According to the website dicionário Cambridge, Much, Many, Little, Few are quantifiers and they are placed in front of the nouns:
- many friends
- few dollars
- much time
- little water
Attention: Much and Many can be used in affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences, but mostly in negative sentences.
Many & Few
Many and Few are used before countable, plural nouns.
Many express big quantity of something:
- Andrew has many books on his shelf.
- There are many kids on the street.
- Many people are waiting in line.
Few express a small quantity of something:
- Sarah has few friends.
- I have a few words to say.
- We have only a few problems to solve.
Much & Little
Much and Little are used before uncountable nouns:
Much express big quantity of something:
- Alison is rich. He has much money.
- Hurry up! We don’t have much time.
- There is much snow outside.
Little express a small quantity of something:
- There is little wine in the bottle.
- That man has little power.
- I found a little money on the floor.
Few/A Few; Little/A Little
According to the website Grammarly, there is a subtle difference between “few” and “a few”, “little” and “a little”.
Few and little brings the ideas that the substantive is not enough, insufficient.
A few and a little alson indicates small quantity, but, enough.
Few or A few?
Few means small quantity, not sufficient.
A few means small quantity, but enough in the context.
There are few chairs left. ( they are not enough )
There are a few chairs left. ( it is only a small quantity, but they are enough )
Little ou A little?
Little means a small quantity, not enough.
A little indicates a small quantity, but enough.
We have little time. Let’s hurry!
We have a little time. Let’s finish.
I’ve got little money. I can’t buy a house.
I’ve got a little money. It’s enough for an ice-cream.
How much & How many
How many e how much are used to ask questions about quantities.
How many asks about countable nouns:
- How many kids do you have?
- How many players are there?
- How many guests are coming?
How much asks about uncountable nouns:
- How much pizza is there?
- How much money do you have in your pockets?
- How much time do you spend on the computer?
How much is also used to ask about prices:
- How much is the TV?
- How much for the house?
- How much is the ice-cream?
A lot of & Lots of
A lot of and Lots of: are used before large quantity of something, before countable or uncountable, affirmative, negative and interrogative sentences.
“A lot of” is more formal than “Lots of”.
- We have a lot of homework today.
- There isn’t a lot of people in the mall.
- A lot of my friends are coming tonight.
- Do you know a lot of English people?
- There is lots of money in the bank.
- There aren’t lots of fish in the aquarium.
- Lots of students are taking a test now.
- Does she eat a lot of candies?
Finally:
Many = big quantities, countable nouns, negative sentences and questions.
Much = big quantities, uncountable nouns, negatives sentences and questions.
Few = small quantities, countable nouns.
Little = smallquantities, countable nouns.
A lot of = big quantities, countable or uncountable nous, affirmative sentences; formal.
Lots of = big quantities, countable and uncountable nouns, negative sentences; informal.
- There are many stories about him. (formal)
- There are a lot of stories about him (informal)
- There are lots of stories about him. (really informal)
Let’s practice:
