Talking About Quantity: How Many - How Much
How Many & How Much
Asking about quantities.
How Many (for Countable Nouns)
We use How many to ask about the quantity of countable nouns (things you can count, like apples, books, friends). The noun is usually plural.
- "
How manyapples do you have?" - "
How manypeople are coming?" - "
How manybooks did you read?"
How Much (for Uncountable Nouns)
We use How much to ask about the quantity of uncountable nouns (things you can't count, like water, time, money). The noun is always singular.
- "
How muchwater is in the bottle?" - "
How muchtime do we have?" - "
How muchmoney does it cost?"
Special Case: Money
This can be tricky! We ask How much money? (because 'money' is uncountable).
But we ask How many dollars/euros/coins? (because 'dollars' and 'coins' are countable).
- "
How muchmoney do you have?" (Uncountable) - "
How manycoins do you have?" (Countable)
Countable vs. Uncountable Questions
Notice the noun is plural (countable) or singular (uncountable).
| Question Type | Countable (Plural Noun) | Uncountable (Singular Noun) |
|---|---|---|
| Ask Quantity | How many chairs...? |
How much furniture...? |
| Ask Quantity | How many dollars...? |
How much money...? |
| Ask Quantity | How many bottles...? |
How much water...? |
Example Conversations
| Countable Conversation | |
|---|---|
| A: | "How many eggs do we need for the cake?" |
| B: | "We need a few, maybe three." |
| Uncountable Conversation | |
| A: | "How much milk do we need?" |
| B: | "Just a little." |
Test Your Knowledge!
Choose the best question word for each sentence.
