Much, many, little, few, a lot, plenty
We use much and little with uncountable nouns:
muchとlittleは数えられない名詞に
much time, much luck, little energy, little money
We use many and few with plural nouns:
manyとfewは複数形の名詞に
many friends, many people, few cars, few countries
We use a lot of/ lots of/ plenty of with uncountable and plural nouns:
a lot of, lots of, plenty of は数えられない名詞と複数形の名詞の両方に
a lot of luck, lots of time, plenty of money,
a lot of friends, lots of people, plenty of ideas
a lot ofとlots ofの使い分けはありません。
plentyは十分よりも多いときに使います。
There’s no need to hurry.
We’ve got plenty of time.
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Much is unusual in positive sentences
(especially in spoken English).
Compare:
We didn’t spend much money.
We spent a lot of money. (not We spent much money)
Do you see David much?
I see Davit a lot. (not I see David much)
We use many and a lot of in all kinds of sentences:
Many people drive too fast
or
A lot of people drive too fast.
Do you know many people?
or
Do you know a lot of people?
Note that we say many years/ many weeks/ many days (not a lot of…):
We’ve lived here for many years. (not a lot of years)
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Little = not much, few = not many
Gary is very busy with his job.
He has little time for other things.
Vicky doesn’t like living in London.
She has few friends there.
You can say very little and very few.
Gary has very little time for other things.
Vicky has very few friends in London.
———————————————————–
A little = some, a small amount:
Let’s go and have coffee.
We have a little time before the train leaves.
(a little time = some time, enough time to have acoffee)
Do you speak English? A little.
(so we can talk bit)
A few = some, a small number:
I enjoy my life here.
I have a few friends and we meet quite often.
(a few friends = not many but enough to have a good time)
When was the last time you saw Clare? A few days ago.
(= some days ago)
Compare little and a little, few and a few:
He spoke little English, so it was difficult to communicate with him.
He spoke a little English, so we were able to communicate with him.
littleはほとんどなくて、a littleはちょっとはあるですね
She’s lucky. She has few problems. (= not many problems)
Things are not going so well for her.
She has a few problems. (= some problems)
much, many, little, few, a lot, plentyはしっかり覚えたいですね。
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