[English] A lot, much, and many

a lot of money, not much money, a lot of books, not many books

much는 much + 불가산 명사(uncountable noun) 형태로 사용한다. We use much + uncountable noun (much food / much money, etc.).

  • Did you buy much food?
  • We don’t have much luggage.
  • How much money do you want?
  • A: Have you got any money?
    B: I’ve got some but not much.

many는 many + 복수형(plural) noun 형태로 사용한다. We use many + plural noun (many books / many people, etc.)

  • Did you buy many books?
  • We don’t know many people.
  • How many pictures did you take?
  • A: Did you take any pictures?
    B: I took some but not many.

a lot of는 a lot of + 둘 모두와 같은 종류의 명사에 사용할 수 있다. We use a lot of + both kinds of noun.

  • We bought a lot of food.
  • We bought a lot of books.
  • Paula doesn’t have a lot of free time.
  • Did they ask you a lot of questions?

다음처럼 말함에 유의하자. Note that we say:

  • There is a lot of food/money/water. (singular verb)
  • There are a lot of trees/stores/people. (plural verb)
  • A lot of people like soccer. (not likes)

much는 질문과 부정적인 문장에 쓴다. We use much in questions and negative sentenses.

  • Do you drink much coffee?
  • I don’t drink much coffee.

그러나 much를 긍정적인 문장에는 잘 쓰지 않는다. But we do not often use much in positive sentences.

  • I drink a lot of coffee. (not I drink much coffee)
  • ”Do you drink much coffee?” “Yes, a lot.” (not Yes, much)

manya lot of는 모든 종류의 문장에 쓴다. We use many and a lot of in all kinds of sentences (question/positive/negative).

  • Do you have many friends / a lot of friends?
  • We have many friends / a lot of friends.
  • We don’t have many friends / a lot of friends.

명사 없이 mucha lot of를 쓰기도 한다. much and a lot of without a noun.

  • Diane spoke to me, but she didn’t say much.
  • ”Do you watch TV much?” “No, not much.” (= not often)
  • We like films, so we go to the movies a lot. (not much)
  • I don’t like him very much.