The use of much and many

[Applejoy]

I know that we use many for countable nouns and much for uncountable nouns...The word "fish" is countable, thus the question " how many fish are there in the ocean?" Why is there such a question when we cannot count the fish in the ocean, i'm just curious...Is it right to ask this question?thanks.

[Tdol]

The number may be so big that counting them is diffiulct, but we could do it in theory. If you can count as far as two, then the noun is countable even if, like the fish in the sea or the stars in the sky, it is probably impossible to arrive at the final number. The question can't really be answered, but that doesn't mean we can't ask it. You can always answer 'a lot' or 'I don't know'.