Grammar ~21 min of the core left

Say how much and how many

After this lesson you can

I can say that there is a lot, a little or enough of something, and complain that there is too much.

Start the lesson Core 19–21 min · steps: 6 · optional: +2

Declared core time. Two of the core blocks carry no figure at all, so the real lesson is longer than this sum.

Grammar

5 min

much and many divide the work by the same test as in A1 #15: can you count it or not.

with example
many countable nouns many books, many people
much uncountable nouns much water, much time

But in a statement people usually say a lot of: much is almost never used there, and many is less common.

✓ I have a lot of work. statement
✓ I don't have much work. negative
✓ How much work do you have? question

a lot of works with both countable and uncountable nouns — it is the safest choice.

"Not much, but some" — two words, and the choice is the same:

with meaning
a few countable nouns a small number (but there are some)
a little uncountable nouns a small amount (but there is some)

Too much and enough:

too much work / too many books more than you need or want
enough time / enough books as much or as many as you need
not enough money less than you need

enough goes AFTER an adjective, but BEFORE a noun: old enough, but enough money.

Advertisement

Common learner errors

written for your language
1

much in a statement

✗ I have much work

✓ I have a lot of work

Spanish mucho, French beaucoup, German viel and Italian molto work in any sentence; English much does not.

2

many and -s with an uncountable noun

✗ many informations

✗ many advices

✓ a lot of information

a lot of advice. French des informations, Spanish consejos, German Informationen are plural, but in English these words are uncountable: no -s, no many. The test is the same as in A1 #15: can you count it in single things?

3

too instead of very

✗ This book is too interesting (meaning "very") → ✓ very interesting. Chinese tài and informal French trop can mean "very", but English too always means "more than you want" — something bad. This is the tricky point of A1 #18 again.

4

enough before an adjective

✗ It isn't enough big

✓ It isn't big enough

French assez grand, Spanish bastante grande and Italian abbastanza grande put it first.

Pronunciation

3 min

of in connected speech is /əv/, and often just /ə/: a lot of work sounds like /əˈlɒtə wɜːk/, a couple of days like /əˈkʌplə deɪz/.

enough /ɪˈnʌf/ — the stress is on the second syllable, and there is the sound /f/ at the end: the letters gh are said as /f/ here, unlike bought and thought, where they are silent.

Advertisement

Text

3 min

I have a lot of work this month, but I don't have much free time. There are too many emails every morning — about a hundred. I have a few days of holiday in May and a little money in the bank, so I'm going to travel. It isn't enough for a long trip, but it's enough for a week.

Reading aloud

Exercises

8–10 min

1. Gap fill.

  1. I have work today
  2. I don't have time
  3. How books do you have?
  4. There are people here
Show the answers
a lot of; much / a lot of; many; a lot of / many.

2. Gap fill.

  1. I have days of holiday
  2. There is milk in the fridge
  3. I know words in Spanish
Show the answers
a few, a little, a few.

3. Error correction.

  1. I have much work.
  2. There are many money.
  3. This book is too interesting. (meaning "very")
Show the answers
I have a lot of work. / There is a lot of money. / This book is very interesting.

4. Gap fill.

  1. I have emails — about two hundred
  2. Is there time for a coffee?
  3. There is work and not people
Show the answers
too many, enough, too much / enough.
Advertisement

Summary

Covered

  • much / many / a lot of
  • a few / a little
  • too much / too many
  • enough

Next — lesson 14: somebody, something, nowhere.

End of the core

The lesson counts as done once the exercises are done. Everything after this is optional.

Lesson 50

optional

Vocabulary for your deck

12 words
  • a lot of /ə ˈlɒt əv/ a big number or amount of
  • a few /ə ˈfjuː/ a small number of; some
  • a little /ə ˈlɪtl/ a small amount of; some
  • enough /ɪˈnʌf/ as much or as many as you need
  • email /ˈiːmeɪl/ a message you send over the internet; your mailbox
  • information /ˌɪnfəˈmeɪʃn/ facts about someone or something
  • time /taɪm/ hours and minutes (What time is it?)
  • trip /trɪp/ a journey to a place and back
  • bank /bæŋk/ a place where people keep their money
  • couple /ˈkʌpl/ two, or a small number (a couple of days)
  • free time /friː ˈtaɪm/ time when you are not working
  • about /əˈbaʊt/ a little more or less than (about a hundred)

Writing

Four sentences: what you have a lot of, what you have little of, what there is too much of, and what you have enough of.

Example

I have a lot of work this month. I don't have much free time. There are too many emails every day. I have enough money for a short holiday.

Checklist

The draft is saved on this device
Advertisement

Practise this lesson in the other sections

Dictationbased on this lesson Write down what you hear. The check shows every word that differs, and how. Write the dictation Reading aloudbased on this lesson Read the lesson text aloud — speech recognition highlights the words it did not catch. Read the text aloud Reading and listeningA1–C1 Texts at every level with comprehension questions; the transcript opens after you answer. Try it

Got a feature idea?

Send idea
Advertisement
Advertisement