How much? - How many?

English Grammar

When we want to know the quantity or amount of something, we ask questions starting with How much and How many.

HOW MUCH ...? - (Quantity)

How much is used with uncountable nouns.

HOW MUCH + UNCOUNTABLE NOUN

If the verb To Be is used with an uncountable noun, it is in singular form (= IS or WAS etc.)


HOW MUCH ...? - (Price)

How much can also be used when we want to know the PRICE of something.

In this case, we can use How much with countable nouns (both singular and plural nouns).

HOW MANY ...? - (Quantity)

How many is used when we want to know the QUANTITY of something.

It is only used with plural countable nouns.

HOW MANY + PLURAL NOUN

Omitting the noun

Often the noun is omitted in the question when it is obvious what we are talking about.

A: I would like to buy some cheese. B: How much (cheese) would you like?

The noun cheese is not necessary after how much since we already know we are talking about cheese. In fact, it is normally omitted to avoid sounding repetitive.

More examples:

Summary Chart

The difference between HOW MUCH and HOW MANY in English



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