How Many and How much

How Many and How much:

The words much and many mean a lot of.

§  If a noun is in singular, we use much

Example:

much money

§  If a noun is in plural, we use many

Example:

many friends

Use of much / many

In everyday English, we normally use much / many only in questions and negative clauses.

Example:

How much money have you got?

Carla does not have many friends.

Countable / Uncountable Nouns

In connection with much / many people often speak of countable nouns and uncountable nouns.

Countable nouns have a singular and a plural form. In plural, these nouns can be used with a number (that's why they are called 'countable nouns'). Countable nouns take many.

Example:

100 friends – many friends

Uncountable nouns can only be used in singular. These nouns cannot be used with a number (that's why they are called 'uncountable nouns'). Uncountable nouns take much.

Example:

100 money – much money

Note: Of course you can count money – but then you would name the currency and say that you have got 5 euro (but not „5 money“).