Common English mix-ups: much and many

‘Much’ and ‘many’ are two words a lot of my students mix up and confuse regularly. To help you with your English learning, let’s take a look at how to use each word.

‘Much’ is used when we are speaking about a singular noun.

‘Many’ is used when we are speaking about a plural noun.

When we speak about ‘many’ and ‘much’, it’s worth mentioning countable and uncountable nouns. Countable nouns can be used with a number and have singular and plural forms. Uncountable nouns can only be used in singular and cannot be used with a number.

Examples:

“How much money do you have?”

“How many friends do you have?”

Wait a second! I know what you’re thinking. We can count money, right? Yes, you’re correct, however we must use the precise currency (dollars, pesos, euros) to use the word ‘many’. We wouldn’t say: “I have 100 money”. We would say: “I have 100 pesos.” Or “How many dollars do you have?”

‘Much’ and ‘many’ are often used with questions and negative clauses.

Examples:

“I don’t have many friends.”

“How much money did you spend last night?”

With positive clauses they are used with the words: ‘so’, ‘as’, or ‘too’.

Examples:

“I have so much homework tonight!”

“She has as many shoes as I do.”

“John worries too much.”

OK, time to practice!

1. How _____ euros do you have on you?

2. How ____ was the car?

3. He has too _____ problems.

4. She is in so _____ trouble.5. They have been to _____ concerts.

Answers: many, much, many, much, many.

image: fontplay.com