Is it difficult to use ‘How many’ and 'How much’? If your answer is 'yes', let’s learn to use these quantifiers correctly.
The rule is: we make the difference between ‘how many’ and ‘how much’ by saying that ‘how many' is used with countable nouns [C] and 'how much’ with uncountable nouns [U]. An uncountable noun is not used with "a" or "an" and cannot be made plural. By contrast, a countable noun is used with the indefinite articles (a/an) and can be used in the plural.
Ok, fair enough. But, is it possible to measure uncountable nouns? If so, how? Actually, we can make an uncountable word countable by using measure words (eg. a kilo), or by putting the uncountable noun in a container (e.g, a packet, a bottle).Take for example the following sentences:
How much sugar do you take in your coffee?
How many spoons of sugar do you put in your coffee?
Do you realize that both sentences are correct in English? 'How much' is used in the first sentence because ‘sugar' cannot be counted. However, once we put the word in a container (e.g a spoon), it takes the plural form and it becomes possible to use “How many”.
The diagram above shows the most common measure words in English. Have a look at them and try to answer the questions.
For Portuguese Speakers Only!
Em Português, “How many” e ‘How much” são expressões interrogativas que significam “Quantos/ quantas” e “Quanto”, respectivamente. A tradução já indica que “How many” é usado com substantivos contáveis (veja que o pronome interrogativo está no plural ‘quantos/as' para concordar com o substantivo). Já ‘how much' é usado com substantivos incontáveis. Para quantificar substantivos incontáveis, nós usamos medidas (quilo, colher, etc). Nesse caso, torna-se possível o uso de ‘how many’.
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