What is it?
How much and how many are used to ask about quantity.
Use how much with uncountable nouns. Uncountable nouns describe things that are not normally counted as separate individual items.
- How much water do you drink?
- How much time do we have?
Use how many with countable plural nouns. Countable nouns can be counted as separate items.
- How many books do you own?
- How many people are coming?
Very is used before an adjective or adverb to make its meaning stronger. It means “to a high degree.”
- The coffee is very hot.
- She speaks very slowly.
When to use
Use how much to ask about an amount of something uncountable.
Common uncountable nouns include:
-
water
-
milk
-
money
-
time
-
information
-
rice
-
sugar
-
work
-
How much money do you need?
-
How much rice should I cook?
Use how many to ask about the number of countable things.
- How many chairs are in the room?
- How many emails did you receive?
Use how much to ask about the price of something.
- How much is this jacket?
- How much are those shoes?
Use very to strengthen an adjective.
- The room is very cold.
- That film was very interesting.
Use very to strengthen an adverb.
- He drives very carefully.
- She finished very quickly.
Structure
Questions with how much
Use:
how much + uncountable noun + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb?
| How much | Uncountable noun | Auxiliary | Subject | Main verb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How much | water | do | you | drink? |
| How much | money | does | she | need? |
| How much | time | did | they | spend? |
With the verb be, use:
how much + uncountable noun + is/was + complement?
- How much milk is in the fridge?
- How much time was available?
To ask about price, use:
how much + is/are + noun?
- How much is the ticket?
- How much are these bags?
Questions with how many
Use:
how many + plural countable noun + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb?
| How many | Plural noun | Auxiliary | Subject | Main verb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How many | languages | do | you | speak? |
| How many | cars | does | he | own? |
| How many | photos | did | she | take? |
With the verb be, use:
how many + plural countable noun + are/were + complement?
- How many students are in the class?
- How many people were at the meeting?
Statements with much and many
Much and many are common in negative sentences and questions.
- We do not have much time.
- She does not have many friends.
- Do you drink much coffee?
- Are there many shops nearby?
In affirmative sentences, a lot of is often more natural.
- We have a lot of time.
- She has a lot of friends.
Sentences with very
Use:
very + adjective
- very cold
- very expensive
- very tired
Use:
very + adverb
- very slowly
- very carefully
- very well
In a complete sentence:
subject + verb + very + adjective/adverb
- The test was very difficult.
- He answered very politely.
Do not normally use very directly before a noun.
- a very interesting book
- not a very book
Examples
- How much water do you drink every day?
- How much money did the trip cost?
- How much is this blue shirt?
- How many brothers do you have?
- How many people work in this office?
- How many apples should we buy?
- This bag is very heavy.
- She is very happy with her new job.
- He speaks English very well.
- The children walked very slowly.
Exceptions
Some nouns can be countable or uncountable depending on their meaning.
- How much coffee do you drink?
- How many coffees did you order?
In the first sentence, coffee means the drink in general. In the second sentence, coffees means separate cups or servings.
Do not usually use very with adjectives that already express an extreme meaning.
Instead of very excellent, use excellent.
Instead of very impossible, use impossible.
Some extreme adjectives can be strengthened with words such as absolutely or completely.
- absolutely impossible
- completely empty
Common mistakes
-
Incorrect: How many water do you drink? Correct: How much water do you drink? Explanation: Water is an uncountable noun, so use how much.
-
Incorrect: How much books do you have? Correct: How many books do you have? Explanation: Books is a plural countable noun, so use how many.
-
Incorrect: How many money do you need? Correct: How much money do you need? Explanation: Money is uncountable in English.
-
Incorrect: How much apples are there? Correct: How many apples are there? Explanation: Use how many with plural countable nouns.
-
Incorrect: How much is these shoes? Correct: How much are these shoes? Explanation: Use are because shoes is plural.
-
Incorrect: She is very a friendly person. Correct: She is a very friendly person. Explanation: Place very before the adjective, not before the article.
-
Incorrect: He drives very careful. Correct: He drives very carefully. Explanation: Use an adverb to describe how someone drives.
-
Incorrect: I have much friends. Correct: I have many friends. Explanation: Use many with plural countable nouns.