To indicate large quantity anything or anyone in English language quantitative pronouns are used many And much. Both are translated into Russian by the word “many”. The question arises: if the meaning is the same, why are two needed? different pronouns? It turns out that this makes sense, since each of them has its own scope.
Difference between many and much
Pronoun many used in cases where it refers to objects (animate or inanimate) that can be counted. Words denoting such objects are called countable nouns.
For example, in the sentence “There are many animals in the zoo,” the countable noun is “animals.” Here it is used in plural. In English the sentence would sound like this: “There are many animals in the zoo».
It would be nice to go around all the cages and count all the animals that live in them! There are a lot of things and people to count in the zoo. For example, tigers, elephants, bears, monkeys, and the very cells in which they live. Translated into English it would look like this: “ many tigers, many elephants, many bears many monkeys, many cages".
While you were counting the zoo's inhabitants, it was time for lunch and the animals were brought food. Lots of food: meat, fruits, milk. And more water to drink. Is it possible to count what is in the animals' feeders? No. Therefore, words that denote such objects are called uncountable nouns.
This means that when translating into English, you need to use the second pronoun. The phrases in this case will look like this: “ much food much meat much milk, much water".
If you remember this difference, then you will never have any confusion with the use of many and much.
All words that come after the pronoun much, are used in the singular.
By the way, in our native language the same thing happens. People don’t say “a lot of meat”, “a lot of food” (Sounds funny, doesn’t it?). Uncountable nouns in Russian grammar also have the form singular after the word “a lot”, for example: “a lot of meat”, “a lot of food”. Here we have a direct similarity with the English language.
Affirmative sentences
In modern English affirmative sentences Instead of the pronouns much and many, their synonym is increasingly used a lot of.
This is a universal pronoun, as it is suitable for animate nouns - a lot of people and inanimate - a lot of books, for countables - a lot of minutes and uncountable - a lot of time.
In those speech situations When you find it difficult to choose between many and much, use a lot of - you won’t go wrong.
For example: " A lot of children came to the zoo to see a new-born polar bear.” - “Many children came to the zoo to look at the newborn polar bear cub.”
The pronouns many and much are often part of the subject, for example:
There are many candles on the fireplace shelf. — There are a lot of candles on the mantelpiece.
There is much soup in the pan. - There is a lot of soup in the pan.
In these many offers and much can easily be replaced by a lot of, and the meaning of the sentences will not change.
In interrogative and negative sentences, as a rule, the pronouns much and many are used.
Interrogative sentences
First in the sentence is How many(how many, how much), followed by a plural countable noun. 
For example:
- How many tulips are there in the vase?
How many tulips are in the vase?
- How many children do you have?
How many children do you have?
With expression How much(how many, how much) the word order is the same as in the case of How many. In the question it comes first, followed by a singular uncountable noun.
For example:
- How much salt do you take in your salad?
How much salt do you put in your salad? - How much money do you need to be happy?
How much money do you need to be happy?
Negative sentences
In negative sentences, phrases not many And not much are translated into Russian as “little”, “a little”.
For example:
- Not many people like bats. (noun bat – countable).
Few (people) like the bats(or: Few people like bats).
- She does not eat much meat (noun meat – uncountable).
She eats a little meat (or: She eats little meat).
Sometimes the pronouns many or much are followed by a particle of. This construction in Russian has the following translation: “many of...”, “a significant part of something...”.
For example:
- Many of my business partners live in the country.
Many of my business partners live outside the city.
- Much of the butter is spoiled.
A significant part of the oil has spoiled.
Exercise to reinforce the topic
Translate the following sentences into English:
- There is little (a little) snow in the garden.
- How many paintings are there on the wall?
- Is there a lot of soup in the bowl?
- I put a lot of butter in my porridge.
- There are many trees in the park.
- Babies need a lot of milk.
- There is not enough meat in the refrigerator.
- How many teeth does a shark have?
ADVICE.
When translating sentences, be careful:
- Many used where objects can be counted individually.
- If they cannot be counted, feel free to insert the word into the sentence much.
In 1998, most European dance floors were shaking to the sounds of the song "How Much Is The Fish?" from the German group SCOOTER. Russia was not far behind. Moreover, according to a survey of the Russian MTV SCOOTER, they even announced best group of the year. As a person alien to club music, I never liked all these techno rhythms and catchy screams in the spirit of an entertainer. But even I couldn’t help but notice the infectious melody, which, in fact, was the main highlight of this meaningless song.
“Senseless” is not an insult, but a statement of fact. They write that the idea of the hit “How Much Is The Fish?” SCOOTERS were taken from the song “Buffalo” by STRIMP, which parodied questions from tourist phrasebook. Although in the SCOOTER text “How much is the fish?” - that's the only question. Everything else is the usual shouts in the spirit of “Light-o-oh!”, “Everyone dance!!!” and so on.
By the way, these “scooter” tricks were once wittily mocked by Alexander Pushnoy in his parody “How much is flounder?”, where the entire text consists of a set of unrelated phrases from Soviet cinema.
SCOOTER fans demanded that the musicians answer the question posed in the song for so long that they gave in and finally answered (although, in my opinion, it is obvious that the whole story was made up as an excuse).
H.P. Baxter, vocalist of Scooter:
“We bought this fish for our studio aquarium, but it turned out to be too noisy. We had to give her to a rural shelter, where she still lives. We still keep in touch with her. You could say we are pen pals. As for the price, it was 3.80.”
Another question is much more interesting: where did that catchy melody come from in the work of this rather unmusical group?
My premonitions did not deceive me - the melody turned out to be not only alien, but also very old. Even somewhat exotic. Its original source is “Son Ar Chistr” (“Song of Cider”), written in Brittany in the Breton language. Brittany should not be confused with Great Britain, although the similarities are not accidental. When Germanic tribes Anglo-Saxons rushed to the shores of Foggy Albion, then some of the Celts living there, under the pressure of the conquerors, fled to the north of France, where they settled the future Brittany. The language of the fugitive Celts, as you understand, was specific, although today only Breton nationalists and lovers of ethnicity speak it.
As it says official version, the famous “Song of Cider” (the text for sure) was composed in 1929 by two young brothers Jean-Bernard and Jean-Marie Prima from the Breton town of Giscriff. They were farmers, so the song was dedicated last day harvesting. This is when the cider and wine have already been poured into barrels, and the peasants make the first sample, which smoothly turns into a festive drinking session. Actually, the song begins with the line “Come on, drink some cider, Lau!”(where "Lau" is a diminutive nickname addressed to Jean-Marie Primat). Then, of course, girls are mentioned - “Cider is made to drink, and girls are made to be loved.” In general, familiar folk themes in the spirit of “We have worked well and will have a nice rest.”
The first audio recordings of “Son Ar Chistr” began to appear in the 1940s. But Special attention The song was noticed only in 1970, when the promoter of Breton folk music, Alan Stivell, released the album “Reflets”. It was thanks to Stivell that other Breton masterpieces spread around the world.
Regarding the “Song about Cider”, the singer made another important thing- shortened original text up to 4 verses. Stivell sang in Breton, accompanying himself on a “Celtic” harp, so everything sounded very authentic.
Well, the real expansion of “Song of Cider” began after the guys from the Dutch group BOTS took on it. In 1976 they recorded a version on Dutch called “Zeven dagen lang”, and in 1980 they released a German-language version “Sieben Tage lang”.
In both cases the name was translated as "Seven long days", and the text differed markedly from the Breton original. The heroes of the song first drink for seven days, then work for seven days, and then fight (read, fight) for seven days for “life without coercion” (exactly like that and in exactly that order).
The German language and march-like rhythm will even give rise to a strange legend that “Sieben Tage lang” is the anthem of the Nazi Luftwaffe. About the Luftwaffe - this is, of course, nonsense, but the communist version of the song really existed. It was recorded by a group from the then socialist GDR - OKTOBERKLUB. The name was quite expected, “Was wollen wir trinken” (“What are we going to drink?”), but the reason for drinking was quite unexpected. German guys they offered to drink to the health of Luis Corvalan, the leader of the Communist Party of Chile, who was released from Pinochet’s prison in 1976 and transported to Moscow (the USSR exchanged the disgraced communist for the dissident writer Vladimir Bukovsky).
The British also loved the song.
In 1982, folk singer Rae Fisher set the text of an ancient Breton melody to English ballads"Willie's Lady" Although this version is loved in Britain, for us it will seem too long and boring - especially if you don’t know the language.
IN general outline, the plot of the ballad is as follows. King William marries the girl, but his mother is categorically against his daughter-in-law. The mother-in-law turns out to be not only an evil fury, but also a witch. Therefore, she casts a spell on her pregnant daughter-in-law - the unfortunate woman suffers from contractions, but cannot give birth. A brownie comes to the king's aid and offers to deceive the witch. On his advice, the king makes a dummy of the child and brings him to the church, supposedly for baptism. Seeing that the child was born, the witch exclaims sadly and reveals the secret of the spell - “Why did I stick a comb in her hair?” and so on. The witch devices are destroyed and the king’s wife safely gives birth...
A more cheerful and interesting cover of the same melody was recorded in 2003 by another Englishman, Ritchie Blackmore, for his project BLACKMORE’S NIGHT. The lyrics were close German version group BOTS and was called in Musketeer style “All For One”. Of course, the great guitarist could not resist piercing guitar cuts, and his wife, Candice Knight, not only sang the song, but also played a perky solo on the pipe.
How not to get confused when using much and many? Just pay attention to the rules of use, because it was no coincidence that the British came up with two words with the same value. They are not interchangeable: in some cases you will only need much, and in others - only many. Here it all depends on the word itself to which it will refer much or many. Let's figure out what's what!
Much and many. Rules of use
As you know, nouns are divided into countable (can be counted) and uncountable (cannot be counted), and it is on this that they depend rules for using much and many. We must remember once and for all that many is “friendly” only with countable nouns, and much- with uncountables.
Examples:
many children – many children
much water - a lot of water
But that's not all about much And many. The rules for using these words indicate that they are best avoided in positive sentences. That is much And many in English should be used in negatives and questions. There are exceptions when these words are part of the subject.
Examples:
Do you have many friends here? – Do you have many friends here? ( many + countable noun).
I don't like much sugar in my tea. – I don’t like a lot of sugar in tea ( much + uncountable noun).
Many people speak English. – Many people speak English ( many is part of the subject– many people).
Rules for using many much a lot of
If you can’t do without “a lot” in your positive sentence, then pay attention to rules uses many\much\a lot of. It is believed that it is well suited for approval a lot of. By the way, you can use it in absolutely any context. Even if you suddenly doubt what is suitable for this proposal,a lot of will always help out, since it can be used for both countable and uncountable nouns.
Examples:
There are a lot of people in this room. – There are a lot of people in this room ( a lot of + countable noun).
I have a lot of work today. - I have a lot of work today ( a lot of + uncountable noun).
Do I have a lot of mistakes in the test? – Do I have a lot of mistakes in my test? ( interrogative sentence).
They don't have a lot of information. – They don’t have much information ( negative sentence).
Rules for using many\much\a lot of These apply specifically to nouns; you cannot use these words with verbs. But what to do when it is important to “strengthen” the meaning of an action? Suitable here a lot(without pretext of).
Examples:
We see our parents a lot. – We see our parents a lot (meaning “we see each other often”)
Do you practice this language a lot? – Do you practice this language a lot?
Using how much how many
Concerning uses how much how many, then here, too, everything depends on the noun that will follow this or that interrogative phrase. How much must be combined with uncountable nouns, and how many- with countable ones.
-number
How many
no matter how much
how much it
adv.
how much, how much
how much
how strong
how much
noun
what quantity
what volume
what degree
what is the amount
how much money
To what extent
adj.
how big
how strong
Collocations
how much — how much?
how much? — excuse me?, what did you say?, what?
how much time — how much time
how much is it — how much does it cost
how much p.c.? — what percentage?
how much food? — how much food do we need?
how much is it? - How much does it cost?
no matter how much — no matter how much
how much do you go? — how much do you bet?
how much is it, lady? - How much are you selling, mother?
Translation by words
how — how, in what way, how much, what, way, method
much — much, much, significantly, very, almost, much
Examples
Do you know how much it weighs?
Do you know how much it weighs?
You know how much I care about you.
You know how much I care about you.
It's none of your business how much I weigh.
It's none of your business how much I weigh.
You don't know how much I missed him.
You don't know how much I miss them.
I know how much your work means to you.
I know how much your work means to you.
Do you know how much the ring is worth?
Do you know how much a ring costs?
You"d be amazed at how much money you can save.
You won't believe how much money you can save.