Much, many, little, few, a lot, plenty

Much many few little

Much и little употребляются с неисчисляемыми существительными: much time, much luck, little energy, little money.

Many и few употребляются с исчисляемыми существительными: many friends, many people, few cars, few countries.

A lot lots plenty

A lot of / lots of / plenty of употребляются с неисчисляемыми существительными и существительными во множественном числе: a lot of milk, lots of time, plenty of money, a lot of students, lots of shops, plenty of ideas.

Plenty часто используется в значении ‘более чем достаточно’:

— `Have some more coffee.’ `No, thank you. I’ve had plenty.’

— There’s no need to worry. We’ve got plenty of money.

Much и many употребляются,

в основном, в отрицательных предложениях и в вопросах:

— We didn’t waste much time.

— Have you written many poems?

В утвердительных предложениях лучше употреблять a lot вместо much:

— We wasted a lot of food.

— There has been a lot of rain recently.

Однако too much и so much употребляются в утвердительных предложениях:

— She won’t drink this coffee. There’s too much sugar in it.

— There was so much sugar in the coffee that she could’t drink it.

Little / a little few / a few

Little и few придают характеру действия негативный оттенок:

— Ask Tom to take a car. We’ve got little time.

— He’s not friendly. He has few friends.

Запомните усилительные формы very little и very few:

— We’ve got very little butter.

— He has very few clothes.

Only a little и only a few имеют отрицательное значение:

— Say that you’ll call him later. We’ve only got a little time.

— The beach was empty. There were only a few swimmers.

A little и a few показывают более позитивное отношение к небольшому количеству или числу:

— Let’s go and see the town. We’ve got a little time before the train leaves.

— `Have you got any salt?’ `Yes, a little. Do you want me to give you some?’

— I enjoy my life here. I have a few friends and we meet quite often.

— `When did he phone you last?’ `A few days ago.’


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Much, many, little, few, a lot, plenty