Much or Many 1

How .... did you spend?


  • Total voters
    227

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
What's the difference?
 
L

lucyarliwu

Guest
tdol said:
What's the difference?

I think we should put a accountable noun to be modified after 'how many' like this:
How many hours do you spend ?
As for 'much', which usually modifies to unaccountable nouns like 'money',but it's better the whole sentence written like this:
How much do you spend on (new bike.....)?

Am I complete right?
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
lucyarliwu said:
tdol said:
What's the difference?

I think we should put a accountable noun to be modified after 'how many' like this:
How many hours do you spend ?
As for 'much', which usually modifies to unaccountable nouns like 'money',but it's better the whole sentence written like this:
How much do you spend on (new bike.....)?

Am I complete right?

May I make a suggestion?

It's countable and uncountable. Also, say: "Am I completely right?" Other than that, your answer looks pretty good to me.

:)
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
I agree with Ron, Lucy- an acountable noun would have a boss or someone to report to and explain its actions. ;-))
 
L

lucyarliwu

Guest
tdol said:
I agree with Ron, Lucy- an acountable noun would have a boss or someone to report to and explain its actions. ;-))

:oops: :D :p :D
I'm sorry for my OOPS! hehe....
 
L

lucyarliwu

Guest
RonBee said:
May I make a suggestion?

It's countable and uncountable. Also, say: "Am I completely right?" Other than that, your answer looks pretty good to me.

:)

Thanks RonBee for your corrections, I love it for I 've got so many mistakes on my English which need correction definitely from experts, for I myself can't find my own mistakes. I even wonder if I should get some systemetic studying.....

Thanks again!

Lucy wu
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
lucyarliwu said:
RonBee said:
May I make a suggestion?

It's countable and uncountable. Also, say: "Am I completely right?" Other than that, your answer looks pretty good to me.

:)

Thanks RonBee for your corrections, I love it for I 've got so many mistakes on my English which need correction definitely from experts, for I myself can't find my own mistakes. I even wonder if I should get some systemetic studying.....

Thanks again!

Lucy wu

Well, I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I suppose it is a relative term. :)

Do you think this forum has been helpful so far? Do you think you are using English more effectively because of it?

I make plenty of mistakes myself. Please point them out when you see them. :wink:

You are welcome always.

:)
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
lucyarliwu said:
[ I even wonder if I should get some systemetic studying.....



Lucy wu

Naaa!!! ;-)
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
lucyarliwu said:
I even wonder if I should get some systemetic studying

Um, it's systematic, but perhaps that was a typo.

Words that end in -atic:

  • acrobatic
    asthmatic
    autocratic
    automatic
    axiomatic
    charismatic
    democratic
    dramatic

:)
 
L

lucyarliwu

Guest
RonBee said:
lucyarliwu said:
I even wonder if I should get some systemetic studying

Um, it's systematic, but perhaps that was a typo.

Words that end in -atic:

  • acrobatic
    asthmatic
    autocratic
    automatic
    axiomatic
    charismatic
    democratic
    dramatic

:)

I'm sorry Ron, it's not a typo, indeed it's my spelling mistake as you guessed already, thanks for your correction and relative references.
BTW, do you think I'm now qualified to point out mistake from others? I assume it's very hard to do it especially from experts' remarks for me. :roll: Anyway I will try from now on, hehe....so watch out, everyone! :wink:
 

whl626

Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2003
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
Malaysia
Current Location
Malaysia
[/quote]

Thanks RonBee for your corrections, I love it for I 've got ...
[/quote]

I have a rather odd question. Since plural noun is used ' corrections ', do you think to say ' I love them ..... ' is better to make the sentence look more balanced ?
 
L

lucyarliwu

Guest

Thanks RonBee for your corrections, I love it for I 've got ...
[/quote]

I have a rather odd question. Since plural noun is used ' corrections ', do you think to say ' I love them ..... ' is better to make the sentence look more balanced ?[/quote]


Good idea, whl626!
Thanks for that! :)

By the way, I have to say that " Since a plural noun is..... , " is better than " Since plural noun is ...." , so what do you think? :wink:

Lucy Wu
 

whl626

Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2003
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
Malaysia
Current Location
Malaysia
lucyarliwu said:

Thanks RonBee for your corrections, I love it for I 've got ...

I have a rather odd question. Since plural noun is used ' corrections ', do you think to say ' I love them ..... ' is better to make the sentence look more balanced ?[/quote]


Good idea, whl626!
Thanks for that! :)

By the way, I have to say that " Since a plural noun is..... , " is better than " Since plural noun is ...." , so what do you think? :wink:

Lucy Wu[/quote]

In my opinion, 'a' is not necessary as I said it in general :)
 

Casiopea

VIP Member
Joined
Sep 21, 2003
Member Type
Other
much many

Both are correct, aren't they :?:

How much (money) did you spend?
How many (dollars) did you spend?

Sam: We're missing some dough here! (counterfeit dough)
Pat: Uh, I kind of spent some of them to buy us lunch today.
Sam: How many (of them) did you spend?

:lilangel:
 

Tdol

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2002
Native Language
British English
Home Country
UK
Current Location
Japan
Without additional context, such as the implied ellipsis of dollars, then I'd go for the uncountable. ;-)
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
lucyarliwu said:
RonBee said:
lucyarliwu said:
I even wonder if I should get some systemetic studying

Um, it's systematic, but perhaps that was a typo.

Words that end in -atic:

  • acrobatic
    asthmatic
    autocratic
    automatic
    axiomatic
    charismatic
    democratic
    dramatic

:)

I'm sorry Ron, it's not a typo, indeed it's my spelling mistake as you guessed already, thanks for your correction and relative references.
BTW, do you think I'm now qualified to point out mistake from others? I assume it's very hard to do it especially from experts' remarks for me. :roll: Anyway I will try from now on, hehe....so watch out, everyone! :wink:

Jump right in. The water's fine.

:wink:
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
whl626 said:
lucy said:
Thanks RonBee for your corrections, I love it for I 've got ...

I have a rather odd question. Since plural noun is used ' corrections ', do you think to say ' I love them ..... ' is better to make the sentence look more balanced ?

No, because it does not refer to corrections. Instead, it refers to something unspoken but implied. Put in words, the form would be something like this:

  • I like it when you help me.

Or:

  • I appreciate it when you point out my mistakes.

The "it" in the sentence in question refers to a process or an action or a series of actions or a habit. (Take your pick. :wink: )

:)
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
Idiomatic English

"I love it when you correct me" but it is not exactly idiomatic English, because love would usually be considered too strong a word there. Better, perhaps, would be something like, "I appreciate your help." There is nothing wrong with love, of course, but it would probably be best not to overuse it.

(Sorry for being a PITN. (PITN= Pain In The Neck))

:wink:
 

RonBee

Moderator
Joined
Feb 9, 2003
Member Type
Other
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
lucyarliwu said:
By the way, I have to say that " Since a plural noun is..... , " is better than " Since plural noun is ...." , so what do you think?

As I understand it, the question is whether a should be used in front of plural noun. The answer is yes.

The a designates that the following noun is singular. Thus, it would be a plural noun or plural nouns.

I hope that helps.

:)
 

whl626

Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2003
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
Malaysia
Current Location
Malaysia
I am too stuck with the agreement in speech. I think this is the reason why I was being led astray :p. I see a clearer picture now. :)

Regarding the use of article, it is tricky. Especially when no article is used with a noun.
 
Top