Unit

83 a lot much many

it a t
a lot of money not much money a lot of books not many books

We use much +uncountable noun We use many +plural noun

(much food / much money etc.): (many books / many people etc.):

o Did you buy much food?
o We don't have much luggage.
o How much money do you want?
0 a: Do you have any money?
b: I have some, but not much.
0 Did you buy many books?
0 We don't know many people.
0 How many photos did you take?
O a: Did you take any photos?
b: I took some, but not many.

W e use a lot of + both types o f noun:

o We bought a lot of food. 0 We bought a lot of books.
o Paula doesn't have a lot of free time. O Did they ask a lot of questions?

We say:
O There is a lot of food/money/water ... 0 There are a lot of trees/shops/
(singular verb) people ... (plural verb)
0 A lot of people speak English.
(not speaks)
......................

We use much in questions and negative sentences:

O Do you drink much coffee?
O I don't drink much coffee.

But we do not often use much in positive sentences:

O I drink a lot of coffee, (not I drink much coffee)
'Do you drink much coffee?' 'Yes, a lot.' (not Yes, much)

We use many and a lot of in all types of sentences (positive/negative/question):

O We have many friends / a lot of friends.
O We don't have many friends / a lot of friends.
0 Do you have many friends / a lot of friends?

You can use much and a lot without a noun:

0 Am y spoke to me, but she didn't say much.
'Do you watch T V much?' 'No, not much.' (= not often)
) We like films, so we go to the cinema a lot. (not go to the cinema much)
I don't like him very much.

176 I ( countable/uncountable Units 67-68

Exercises
Write much or many.
1 Did you b u y much food?
2 There aren't.........................hotels in this town.
3 We don't have....................... petrol. We need to stop and get some.
4 Were th ere........................people on the train?
5 D id ................students failthe exam?
6 Paula doesn't have.......................money.
7 I wasn't hungry so I didn't e a t..........................
8 I don't know where Gary lives.these days. I haven't seen him fo r.........................years.
Write How much or How many.
9..........................................................................people are coming to the party?
10..........................................................................milk do you want in your coffee?
11 .....................................................................bread did you buy?
12..........................................................................players are there in a football team?

{ g g Complete the sentences. Use much or many with these words:

books countries luggage people time times

1 I don't read very much. I don't have m any.books

2 Hurry up! We don't have................................................................................................................
3 Do you travel a lot? Have you been t o ..........................................................................................................
4 Tina hasn't lived here very long, so she doesn't k n o w ...........................................................................
5 'Do you have............................................................................................................... ?' 'No, only this bag.'
6 I know Tokyo well. I've been th ere ................................................................................................................

Complete the sentences. Use a lot of + these words:

accidents books fun interesting things traffic

1 I like reading. I have a Jo t of books...............................................................................................................

2 We enjoyed our visit to the museum. We sa w .........................................................................................
3 This road is very dangerous. There a re ...........................................................................................................
4 We enjoyed our holiday. We h a d ......................................................................................................................
5 It took me a long time to drive here. There w a s ......................................................................................

^ 2 2 1 In some of these sentences much is not natural. Change the sentences or write OK.
1 Do you drink much coffee? OK..................................................................
2 I drink much tea. a Jo t o f te a ...............................................
3 It was a cold winter. We had much snow....................... ........................................................................
4 There wasn't much snow last winter. .........................................................................
5 It costs much money to travel around the world................................................................................
6 We had a cheap holiday. It didn't cost much. .........................................................................
7 Do you know much about computers? .........................................................................
8 'Do you have any luggage?' 'Yes, much.' .........................................................................

m g W rite sentences about these people. Use much and a lot.

1 James loves films, (go to the cinema) H e.goes.to th e cmema a lot,..
2 Nicola thinks T V is boring, (watch T V ) d o e sn 't wateh.Ty.m uch,..
3 Tina is a good tennis player, (play tennis) S h e ...............................................................
4 M ark doesn't like driving, (use his car) H e ................................................................
5 Paul spends most of the time at home, (go out) .........................................................................
6 Sue has been all over the world, (travel) .........................................................................
Unit
84 (a) little (a) few
(a) little + uncountable noun: (a) few + plural noun:

(a) little water (a) few books

(a) little time (a) few questions
(a) little money (a) few people
(a) little soup (a) few days

a little water a few books

a little =- some but not much a few = some but not many

O She didn't eat anything, but she drank Excuse me, 1have to make a few
a little water. ° phone calls.
o 1speak a little Spanish. o We're going away for a few days.
(= some Spanish but not m uch) o 1speak a few words of Spanish.
o a: Can you speak Spanish? o a: Are there any shops near here?
b: A little. b: Yes, a few.

X little (without a) = nearly no or nearly Xfew (without a) = nearly no

nothing

O There was little food in the fridge. O There were few people in the theatre.
It was nearly empty. It was nearly empty.

You can say very little: You can say very few:
O Dan is very thin because he eats very O Your English is very good. You make
little. (= nearly nothing) very few mistakes.

Compare little and a little: Compare few and a few:

They have a little money, so they're I have a few friends, so I'm not lonely.
not poor. (= they have some money) (= I have some friends)

They have little money. They are very I'm sad and I'm lonely. I have few
poor. (= nearly no money) friends. (= nearly no friends)

[ 1have little | f 1have a few |

1 money. J 1 friends. J

m m m m m m

178 ^ countable/uncountable ^ Units 67-68

)
Exercises
CD Answer the questions with a little or a few.

1 'Do you have any money?' 'Yes, a jit t le ;

2 'Do you have any envelopes?'
3 'Do you want sugar in your coffee?'
4 'Did you take any photos when you were on holiday?'
5 'Does your friend speak English?'
6 'Are there any good restaurants in this town?'
'Yes,........................................ .'
'Yes,........................................ , please.'
'Yes,..................
'Yes,.......................................
'Yes,.....................................

Write a little or a few + these words:

chairs days fresh air friends m ilk Russian times years

1 M ark speaks Italian well. He lived in Italy fo r a few .y e a rs ......

2 Can I have..............................................................................................in my coffee, please?
3 'When did Am y go away?' '............................................................................................... ago.'
4 'Do you speak any foreign languages?' 'I can speak...........................................................................................
5 'Are you going out alone?' 'No, I'm going w ith ............................................................................................... .'
6 'Have you ever been to Mexico?' 'Yes,............................................................................................... .'
7 There wasn't much furniture in the room - just a table a n d ...........................................................................
8 I'm going out for a walk. I need ................................................................................................

Complete the sentences. Use very little or very few + these words:

coffee hotels -mistakes^ people rain time work

1 Your English is very good. You m ake y e n /fe w .m is ta k e s......

2 I d rin k ................................................................................................. Iprefer tea.
3 The weather here is very dry in summer. There is ................................................................................................
4 It's difficult to find a place to stay in this town. There are ................................................................................
5 Hurry up. We have................................................................................................
6 The town is very quiet at night................................................................................................. go out.
7 Some people in the office are very lazy. They d o ................................................................................................

Write little / a little or few / a few.

1 There w a s food in the fridge. It was nearly empty.
2 'When did Sarah go out?' ' minutes ago.'
3 I can't decide now. I ne ed ........................................ time to think about it.
4 There w a s........................................ traffic, so we arrived earlier than we expected.
5 The bus service isn't very good at night - there a re buses after 9 o'clock.
6 'Would you like some soup?' 'Yes, , please.'
7 I'd like to practise my English more, but I have....................................... opportunity.

Right or wrong? Change the sentences where necessary. Write OK if the sentence is correct.
1 We're going away fo^fewjdays next week. fQ_La.few.daye...................................
2 Everybody needs little luck....................................................................................................................................................
3 I can't talk to you now - I have few things to do.....................................................................................................
4 I eat very little meat - I don't like it very much.........................................................................................................
5 Excuse me, can I ask you few questions?.......................................................................................................................
6 There were little people on the bus - it was nearly empty. .........................................................................
7 M ark is a very private person. Few people know him well................................................................................