A: It’s almost full. There’s a lot of water in the glass.
Q: How much traffic is there this morning?
A: There’s a lot of traffic. The cars aren’t moving very fast.
Q: How much fishing does he do?
A: He does a lot of fishing on the weekend.
Q: How much beer is there in his glass?
A: There isn’t any. It’s all gone.
Now, watch this video:
Count Nouns
Singular or Plural
Noncount Nouns
(Don’t use in plural form)
car
apple
machine
fact
chair
dollar
minute
(Only use an article with these: a or the)
cars
apples
machines
facts
chairs
dollars
minutes
(These plural count nouns use “many“)
traffic
fruit
machinery
information
furniture
money
time
(These use “much“)
It’s important to understand the difference between noncount and count nouns when using many and much. Noncount nouns are often used to describe large categories while count nouns are usually more specific.
Examples:
There is acar in the street. (singular count noun)
Question: How many cars are in the street?
Answer: There are a few cars in the street (plural count noun)
Question: How much traffic is there?
Answer: There is a lot of traffic. (noncount noun)
Noncount nouns always use a singular verb. Count nouns are singular or plural.
Much and Many are usually used with the negative:
Examples:
There aren’t many students in the classroom. (perhaps 4 or 5 students)
There isn’t much food in the refrigerator. ( a small amount of food)
Any + not, never, or without expresses zero:
Examples:
There aren’t any students in the classroom (zero)
There isn’t any food in the refrigerator. It’s empty.
He went outside without any shoes. (There are no shoes on his feet.)
They never want to eat any vegetables or drink any milk.
Much and Many are usually not used in the affirmative:
Examples:
There are many apples in the basket. It sounds better to say…
There are a lot of apples in the basket.
There is much milk in the refrigerator. It sounds better to say…
