2015-08-21
377
MUCH – MANY # LITTLE – A LITTLE # FEW – A FEW
| COUNTABLE NOUNS | UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS |
| many few a few fewer a lot of lots of a great number of a good number of a great many plenty of | much little a little less a lot of a good deal of a great deal of plenty of |
NOTES:
1. In Modern English MUCH and MANY are mostly used in interrogative and negative sentences, while a lot of and its equivalents in affirmative ones, e.g.
Do you have much trouble with English? No, I don’t have much trouble with speaking, but quite a lot of difficulty with writing.
2. LITTLE and FEW are rather negative: they mean “ not much/many ”.
Unfortunately, students have little or no choice in choosing set literature.
Very few students learn Latin and Greek now.
3. A LITTLE and A FEW are more positive: their meaning is more like “ some ”, e.g.
I’ve read a little of the book so far, but I hope to finish it by Monday.
I’ve seen most of his movies but only a few are as good as the first one.
