How Much, How Many
Expressions for Use with Count and Noncount Nouns
These expressions are used with noncount nouns. The expressions are arranged in order from most to least.
all
most
much, lots of, a lot of
some
a little, not much, little
not...any, no, none
Example:
The Foundation has little money left.
Much of the affected population came out in support of our plan.
The funder helped him complete a lot of his research.
These expressions are used with count nouns. The expressions are arranged in order from most to least.
every, all
most
many, lots of, a lot of
several
some
not many, only a few, few
not...any, no, none
Example:
There aren't many areas of mutual interest.
There are a lot of errors on this balance sheet.
Many Nation States have a history that includes genocide.
A Little / Little
"A little' conveys a simple fact with noncount nouns.
Example:
Tom has a little grant money for his film project, and that will help."
I'll write a grant proposal to get a little seed money for the project.
'Little' expresses a sense of 'a lack of' something with noncount nouns.
Example:
Without a grassroots support organization there is little hope we will be able to sustain our efforts.
Peter says there is little hope that the organization will adopt a Best Practices policy.
A Few / Few
'A few' conveys a simple fact with count nouns.
Example:
There are a few baseline projections that are not supported by the data.
A few dictators here and there is all it takes to demolish democratic forms of governance.
'Little' expresses a sense of 'a lack of' something with count nouns.
Example:
Fortunately, few of the benchmarks were unrealistic or difficult."
Few people realize that of the millions given less than 1% has been in the form of direct government-to-government aid.