How much and how many are expressions used to ask for the quantity of something .
The use of these terms is related to the use of the words many and much .
So, before we see the explanation of when to use how many and how much , it is important to remember the use of many and much .
Much and Many
Many and much are quantifiers , that is, they are words used to refer to the quantity of something.
Let’s see below what is the difference between many and much.
Use of many
Many is used with countable nouns . It means many / many.
Examples :
- The girl has many aunties. (The girl has many aunts.)
- Many of the employees didn’t go to work today. (Many of the employees did not go to work today.)
Use of much
Much is used with countless nouns . It means a lot / a lot.
Examples :
- Let’s go! We don’t have much time. (Come on! We don’t have much time.)
- There’s not much water in the jar. (There is not much water in the jar.)
See also: Countable and Uncountable Nouns
When to use how much and how many
The main difference between how many and how much is that how many is used with countable nouns and how much with countless nouns.
Using much how
How much is used to ask for the amount of something countless .
Examples :
- How much water shall we drink a day? (How much water should we drink each day?)
- How much money do we have? (How much money do we have?)
- How much Coke did you drink? (How much did you drink Coke?)
- How much time did she sleep? (How long did she sleep?)
- How much sugar do we have left? (How much sugar do we still have?)
- How much juice did you have? (How much did you drink of juice?)
How much is also an expression used to ask about the price of something.
Examples :
- How much is this doll? (How much does this doll cost?)
- How much are these notebooks? (How much do these notebooks cost?)
- How much does this bag cost? (How much does this purse cost?)
- How much do these toys cost? (How much do these toys cost?)
Use of many how
How many is used to ask for the amount of something countable .
Examples :
- How many boys are there in your classroom? (How many boys are there in your class?)
- How many dogs do you have? (How many dogs do you have?)
- How many days are there in a week? (How many days are there in a week?)
- How many kids can you see in this picture? (How many children can you see in this image?)
- How many bottles of milk are there in the fridge? (How many bottles of milk are there in the fridge?)
- How many brothers does he have? (How many brothers does he have?)
