Sonia
'Many' in affirmative sentences? I was taught to use 'a lot of', 'so many', or 'so much' in affirmative sentences because 'many' or 'much' sounds weird in them, but I see sentences that are affirmative that have 'many' as the following. Could you please tell me why it is? ●Many peole believe that a college education is money well spent. ●We're are still in the winter, and I know that there are many days when the water wouldn't turn on. ●The villagers left many belongings behind because they had to leave their homes on short notice.
Feb 27, 2015 11:16 AM
Answers · 13
3
It's most typical to use "a lot of" in affirmative sentences, and "much / many" in negative sentences and questions. You should practice this, however, this is not a strict rule -- native speakers deviate from it all the time. Using "many / much" instead of "a lot of" is a bit more formal (and vice versa). Also, notice that we usually use "many" in reference to unit of time for example "many days."
February 28, 2015
2
The only difference I can think of between "many/much" and "a lot of" is that "a lot of" is more informal. "So" in "so much" is just an intensifier.
February 27, 2015
1
As an intensifier "many" mean a lot of sth or people. It can also be used as Pronoun as well. Many people have said that she is not good at her job. We can only use it as with a plural noun i.e people It can also be used as an adjective. Sally has many friends
February 27, 2015
Thank you.
March 1, 2015
If you were taught to say "so many/much" in affirmative sentences INSTEAD OF "many/much," then you had a bad English teacher! "Many" and "much" are fine all by themselves—just make sure to use "many" with countable nouns, and "much" with uncountable nouns. Adding "so" just makes the "much/many" stronger; it is not a substitute (imagine if a teacher told you that you could not say, "I'm hungry," but had to always say, "I'm so hungry"!).
February 27, 2015
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