Quantifiers (Much / Many) - One Minute Grammar

Todd / United Statesflag

What is your favorite place?
Hi everybody. This is Todd, your teacher from elllo. And right now, I am at my favorite place. This is a beach near my house where I live and teach and work in Japan. I love this beach for many reasons. One, there aren't many people on the beach, so usually this beach is really quiet and there's not a lot going on. There's many trees near the beach. There's a beautiful forest, so you can take a walk in there. And the beach usually is really clean. There isn't much pollution. There isn't much noise. Although, sometimes you can hear a plane because many planes land by the airport. I guess we can't see one now, but there are many planes in this area. And it's just a nice place.

There's a lot of space. There's a lot of light. And it's just a really peaceful place. So, because of that, I really enjoy it. And there's many things you can do here. You can take a walk. You can relax on the beach. You can listen to the waves. It's just really, really peaceful. So for that reason, I love this beach. It's my favorite place in Beppu.

Much and Many

Countable - Use many, lots of and a lot of before plural nouns in affirmative and negative sentences. Use any in negative sentences.

  1. We have many friends.
  2. We don't have many close friends. (few friends)
  3. We have a lot of friends.
  4. We don't have a lot of close friends. (few friends)
  5. We have lots of friends
  6. We don't have lots of close friends. (few friends)
  7. We don't have any friends. (no friends)

Countable - Use any, many, lots of and a lot of before plural nouns in yes/no questions.

  1. Do you have any pens?
  2. Do you have many pens?
  3. Do you have a lot of pens?
  4. Do you have lots of pens?

Note that in question #1, the speaker is asking if the person has a pen, while questions #2-#4 ask if the person has a high quantity of pens.

Uncountable - Use lots of and a lot of before non-count nouns in affirmative and negative sentences. Do not use much in affirmative sentences. Use much in negative sentences.

  1. There is a lot of light.
  2. There isn't a lot of light.
  3. There is lots of light.
  4. There isn't lots of light.
  5. There is much light.
  6. There isn't much light.

Uncountable - Use any, lots of and a lot of before non-count nouns in yes/no questions.

  • Do you have any money?
  • Do you have a lot of money?
  • Do you have lots of money?

Note that in question #1, the speaker is asking if the person has money, while questions #2-#3 ask if the person has a high quantity of money.

Answer the following questions about the interview.

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Listen to four short conversations using counters for nouns.