I've got many problems vs I've got a lot of problems

[barbara.vagliani]

Hi!
I'd appreciate it if someone could explain why my text book says I've got many problems is incorrect. ;-)
Thanks !
B

 

[bhaisahab]

Which text book?

 

[emsr2d2]

Hi!
I'd appreciate it if someone could explain why my text book says "I've got many problems" is incorrect. ;-)
Thanks!

Welcome to the forum. :hi:

Please note my changes above. It's important to mark out the words or phrases you are querying in some way. As you can see, I have enclosed them in quotation marks. You could also put them in italics.
Don't put a space before an exclamation mark (or a question mark, comma or full stop).

Like bhaisahab, I would like to know which textbook you found that in and what reason is given for saying "many" is wrong.

 

[Canarinho_Verde_Amarelo]

Hi, Barbara!

Before anything else, I must say that I am not a teacher, but I have a textbook which claims that many and a lot of are interchangeable in this case.

"Countable nouns:

Many, in informal speech and affirmative sentences, can be substituted for a lot of, lots of, a great deal of and plenty of. Nothing prevents that manv be used in affirmative sentences, however it sounds more formal."

 

[barbara.vagliani]

The text book in question is Cambridge PET Direct Teacher's book. Common errors worksheet. Students need to choose the correct sentence between
A. He's got many problems.
B. He's got a lot of problems.
The answer is B in the answer key.
:roll:
So I was asking for some help from you as I am not sure why the answer is B as I have always taught my students that both "many" and "a lot of" are correct.

Thanks very much :lol:

 

[bhaisahab]

Both A and B are correct.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Ms. Vagliani:

I thought that you might like the opinion of Michael Swan, whose book Practical English Usage is respected by many teachers and students.

Mr. Swan tells us that in "an informal style, we use ... many mostly in questions and negative clauses."

"Many" is unusual in affirmative [positive] clauses except after [the words] so, as and too."

Here is one of Mr. Swan's examples:

1. "He's got lots of men friends, but he doesn't know many women." [My note: "lots of" / "a lot of " because the first part is affirmative/positive; "many" because the second part is negative.]

Perhaps that explains why your book prefers answer "b."


P.S. The fine print [the very small print] in post #4 also seems to agree with Mr. Swan's advice.

 

[Rover_KE]

Canarinho_Verdi_Amarelo, please name the title and author of the textbook you have quoted from.

 

[Canarinho_Verde_Amarelo]

The author's name is Anne Christina Martins.
Actually, there isn't any title, due to the fact that the textbook on the subject was made to all high schools students who studied at Bom Jesus Canarinhos in Brazil.

 

[Tdol]

I agree with Michael Swan- we tend not to use many/much in affirmative statements, but that doesn't make it wrong to do so.