INTRODUCTION

The present essay of English Language III, resulted from a rigorous literature review.
Therefore, it was necessary to refer to certain sources used, in the bibliographical references
of this essay. This essay, focuses on: (i) the use of much and many; Whereby much is a
quantifier that describes a large quantity of something, and many is a quantifier that describes
a large number of people or things. (ii) the use of how much? and how many? they are
quantifiers normally used in questions and negative sentences. And finally (iii) the use of
little and few. Quantifiers that are used to emphasize that only a small quantity of something,
or a small number of people or things are involved, whereby Few and a few are used with
plural countable nouns, and little and a little with uncountable nouns. The present essay aims
to help students who use English as their second or foreign language, that often face problems
in the use of the quantifiers described bellow. It is also a crucial tool for those who aim for
better result in the learning process of the English language.
 1. THE USE OF MUCH AND MANY

According to (Webb, 1995: 153), “Much and many are adverbs of quantity. Whereby
much is a quantifier that describes a large quantity of something. And many is a
quantifier that describes a large number of people or things We use much with
singular uncountable nouns, and many with plural countable nouns”.

E.g.: He has much money / I don’t speak much English. / I ate much bread in the
morning.

There are many trees in this forest / We wrote many novels. / There are many books in the
General library.

We can use much and many without a noun if the meaning is clear:

E.g.: Can you get some sugar when you go shopping? There isn't much (sugar)
left.

(Webb, 1995: 153), points out that, “we also can use much (of) and many (of) to talk about
quantities and amounts. Much (of) is used with uncountable nouns and many (of) with plural
nouns”.

E.g.: Many boys enjoy football. (means, boys in general) and

Many of the boys enjoy football. (means a particular group of boys).

Much of can also be used with a singular countable noun to mean a large part of:

E.g.: Much of the national park was destroyed in the fire.

We can use many between a determiner or possessive form and a following noun,
particularly in rather formal speech and writing:

E.g.: The letter could have been sent by any of his many
enemies.

We can use much with this and that like: E.g.: I've never had this much money before. / I’ve
never seen much water like that.
We usually need to put (of) after quantifiers that are followed by a pronoun, a determiner or a
possessive form before a noun. (WEBB, 1995: 158).

Quantifiers Without of With of

Much I did the job, but without Strong winds are covering
much enthusiasm. much of the country.
Many Many talented scientists are She gave many of her best
moving to Australia. paintings to her friends.
Source: WEBB, Barbara. (1995) Communicating in English 10a Classe.

2.The use of How much? and How many?

(O’DEL, 1999: 86) “Much and many are normally used in questions and negative
sentences”.

E.g.: How much money have you got? / how many books have you read so far?

He doesn’t speak much French. / we didn’t eat many mangoes toady.

In affirmative sentences we often use a lot (of), lots (of), or plenty (of) to talk about large
amounts and quantities, particularly in conversation and informal writing. (O’DEL, 1999:
87).

E.g.:1 I ate a lot of fish. / We had plenty of hotels to choose from, ('many hotels' is more
formal)

E.g.:2 I’ve got plenty of money.

We often use plenty of instead of a lot of or lots of. However, plenty of means 'enough, or
more than enough' and is therefore not likely in certain contexts. Compare: E.g.:

We took lots of food and drink on our walk through the hills, (or ...plenty of...) and
Jim doesn't look well. He's lost a lot of weight, ('plenty of is unlikely here)

(MURPHY, 2004:104) says, “note that we can use ‘so much’ and ‘too much’ in affirmative
sentences. ‘So much’, sometimes is used to emphasize that a large quantity of something is
involved. We also use ‘too much’ and ‘too many’ to say that quantity of something, or the
number of people or things, is larger than necessary. ‘Very much’ is used with and adverbs.”

E.g.:1 She spends so much time here. / there is too much chance of winning the match.

E.g.:2 I have so much work to do today. / they have so much money and we need so
little.
E.g.:3 Too many people still smoke. / he is too much fool.

E.g.:4 There is not very much time. / I liked it very much.

3. THE USE OF LITTLE AND FEW

According to (MURPHY, 2004: 120) “Little and few are used to emphasize that only a small
quantity of something, or a small number of people or things are involved”. E.g.: This town
has few monuments. / He spread little honey on a slice of bread.

Few/a few are used with plural countable nouns, and little/a little with uncountable nouns.

E.g.:1 I have got a few friends. / few friends of ours are happy with us.

E.g.:2 We have got a little time for the meeting. / there is little sugar left.

We often use a few and a little in a 'positive' way; for example, to talk about a small amount
or quantity, to indicate that this is enough, or suggest that it is more than we would expect.

E.g.: what have you got to eat? There is a little fish and potatoes. (means not a lot of fish or
potatoes, but enough to eat).

A little/a few are more positive than Little/few. Examples:

I’ve got a little money (=some, but not much) I’ve got little money (= nearly no)
I’ve got a few friends (=some, but not many) I’ve got few friends (=nearly no)

Quantifier Positive Negative

(a) Few – is used with I’ve got a few closeI have few close
plural countable friends that I meet friends and often I
nouns. regularly; feel lonely.
A few of his songs Few of his songs
were popular and he were very popular
was very well and eventually he
known. gave up his career.
(a) Little – is used with I have to go now, I There was little
uncountable nouns. have a little work to
work to do, so we
do. didn’t earn much
We had a little money.
money left, so we We decided to
went for a meal. abandon our trip as
we had little money.
Source: HEWINGS, Martin. (1999:146) Advanced Grammar in use.
3.1 Less (than), and fewer (than)

According to (COBUILD, 1998: 67), Less (than) is used with uncountable nouns and fewer
(than) with plural countable nouns: E.g.:1 You should have mixed less water with the paint.

E.g.:2 There seemed to be fewer lorries on the motorway today.

However, nowadays many people use less rather than fewer with plural countable nouns:

E.g.: There were less (or fewer) than 20 students at the lecture. But some people think that
this use is incorrect, especially in formal written English.

When we talk about a distance or a sum of money we use less, not fewer:

E.g.: Barbara said the beach was twenty miles away, but I thought it was less than that.

Notice that we use less than or fewer than with percentages:

E.g.: Less (or Fewer) than 40 per cent of the electorate voted in the general election.

We can use no fewer/less than when a quantity or amount is surprisingly large:

E.g.: The team has had no fewer than ten managers in just five years, (or ...no less than...).

E.g.: Profits have increased by no less than 95% in the last year, (not ...no fewer than...).
Bibliography

HEWINGS, Martin. (1999). Advanced Grammar in use. 1st Ed, Cambridge University
press, United Kingdom.

COBUILD, Collins. (1998). Student’s Grammar. 6th Ed, HarperCollins Publisher Ltd, United
Kingdom.

MURPHY, Raymond. (2004). English Grammar in use for intermediate students of English.
3rd
Ed, Cambridge University Press, UK.

O’DEL, M. M. F. (1999). English Grammar in use. 1st Ed, Cambridge University Press, United
Kingdom.

WEBB, Barbara. (1995). Communicating in English 10a Classe. 1st Ed, Overseas Development
Administration, United Kingdom.