Much, many, few, little

Much is used with singular (uncountable) nouns & many with plurals.

How much time have you got?

How many tickets do we need?

Much &many are most common in questions & negatives, & after so, as, too, very. In other informal sentences , we generally prefer a lot (of), lots (of), plenty (of). All three of these can be used with both uncountables & plurals.

Are thee many opera houses in London?

Do you have much trouble with English?- No, but I have lots of difficulty writing.

I love you so much. There are too many people there. Take as much as you like.

(A) little is used with singular (uncountable) nouns & (a) few with plurals.

Little & few are rather negative: they mean ‘’not much/many’’.

A little & a few are more positive: their meaning is more like ‘’some’’.

Cactuses need little water.

Give the roses a little water every day.

His ideas are very difficult, & few people understand them.

His ideas are very difficult, but a few people understand them.

Exercises

Ex. 1. Complete the sentences with much/many/a lot of.

1. Have you got … work to do today? – Quite …. 2. How … sisters or brothers have you got? 3. There isn’t … useful information in this article. 4. I don’t know … people here. Do you? 5. This town is too small. There aren’t … tourists here. 6. Usually I don’t have breakfast before my studies but I drink … coffee. 7. How … money do you spend a month? 8. Vegetarians eat … vegetables & fruit. 9. I’ve got … problems at the moment. 10. We visited… interesting places during our stay in London. 11. How … does he smoke? – Too …. 12. Are there going to be … people at the lecture? 13. Do you have … trouble with English? 14. It takes me … time to get to the university. 15. I am sorry but not … people understand your ideas.

Ex. 2. Fill in the spaces with the following words much/many/lots of/a great deal of/a number of/plenty of/a good deal of.

1. We have complained about it … times, but they still haven’t done anything about it. 2. It’s very kind of you to offer your help, but there isn’t really … work to do. 3. He showed … of interest to this project. 4. He is a very clever man. He has got … new ideas. 5. We must hurry, we haven’t got … time. 6. Don’t worry, there’s … time. 7. What was wrong? You were making … noise last night. 8. We’ve got … energy into this plan, I hope it works. 9. Usually I drink … coffee in the morning. 10. How … money have you got on you? 11. Do you watch TV …? – I’m afraid, I do. 12. She knows … but she still has … to learn. 13. They didn’t spend … money on their holiday. 14. We’ll find where to stay, there are … hotels in this town. 15. Is there … chalk on my coat? 16. … shops are closed on Sundays. 17. I met … friends at the theatre. 18. This new hat costs … money. 19. … water has passed under the bridge since then. 20. Did they plant … apple-trees in the garden? 21. Did you have … difficulty in finding the house? 22. You have given me too … sugar. 23. He caused his mother … trouble. 24. … rain has fallen on the fields. 25. … people study Russian nowadays. 26. I haven’t … hope for his success. 27. I haven’t … sugar, but I have … jam. 28. I have … work to do, but I haven’t … time for it. 29. Do not ask so … questions. 30. Fortunately they didn’t ask me … questions.

Ex. 3. Put in little/a little/few/a few.

1. 1. When did you see Nick? – … days ago. 2. He is unknown to me. I know … about him. 3. Wait a bit, I need … minutes to get ready. 4. They are going away for … days. 5. Please give me … water. I am thirsty. 6. They are not rich. They’ve got … money. 7. Let’s go for a walk. I need … fresh air. 8. Not … people understand his ideas. 9. Do you drink much coffee? – No, just …. 10. I don’t know what to do. Could you give … help? 11. We waited … minutes & then left. 12. She speaks Arabic …. 13. I want … words with you, please. 14. We could easily understand him. He could speak English …. 15. We could hardly understand him. He could speak English …. 16. Will you go to the shop? There is … bread in the house. 17. Do you take any interest in it at all? – Yes, but very …. 18. He is very ill, there is … hope for him. 19. Can you come to our house this evening? I’m inviting … friends for dinner. 20. He cannot buy this book as he has … money left. 21. There were … changes since you left, so you needn’t worry. 22. There is … work to do this afternoon, so we can go out tonight. 23. There are … apples on the table, help yourself to some. 24. There are … cars in this region & the roads are so bad. 25. … people understood him as he did not speak clearly. 26. I would like … more meat, please. 27. There is just room for … more people. 28. A pony has … chance of keeping pace with a horse. 29. The cactus needs very … water. 30. Can you bring us … apples, please? 31. – Would you like more wine? – Just …. 32. The exam was very difficult & only … students passed it. 33. Make haste. We’ve got very … time left. 34. … more work won’t hurt you, boys. 35. The hall was almost empty. There were very … people there. 36. There is … snow but much rain in England in winter. 37. There is … fun to be in hospital. 38. I don’t speak much French. Only … words. 39. Open the window! There is so … air in the room. 40. Why do you eat so …? Try … of everything.

Ex. 4. Use less/the least/fewer/ the fewest.

1. I’ve got … money than I thought. 2. Do you want more time & … money, or more money & … time? 3. He drives… carefully than I expected. 4. It was the … successful day in my life. 5. There were … problems than I expected. 6. He is very clever but he has got … self-confidence of anyone I know. 7. This is a very good car. It needs … repairs. 8. He has earned … money than he expected. 9. I speak English … fluently than a year ago. 10. I feel … optimistic about the future than a year ago. 11. He’s had … days off work of anybody in the office. 12. He was the person who made … mistakes in the test. 13. It was … successful party we had.

Ex. 5. Put in much, many, (a) few, (a) little.

1. Last week there was so … rain that I couldn’t go out. 2. When we walked … farther down the road, we met other students. 3. Have you got … ink in your pen? 4. At the conference we met … people whom we knew well. 5. There are very … old houses left in our street. Most of them have already been pulled down. 6. If you have … spare time, look through this book. You will find … stories there which are rather interesting. 7. I’m afraid I haven’t got … news to convey. 8. … was said but … done. 9. I suggested that she should get … plums and some bread. 10. At the bar … men were discussing the coming elections. 11. She was glad to see me because I was English and she knew … English people. 12. My mother knows German … and she can help you with the translation. 13. I’d like to say … words about my journey.

Ex. 6. Insert necessary words. Variants are possible.

1. Have you got … English books in your library? 2. Unfortunately there were very … people there. 3. He has … friends. He is very lonely. 4. Listen to me, please. I’m going to give … advice. 5. The village was very small. There were only … houses. 6. How … time does it take you to get there? 7. I don’t know … about this matter. 8. There are … English books in the library. 9. Hurry up. We have got very … time. 10. There is … hope that everything will be OK. 11. Do you drink … or … coffee in the evening? 12. There were … people at the lecture today than yesterday. 13. We’ll rest … minutes & go back. 14. … think that the situation will improve. 15. Did you take … photos at the party?-Yes, I took …. 16. Can I have … juice, please? 17. How … time do we need to get there? 18. I like … milk in my tea, please. 19. Do you have any homework to do? – Yes, …. 20. How … times a week do you have your English classes?

Ex. 7. Correct mistakes if necessary.

1. She is lucky. She has little problems. 2. We couldn’t understand each other, he could speak English little. 3. Why do you drink so much coffee in the evening? 4. I am not very busy tonight. I haven’t many work to do. 5. There were few people at the meeting yesterday. 6. On Sundays I’ve got much free time. 7. Usually she makes very few mistakes in her tests. 8. There is few food in the fridge. 9. Many people were invited but little come. 10. Less people have heard of him. 11. It’s a very good café. There are few people there. 12. Do you spend many time on your homework? 13. He is so friendly, he has so much friends. 14. There are very little illustrations in this book. 15. I have plenty of time on my days off.

Ex. 8 Translate into English.

1. В бутылке мало лимонада. 2. У нее не много платьев. 3. Кто из них переводит много статей с русского на английский? 4. Каждый день мы получаем много иностранных газет и журналов. 5. Извините, у меня мало времени. 6. В комнате много света. 7. Ты увидишь его через несколько дней. 8. У вас много бумаги. Дайте мне немного, пожалуйста. 9. У вас сегодня много или мало работы? 10. Он зарабатывал мало денег и не мог жить в большом доме. 11. Мама дала мне много поручений (things to do), но я смог выполнить только несколько. 12. Ты знаешь много французских слов? 13. Мы будем обедать через несколько минут. 14. Вы пригласили много гостей? 15. У меня было немного времени выпить чашку кофе. 16. К счастью, у меня есть несколько друзей, которые мне помогут. 17. Ты мало работаешь. Поработай немного. 18. Нам нужно несколько долларов и немного удачи. 19. У Марины есть небольшой прогресс. Она теперь делает мало ошибок. 20. У меня есть несколько проблем и слишком мало времени, чтобы решить их. 21. В комнате было много мебели, и она казалась маленькой. 22. Лишь немногие люди могут позволить себе купить такую машину. 23. Он зарабатывает не очень много денег, но ему нравится его работа. 24. Вчера в тесте я сделал меньше ошибок. 25. Давай подождём её ещё немного. 26. Ему следует поменьше болтать, а больше работать. 27. Он может всё сказать в нескольких словах. 28. Он проявляет мало интереса к учёбе.