What Are “How much?” and “How many?”
Both mean “How many?” or “How much?” in English. We use them to ask about quantity or amount.
Use How much? with uncountable nouns — things you cannot count (like water, money, sugar).
Use How many? with countable nouns — things you can count (like apples, chairs, books).
How Much + Uncountable Nouns
Use How much…? to ask about amounts of uncountable things.
How much milk do you want?
How much money did you spend?
How much bread is left?
How much coffee do we have?
How much rice should I cook?
Remember: Uncountable nouns don’t have plural forms, and you cannot say “a sugar” or “two sugars.” Instead, say:
a cup of sugar
a bag of sugar
a piece of bread
a glass of water
a bag of sugar
a piece of bread
a glass of water
How Much to Ask About Price
We also use How much? to ask about prices.
How much does this jacket cost?
How much are those shoes?
How much did you pay for the ticket?
Answering “How Much?”
Use words like:
a lot (a large amount)
a little (a small amount)
not much (a small amount)
a little (a small amount)
not much (a small amount)
– How much milk do you want?
— A lot, please.
— A lot, please.
– How much sugar did you add?
— Only a little.
— Only a little.
– How much did you spend?
— Not much.
— Not much.
How Many + Countable Nouns
Use How many…? to ask about the number of things you can count. Remember to use plural nouns.
How many people are coming?
How many books did you buy?
How many chairs do we need?
How many cars do you have?
How many apples did you eat?
Answering “How Many?”
Use words like:
a lot (many)
a few (some)
not many (few)
a few (some)
not many (few)
– How many apples did you eat?
— I ate a lot.
— I ate a lot.
– How many chairs do we need?
— Just a few.
— Just a few.
– How many people are here?
— Not many.
— Not many.
Asking About Age
In English, we don’t ask “How many years do you have?” like in some languages. Instead, ask:
How old are you?
When You See “How many” with Uncountable Nouns
Sometimes you see How many with things that seem uncountable because we’re really asking about a countable measure of them.
How much hair did you cut?
How many centimeters of hair did you cut?
How many centimeters of hair did you cut?
How much water is in the bottle?
How many liters of water are in the bottle?
How many liters of water are in the bottle?
How much sleep did you get?
How many hours of sleep did you get?
How many hours of sleep did you get?
