much" is exclusively used with uncountable nouns. These nouns do not have a plural form and cannot be counted in units.

Some common examples of uncountable nouns include:

• Much water
• Much money
• Much sugar
• Much experience
• Much time

Note that uncountable nouns often represent substances, abstract concepts, or categories of things that cannot be divided into individual units.

Special Cases

Some nouns may seem countable in other languages but are not in English. Here are some examples:

• Advice (consejo) - Incorrect: advices
• Furniture (muebles) - Incorrect: furnitures
• Homework (tarea) - Incorrect: homeworks
• News (noticias) - Incorrect: newss

"How Much?"

We use "how much" to ask about the exact quantity of an uncountable noun. Here are some examples:

How much water is there in the human body? How much money is there in your pocket? How much sugar is there in your coffee?

In each of these examples, "how much" is used together with "There is & is there?", because "Much" is always used in singular, and "Many" is always used in plural.

Many dogs Much dogs

In the next lesson, I will tell you more about all the words used to indicate uncertain quantities. "Many & Much" are just the tip of the iceberg. Remember to click the orange button below to practice what you have learned today!