Quantifiers – Much Many Few Little

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: