Determiners
What are the differences in use between much, many, a lot of, little, a little, few and a few?
much and many
a lot of
much and a lot
little and a little
few and a few
much and many
Much is used with uncountable nouns and many is used with plural nouns. They are used mainly in questions and negative sentences:
In my Spanish exam, I didn’t have much time left for the third question.
I don’t have very many DVD discs.
a lot of (lots of, plenty of and loads of)
In conversation, a lot of, lots of, plenty of and loads of are more common with uncountable and plural nouns used in positive sentences:
There is a lot of pollution in this city, isn’t there?
There are loads of tourists in town today. (informal spoken English)
Note! In a more formal English style, much and many are preferred to a lot of, lots of, plenty of, loads of.
much and a lot
Much and a lot can be used as adverbs (used to say more about the verb) after certain verbs:
I still read a lot but I don’t write very much these days.
little and a little, few and a few
We use few and a few with plural nouns, and little and a little with uncountable nouns. Little and few carry negative ideas. A little and a few carry much more positive ideas and are similar in meaning to some:
He showed little interest in socialising (he wasn’t very sociable) and few people came to his twenty-first birthday party. (some people came, but not enough to make a ‘good’ party)
He had a little money in the bank (not a lot of money but enough to travel) and a few friends in the travel business and was able to go on holiday every year. (not many friends but enough to give him discounts on flights etc)
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