much, manya little, a few

1. When do we use much and when many?

  • much: uncountable nouns (milk, marmalade, money, time etc.)
  • many: countable nouns (bottles of milk, jars of marmalade, dollars, minutes etc.)

Examples:

  • How much money have you got?
  • How many dollars have you got?

In informal English these questions are often answered with a lot of, lots of. There is no much difference between the two phrases.

2. When do we use a little/little and when a few/few?

  • a little: non countable nouns (milk, marmalade, money, time etc.)
  • a few: countable nouns (bottles of milk, jars of marmalade, dollars, minutes etc.)

Examples:

  • He has a little money left.
  • He has a few dollars left.

We use few and little without the article a to point out a more negative meaning.

Examples:

  • A few students of our school know this. (There are some student who know it.)
  • Few students know this. (It is almost unknown.)