Search from various Engels teachers...
Simon White (IELTS)
Professionele leerkrachtIs this correct? Shouldn’t it be MANY GOOD WAYS without the article? 🤔
4 jan. 2025 11:06
Antwoorden · 3
2
No. It's correct. It's a fairly common phrase (albeit probably less than it was). 'A great many' exists also
4 januari 2025
In "many good ways", it is the *ways* that are good.
In "a good many ways", it is the *many* that is good. To justify this grammatically requires A Great Muchness of effort. Nonetheless, I will try. I interpret "good" as an adjective that modifies the noun "many", as in the sentence "I have a good many". I interpret "ways" as a sort of dative case, as in Old English, so that "ways" really means "of ways". To be strictly correct, you would write "a good many of ways".
Where I live, "a good many" is a common expression used in the same ways that "many" is used:
"I have many"; "I have a good many"
"There are many ways"; "There are a good many ways"
I have a question: Why can't we say "a good (or great) much"? For instance,
"We ate a good much of (the) food"
sounds bad (at least to me). However, if we change it just a little bit, it sounds OK:
"We ate a little much of the food"
sounds good to me. I can think of no explanation for this asymmetry.
4 januari 2025
Heb je je antwoorden nog steeds niet gevonden?
Schrijf je vragen op en laat de moedertaalsprekers je helpen!
Simon White (IELTS)
Taalvaardigheden
Engels, Frans
Taal die wordt geleerd
Frans
Artikelen die je misschien ook leuk vindt

How to Answer “How Was Your Weekend?” Naturally in English
47 likes · 29 Opmerkingen

Why Some Jokes Don’t Translate: Understanding Humor in English
15 likes · 6 Opmerkingen

How to Talk About Your Strengths and Weaknesses Professionally
13 likes · 6 Opmerkingen
Meer artikelen
