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Unit 83 · Determiners and pronouns

a lot much many

Study

A

We use much + uncountable noun (much food / much money etc.):

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Did you buy much food?

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We don't have much luggage.

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How much money do you want?

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A: Do you have any money? B: I have some, but not much.

We use many + plural noun (many books / many people etc.):

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Did you buy many books?

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We don't know many people.

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How many photos did you take?

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A: Did you take any photos? B: I took some, but not many.

We use a lot of + both types of noun:

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We bought a lot of food.

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Paula doesn't have a lot of free time.

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We bought a lot of books.

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Did they ask a lot of questions?

We say:

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There is a lot of food/money/water ... (singular verb)

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There are a lot of trees/shops/people ... (plural verb)

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A lot of people speak English. (not speaks)

B

We use much in questions and negative sentences:

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Do you drink much coffee?

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I don't drink much coffee.

But we do not often use much in positive sentences:

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I drink a lot of coffee. (not I drink much coffee)

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'Do you drink much coffee?' 'Yes, a lot.' (not Yes, much)

We use many and a lot of in all types of sentences (positive/negative/question):

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We have many friends / a lot of friends.

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We don't have many friends / a lot of friends.

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Do you have many friends / a lot of friends?

C

You can use much and a lot without a noun:

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Amy spoke to me, but she didn't say much.

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'Do you watch TV much?' 'No, not much.' (= not often)

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We like films, so we go to the cinema a lot. (not go to the cinema much)

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I don't like him very much.

Exercises (5)

0/5 exercises checked
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83.1

Write much or many.

  1. 1
    Did you buy food?example
  2. 2
    There aren't hotels in this town.
  3. 3
    We don't have petrol. We need to stop and get some.
  4. 4
    Were there people on the train?
  5. 5
    Did students fail the exam?
  6. 6
    Paula doesn't have money.
  7. 7
    I wasn't hungry, so I didn't eat .
  8. 8
    I don't know where Gary lives these days. I haven't seen him for years.
  9. 9
    Write How much or How many.
    people are coming to the party?
  10. 10
    milk do you want in your coffee?
  11. 11
    bread did you buy?
  12. 12
    players are there in a football team?
83.2

Complete the sentences. Use much or many with these words: books countries luggage people time times

  1. 1
    I don't read very much. I don't have many books. example
  2. 2
    Hurry up! We don't have .
  3. 3
    Do you travel a lot? Have you been to ?
  4. 4
    Tina hasn't lived here very long, so she doesn't know .
  5. 5
    'Do you have ?' 'No, only this bag.'
  6. 6
    I know Tokyo well. I've been there .
83.3

Complete the sentences. Use a lot of + these words: accidents books fun interesting things traffic

  1. 1
    I like reading. I have a lot of books. example
  2. 2
    We enjoyed our visit to the museum. We saw .
  3. 3
    This road is very dangerous. There are .
  4. 4
    We enjoyed our holiday. We had .
  5. 5
    It took me a long time to drive here. There was .
83.4

In some of these sentences much is not natural. Change the sentences or write OK.

  1. 1
    Do you drink much coffee? example
  2. 2
    I drink much tea.
  3. 3
    It was a cold winter. We had much snow.
  4. 4
    There wasn't much snow last winter.
  5. 5
    It costs much money to travel around the world.
  6. 6
    We had a cheap holiday. It didn't cost much.
  7. 7
    Do you know much about computers?
  8. 8
    'Do you have any luggage?' 'Yes, much.'
83.5

Write sentences about these people. Use much and a lot.

  1. 1A man who goes to the cinema a lot
    James loves films. (go to the cinema)
    He goes to the cinema a lot. example
  2. 2A woman who doesn't watch TV much
    Nicola thinks TV is boring. (watch TV)
    She doesn't watch TV much. example
  3. 3A woman who plays tennis a lot
    Tina is a good tennis player. (play tennis)
    She .
  4. 4A man who doesn't use his car much
    Mark doesn't like driving. (use his car)
    He .
  5. 5A man who doesn't go out much
    Paul spends most of the time at home. (go out)
    He .
  6. 6A woman who travels a lot
    Sue has been all over the world. (travel)
    She .