Much - many - little - few - exercises. Quantitative pronouns a lot of, much, many: rules, examples of use and exercises Exercises few a few

The basics of English grammar are quite easy to master. However, those who strive to reach the advanced level will have to study in more depth. In any language there are many nuances that require detailed study. One such topic is the use of the word “many.” English translation may vary depending on context and some other factors. The rest of the article talks about the various semantic connotations of this concept and its translation options.

Quantitative pronouns a lot of, much, many: rules of use

The word most often used to express the plural is many. It is used mainly in cases where it refers to countable nouns. Antonym - few.

• Many (few) things, people, ideas, thoughts, countries - many (few) things, people, ideas, thoughts, countries.

The concept of "a lot" in English in combination with uncountable nouns is translated by the word much. The opposite meaning is little.

• Much (little) luck, energy, time, money - a lot (little) luck, energy, time, money.

In affirmative sentences a lot of is often used . You also often come across the phrase lots of .

• A lot of time, books, people, friends, ideas - a lot of time, books, people, friends, ideas.

Many and much are used in negation or questioning.

• I didn't spend much money. - I didn't spend a lot of money.
• Has she got many books? - Does she have many books?

In affirmative sentences, the expressions too much and so much are also often found.

• There's too much sugar in the coffee. - There is too much sugar in the coffee.
• This car costs too much. - This car costs too much.

As for the basic uses of the words a lot of, it’s quite easy to master. But for a more in-depth study of this topic, some more aspects should be considered.

Set expressions

The main difficulty of set phrases lies in translation, since understanding each individual word does not always help to comprehend the meaning of the general phrase. The rules for using many, much, a lot of and other analogues also do not provide a comprehensive answer in all cases. Therefore, many such expressions simply need to be remembered.

So, phrases with the word many :

• a good/great ~ - quite a lot, fairly;
• a good ~ times - many times;
• a good ~ people - a lot of people;
• a great ~ of - many;
• as ~ as five years - five whole years;
• in ~ regards/respects - in many respects;
• in ~ ways - in a variety of ways;
• ~ others - a number of others;
• ~ other things - much more.

Phrases containing the word much :

• as ~ as is needful - as much as needed;
• as ~ as all that - so much/strongly;
• as ~ as to say - equivalent to/it’s the same as saying, as if speaking;
• as ~ as possible - as far as possible;
• as ~ as practical - as much as possible;
• how ~ ? - how much does it cost, what is the price?
• however ~ - no matter how much/however;
• in so ~ as - since, since;
• make ~ of - to highly value, to have a high opinion;
• ~ like - akin;
• ~ of something - most of something;
• ~ the same - almost the same thing;
• pretty ~ - very, perhaps, to a large extent;
• so ~ for - here you go (expression of indignation, disappointment).

Expressions with words a lot of :

• ~ red tape - a lot of paperwork, a lot of bureaucratic barriers;
• ~ practice - abundance of practice;
• do ~ walking - walk a lot;
• get ~ mileage out of - derive considerable benefit from;
• get ~ play - be in the spotlight;
• give ~ thought - spend a lot of time thinking;
• get through ~ money - spend a lot of money;
• spend ~ time - spend a lot of time.

Other ways to characterize a large number

In addition to the above, “a lot” in English can be expressed in many other ways. When translating, it is very important to take into account the fact whether a countable noun is used in a sentence or not.

The table shows analogues of the above quantitative pronouns:

Despite the widespread use of the words a lot of, much, many in English, the rule of use is not limited to well-known vocabulary. In fiction there are original ways of conveying a concept that implies a large number. Here are some examples of figurative expressions:

• He has pots of money. - He has a lot of money.
• I have a bunch of stuff. - I have a lot of things.
• Investigator has a mountains of evidence. - The investigator has a lot of (mountains) of evidence.
• There is an ocean of flowers in my garden. - There is an ocean of flowers in my garden.

Practical part

One of the best ways to consolidate theoretical material in practice is to work with exercises. Here is an example of one of the tasks. The main part of the practical material can be found in the corresponding topics of grammar textbooks.

Exercise : translate into English using the words a lot of, much, many (the rules of use are described above).

1. How many children are there in your school?
2. My car uses a lot of gasoline.
3. Don't bother her. She has lots of work.
4. I can't eat this soup. It has too much salt.
5. Anna has many friends.

Answer :

1. How many children are there in your school?
2. My car uses a lot of petrol.
3. Don"t disturb her. She"s got a lot of work to do.
4. I can't eat this soup. There's too much salt in it.
5. Ann has many friends.

To make learning as effective as possible, you should incorporate new vocabulary into your speaking and writing. One of the common mistakes common to beginners is trying to memorize a list of words without further application in conversation.

This method will help enrich only passive vocabulary. That is, if you encounter this vocabulary in a book or hear it in a conversation with a native English speaker, you will understand what it is about. However, to be able to express your own thoughts with these words, new expressions must become an integral part of your vocabulary.

One of the best methods is as follows: select several phrases, come up with 5-10 sentences with each of them and try to include them in your speech in the near future when speaking a foreign language. This will allow you to naturally get used to a new way of thinking and communicating information.

few And a few.

Show answers with translation

1. I saw your cat a few minutes ago. – I saw your cat some minutes ago.
2. They have very few good ideas for the show. - They have very few good ideas for a show.
3. Unfortunately, there were few guests at the event. We hoped to see more people. – Unfortunately, at the event there was few guests. We were hoping to see more people.
4. Only a few guests (five or six) out of almost a hundred people were officially invited. - Only some guests (five or six) out of nearly a hundred people were formally invited.
5. I have tried to read that book a few times but always ended up sleeping. - I some I tried to read this book several times, but always ended up falling asleep.

Exercise 2. Little or A Little?

In this exercise you need to put in place little And a little.

Show answers with translation

1. Hurry up, we have little time. - Hurry up, we have few time.
2. Just give us a little time, please. A few minutes, okay? - Just give us A little time please. A few minutes, okay?
3. People who have little patience can't be good teachers. - People who have few patience, cannot be good teachers.
4. You should drink a little hot coffee, it will help. -You need a drink A little hot coffee will help.
5. Can you wait a little longer? - Could you wait? a little bit longer?

Exercise 3. Few, Little, A Few, A Little

This is a more difficult task. Fill in the blanks by choosing between the options: few, little, a few, a little.

Show answers with translation

1. Only afew people in our town speak French. - In our city only some the people speak French.
2. We have little information about that person. - We have few information about this person.
3. Very few poets publish their work in paper nowadays. - Nowadays it is very few poets publish their works in paper form.
4. I have texted you a few times. - I wrote to you some once.
5. Are you thirsty? I have a little water. - Are you thirsty? I have A little water.
6. We moved to the town this summer and my sister has few friends here, she feels lonely. – We moved to this city this summer, and my sister few friends, she's lonely.
7. The car goes fast on little fuel. - The car drives fast, consuming few fuel.

Exercise 4. Few, Little, A Few, A Little

In this exercise you also need to fill in the blanks by choosing between the options: few, little, a few, a little.

Use much, many, a lot of, (a) little, (a) few

1. Put “+” if you use “much” or “many” correctly, put “-” if you use it incorrectly.

We don't have much food in the house.

I can't give you many information about the company.

I need much apples for the pie.

How many people are there in your office?

There is much wine in the

She doesn't have much luggage.

My son earns much money now.

They saw many snow in the mountains.

I have tried diving many times in my life.

John will have many exams next year.

2. Use "much" or "many" to express "How much...?"

How...days?

How...sugar?

How... cigarettes?

How...work?

How...petrol?

How...children?

How... theaters?

How...juice?

3. Put “a lot of” (a lot) in the required place in the sentence.

We met interesting people at the party.

I ate fish for lunch.

She bought nice shoes for the next summer.

They have problems in their business.

There is water in the bath.

4. Rewrite the questions, replacing some with “a little” or “a few”.

Would you like some cheese?

Would you like some mineral water?

Would you like some strawberries?

Can I offer you some black coffee?

Can I offer you some bread?

Shall I bring you some biscuits?

Shall I bring you some plums?

Would you like some meat?

5. Place the appropriate word in brackets.

There is too... (much/many/a few) salt in the soup.(There is too much salt in the soup.)

There are... (much/a little/a few) sky-scrapers in our city.(There are several skyscrapers in our city.)

I’ve got… (much/a few/a little) albums of this singer.(I have several albums by this artist.)

My job allows me to travel…(much/many/a few). (My job allows me to travel a lot.)

We’ve got… (little/many/few) free time.(We don't have much free time.)

I have never seen so … (much/little/many) stars in the sky.(I have never seen so many stars in the sky.)

Anna spent … (much/a few/a little) days in Rome.(Anna spent several days in Rome.)

I’d like just… (much/a few/a little) tea.(I would just like some tea.)

There was very … (little/few/many) rain last autumn.(There was very little rain last fall.)

Very … (few/little/much) Russian tourists are staying at our hotel.(Very few Russian tourists live in our hotel.)

6. Pastemuchormany

1. I don't eatmangoes. 2. Not eatsfish. 3. She ate sodessert that she is in bed today with a stomachache. 4. That man drank sowine, and he smoked socigarettes that he has a terrible headache today. 5. Mary must not eat toosalt because she has problems with her blood pressure. 6. My mother says I eat tooFrench fries and drink toobeer. She wants her son to be healthy. 7. There is not toospace in my flat. 8. There arenew pictures in this room. 9. There areteachers at our school, andof them are women. 10.of these plays are quite new. 11. Thanks awfully for the books you sent me yesterday. - Don"t mention it, it wasn"tbother. 12.of her advice was useful. 13. He hadpairs of socks. 14. Please don't putpepper on the meat. 15. There wereplates on the table. 16. I never eatbread with soup. 17. Why did you eat soice cream? 18. She wrote usletters from the country. 19.of these students don"t like to look up words in the dictionary. 20.in this work was too difficult for me. 21.of their answers were excellent. 22. of their conversation was about the institute.

7. Translate the following pairs of words into English

Few houses, few tea, few cups, few apples, few windows, little paper, little coffee, few articles, little joy, little soup, few trees, little grass, few children, few toys, little light, few desks, little sausage , little juice, few books, few flowers, little salt, few friends, few palaces.

8. Insert little or few

l. Not has gotfriends. 2. I drinkcoffee. I don"t like it. 3. We must hurry. We"ve got verytime. 4. There are veryscholarships for students in this university. 5. The Smiths havemoney. They aren't rich. 6. The theater was almost empty. There were verypeople there. 7. There waslemonade in the bottle. There werepeaches in the basket. 8. I havetime, so I can't go with you. 9. He hasEnglish books. 10. There isink in my pen. Have you got any ink? 11. There arebears in the zoo. 12. Tom Canty was the son of poor parents and had veryclothes. 13. There is toosoup in my plate. Give me some more, please. 14. The children returned from the wood very sad because they had found verymushrooms. 15. There was toolight in the room, and I could not read. 16. There are verypeople who don't know that the Earth is round.

9. Pastemuch, many, littleorfew

1. Robert wrote soletters that he"s never going to write a letter again. 2. She ate soice cream that she"s going to have a sore throat. 3. There ismayonnaise in Vera's kitchen. She has to go to the supermarket and buy some. 4. There arecookies in the box. I should have bought them last Monday. 5. Does your sister read? - Yes, she does. And your brother? - Oh, he doesn't. He has sobooks, but he reads very. 6.Have youwork to do today? - No, not very. 7. Walk quicker, please. We have verytime. 8. I am sorry to say, I have read verybooks by Walter Scott. 9. My brother is a young teacher. Every day he spendstime preparing for his lessons. 10. I know veryabout the writer. It is the first book I am reading. 11. The pupils of our class askquestions at the lesson. They want to know everything. 12. You do not make mistakes in your spelling. Do you work hard at it? - Oh, yes, I do, I work very.

10. Translate the following pairs of words into English.

A little money, a little money, a few chairs, a few chairs, a few songs, a few songs, a little fun, a little fun, a few boys, a little water, a few people, a little water, a little air, a few tables, a few minutes, a few cats, a little grass , a little luck, a few days, a little work, a little salt, a few spoons, a little light, a few windows, a few cars, a little sugar, a little eggs, a little cheese.

11. Pastea little, a few

This is my mother's favorite recipe for fruitcake, and everyone says it's out of this world!

1. Put 3 cups of flour into a mixing bowl.

2.Addsugar.

3. Sliceapples.

4.Cut uporanges.

5. Pour inhoney.

6.Addbaking soda

7. Chop upnuts.

8.Addsalt.

9. Mix inraisins.

10. Bake for 45 minutes.

Enjoy, dear!

12. Pastelittle, a little, fewora few

1. There issalad left in this bowl. 2. Would you likesalad? - Yes, thank you. My doctor says it's good for my health. 3. I havemoney, so we can go to the cinema. 4. I havemoney, so we cannot go to the cinema. 5. This girl works very, that"s why she knows nothing. 6. Mother gave usapples, and we were glad. 7. He didn’t like it at the camp: he had veryfriends there. 8. This lemon drink is sour; if you putsugar in it, it will be sweeter. 9. This lemon drink is sour; if you putlumps of sugar in it, it will be sweeter. 10. The hall was almost empty: there were verypeople in it. 11. I can't buy this expensive hat today: I have toomoney. 12. She left and returned inminutes. 13. I think you can spare metime now. 14. I am sorry I have seenplays by this author.

Much/manyexercises

Exercise1. Insert much or many.

Do you drink ________coffee? I like reading. I read _________ books. We have _______ lessons of English this year. I can"t remember _______ from this text. Do you learn _______ new English words every day? We haven"t got ________ bread. I can't spend ________ money on toys.

Exercise

They have too _______ furniture in the room. There are too _____ books on your desk. You have too _____ mistakes in the test. You must drink ______ coffee. You put too ______ vegetables in the soup. Must we learn _____ words for today? We have got _____ sandwiches.

Exercise3. Insert much or many.

They don"t have ________ words to learn. There isn"t ________ furniture in the room. There aren't ________ things in the wardrobe. There isn't ________ snow in the forest He has got I don"t take ________ money to school. Do you need ________ money? There are ________ new houses in the street. There are not ________ shops in our street.

Exercise4. Insert much or many.

You can see ________ cars near the airport You mustn"t eat so ________ bananas You mustn"t drink so ______ coffee. He bought _______ furniture for his new flat. This work won't take ______ time. Have we got _______ apples for the children? I don't like _______ salt in the salad. My little sister speaks _________ that"s why we call her “a chatter box”.

Exercise

We didn't take much food with us.

There are not much new subjects this year.

I haven't much free time today.

He doesn't do much written exercises every day.

We don't drink much coffee in our family.

There isn't much furniture in my room.

There wasn't much happiness in his face.

Many new ideas were discussed.

We have much lessons tomorrow.

I don't have much mistakes in this exercise.

Much / manyexercises (answers)

Exercise 1.Insert much or many.

Do you drink much coffee? I like reading. I read many books. We have many lessons of English this year. I can't remember much from this text. Do you learn many new English words every day? We haven't got much bread. I can't spend much money on toys

Exercise2. Choose the appropriate answer. Much or many?

They have too much furniture in the room. There are too many books on your desk. You have too many mistakes in the test. You must drink much coffee. You put too many vegetables in the soup. Must we learn many words for today? We have got many sandwiches.

Exercise3. Insert much or many.

They don't have many words to learn. There isn't much furniture in the room. There aren't many things in the wardrobe. There isn't much snow in the forest. Do you need much money? There are many new houses in the street. There are not many shops in our street.

Exercise4. Insert much or many.

You can see ________ cars near the airport. You mustn"t eat so ________ bananas You mustn"t drink so ______ coffee. He bought _______ furniture for his new flat. This work won't take ______ time. Have we got _______ apples for the children? I don't like _______ salt in the salad My little sister speaks _________ that"s why we call her “a chatter box.”

Exercise 4. - Many, - many, - much, - much, - much, - many, - much, - much

Exercise5. Find and correct mistakes if any.

We didn't take many food with us. There aren't much new subjects this year. I haven"t much free time today. He doesn"t do much written exercises every day. We don"t drink many coffee in our family. There isn"t much furniture in my room There wasn"t much happiness in his face. Not many new ideas were discussed. We shan"t have much lessons tomorrow. I won't have much mistakes in this exercise.

Exercise 5. 1 many - much, 2 much - many, 3 correct, 4 much - many, 5 many - much, 6 correct, 7 many - much, 8 correct, 9 much - many, 10 much - many.

little / few / a little / a fewexercises

Exercise. Insert little or few.

He has got ________ friends.

I drink ______ coffee. I don't like it.

We must hurry. We've got very _______ time.

The Smiths have ______ money. They aren't rich.

The theater was almost empty. There were very ________ people there.

There was ______ lemonade in the bottle.

I have _______ time, so I can’t go with you.

He has _______ English books.

There is ______ juice in my glass.

There are ________ bears in the zoo.

Tom Canty was the son of poor parents and had very _______ clothes.

There is too ________ soup in my soup plate. Give me some more, please.

There was too _______ light in the room, and I could not read.

Exercise. Insert “a little” or “a few”.

There is _____ milk in the bottle.

There are _______ tomatoes on the kitchen table. Make a salad!

Add ______ salt to the salad.

The fruitcake will be ready in ______ minutes.

I’ve got... time now and I can talk to you.

Exercise. Insert "much", "many", "little", "few", "a little" or "a few".

Have you got _____ money on you?

At the conference we met _____ people.

If you have _____ spare time, look through this book. You will find ______ stories there which are rather interesting.

There are ______ things here which I cannot understand.

Shall I bring _____ more chalk? - No, thank you. There is ____ chalk on the desk. I hope that will be enough for our lesson.

He had ____ English books at home, so he had to go to the library for more books.

She gave him _____ water to wash his hands and face.

Independent work:

Ex. 1. Find and correct mistakes if any. Translate the sentences

1. We didn't take much food with us.

2. There are not much new subjects this year.

3. I haven't much free time today.

4. He doesn't do much written exercises every day.

5. We don't drink much coffee in our family.

6. There isn't much furniture in my room.

Ex. 2. Insert "much", "many", "little", "few", "a little" or "a few". Translate the sentences

1. Have you got _____ money?

2. At the conference we met _____ people.

3. If you have _____ spare time, look through this book. You will find ______ stories there which are rather interesting.

4. There are ______ things here which I cannot understand.

5. Shall I bring _____ more chalk? - No, thank you. There is ____ chalk on the desk. I hope that will be enough for our lesson.

6. He had ____ English books at home, so he had to go to the library for more books.

7. She gave him _____ water to wash his hands and face.

Ex. 3. Find and correct mistakes if any. Translate the sentences

1. There wasn't much happiness in his face.

2. Many new ideas were discussed.

3. We have many lessons tomorrow.

4. I don’t have much mistakes in this exercise.

Hello friends! How not to get confused when using much and many? Just pay attention to the rules of use, because it was no coincidence that the British came up with two words with the same meaning.

They are not interchangeable: in some cases you will only need much, and in others only many. Here everything depends on the word itself, which will refer to much or many. Let's figure out what's what!

Difference between many and much

Pronoun many used in cases where it refers to objects (animate or inanimate) that can be counted. Words denoting such things are called countable nouns.

• many children - many children
• many people - a lot of people
• many tigers - many tigers

we use many(since they can be counted)

Pronoun Much used only with nouns that cannot be counted, that is, with uncountable nouns.

• much sugar (a lot of sugar)
• much water (a lot of water)
• much money (a lot of money)

we use much(since they cannot be counted. Much means a large amount of something.)

Let's look at the table that will clearly show you the difference in using Much, Many

Many used where objects can be counted individually.
If they cannot be counted, feel free to insert the word into the sentence much.

Interrogative sentences

• How much sugar do you take in your coffee?
  How much sugar do you put in your coffee?
• How much money do you want for this?
  How much (money) do you want for it?
• Do you have much work to do?
  Do you have a lot of work?
• How many students are there in each class?
  How many students are in each class?
• How many people are you expecting?
  How many people are you expecting?

Negative sentences

• He doesn’t earn much money (the noun money is uncountable).
  He earns little (= little) money.
• Not many people have heard of her (people noun - countable).
  Few have heard of her.
• Barbara doesn't have many friends.
  Barbara has few (= not many) friends.

MUCH or MANY or A LOT OF?

Exercises on the topic much / many:

Exercise 1. Use much or many to express How many...?.

1. How...days?
2. How...sugar?
3. How... cigarettes?
4. How...work?
5. How...petrol?
6. How...children?
7. How... theaters?
8. How...juice?

Exercise 2. Translate the sentences into English using much, many, a little, a few, little, few, a lot of

1. I don't have many friends in this part of town.
2. The teacher said so many words, but I didn’t understand anything.
3. He asked the waiter to bring some water.
4. In autumn, many birds fly south.
5. She doesn't like it when there is too much sugar in her tea.
6. “There is absolutely no space in the closet! You have so many clothes!”

Exercise 3. Use much or many.

Do you drink ________coffee? I like reading. I read _________ books. We have _______ lessons of English this year. I can’t remember _______ from this text. Do you learn _______ new English words every day? We haven’t got ________ bread. I can't spend ________ money on toys.

Answers

Exercise 1.

1. How many days? (How many days?)
2. How much sugar? (How much sugar?)
3. How many cigarettes? (How many cigarettes?)
4. How much work? (How much work?)
5. How much petrol? (How much gasoline?)
6. How many children? (How many children?)
7. How many theaters? (How many theaters?)
8. How much juice? (How much juice?)

Exercise 2.

1. I have few friends in this part of the city.
2. A teacher said so many words but I understood nothing.
3. He asked a waiter to bring a little water.
4. In autumn many birds fly to the south.
5. She doesn’t like it when there is too much sugar in tea.
6. “There is no place in a wardrobe! You’ve got so many clothes!”

Exercise 3.

Do you drink much coffee? I like reading. I read many books. We have many lessons of English this year. I can't remember much from this text. Do you learn many new English words every day? We haven't got much bread. I can't spend much money on toys.

Friends, give us a like, we tried!