 | LEO: Literacy Education Online Words That Confuse |
| LEO: Literacy Education Online Words That Confuse |
| Many/Much | Few/Less | Few / A few / A few of / Few of the | A Lot |
Many is used with a noun that names things that we can count: count nouns.
Much is used to describe things that we do not count: noncount nouns.
| Many manuscripts are | Much talk is |
| Many vehicles are | Much controversy is |
| Many authors are | Much criticism is |
Some nouns can be either count or noncount, depending on their use:
Much of the trouble with his proposal was the lack of focus and of logical development of points.
Less is used just as much, with noncount nouns.
| Few rivers are | Less water is |
| Few students are | Less money is |
| Few laws are | Less crime is |
Again, the context of the sentence will change the meaning at times:
| Food | Few foods are as rich as ice cream. | Countable meaning |
| Health-conscious people eat less food that is deep-fried. | Noncountable meaning | |
| | Few crimes are committed at high noon. | Countable meaning |
| Having a good police force will result in less crime. | Noncountable meaning |
These words follow idiomatic patterns, but the connotation changes.
A few and a few of the focus on the number of students, implying that some students did something (positive meaning). Few and few of the focus on the low percentage of students who did something (negative meaning).
| |
| A few students chose the take-home test. |
| A few of the students want to be lawyers. |
| |
| Few students approve of the decision. |
| Few of the students decided to transfer. |
The words a lot must be written as two words. The phrase has the same meaning as both many and much and can be interchanged with either one.
A lot is followed by of when the meaning is general or by of the when the meaning is specific:
| People | A lot of people have done research on discrimination practices among employers. | General meaning |
| A lot of the people at the meeting disagree with the market strategy presented. | Specific meaning | |
| Money | A lot of money is spent on the battle against AIDS. | General meaning |
| The committee used a lot of the money surveying the population. | Specific meaning |
Sometimes, a lot can also end a sentence, but it is considered an informal expression:
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The print handout was revised and then redesigned for the Web by Maggie Escalas for the Write Place, St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, Minnesota, and may be copied for educational purposes only. If you copy this document, please include our copyright notice and the name of the writer; if you revise it, please add your name to the list of writers.
Last update: 5 October 1999
URL: http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/grammar/muchfew.html