Much 還是 many？別再犯這個常見錯誤了——迷你英文小課堂：英語精讀講義

Is it how much people or how many people? 文法

是 how much people 還是 how many people？

How much money or how many money? 文法

是 how much money 還是 how many money？

Whether you use much or many depends on the noun in the sentence. 文法

到底用 much 還是 many，取決於句子中的名詞。

There is one very common noun that uses both much and many,

有一個非常常見的名詞，既能和 much 連用也能和 many 連用，

but the meaning changes.

但意思會有所不同。

I'll tell you what it is at the end of this video,

我會在影片最後揭曉這個詞是什麼，

but see if you can think of it before then. 語氣意圖

看看你在那之前能不能猜到。

The important thing to remember is we use much with uncountable nouns like money, 文法

要記住的重點是，我們將 much 用於不可數名詞，比如 money（金錢）、

food, information,

food（食物）、information（資訊），

and many with countable nouns,

將 many 用於可數名詞，

which is most nouns,

也就是大多數名詞，

like people, books, cars,

比如 people（人）、books（書）、cars（汽車），

and so on. 片語搭配

等等。

If a noun is uncountable, 文法

如果一個名詞是不可數的，

that just means we can't count it.

意思就是我們無法計算它的數量。

So we can't say one money, 文法

所以我們不能說 one money、

two monies,

two monies、

three monies.

three monies。

Uncountable nouns are different in every language. 用詞

不可數名詞在每種語言裡都是不一樣的。

So make sure you check them.

所以一定要仔細確認。

We have some great mini English lessons on this topic.

關於這個主題，我們有一些很棒的迷你英語課。

We use much and many most commonly in questions and negatives. 文法

much 和 many 最常出現在疑問句和否定句中。

For example,

舉個例子，

how much money did you spend? 文法

「你花了多少錢？」

And I don't have much food at home.

還有「我家裡沒多少吃的了」。

I really need to go shopping.

我真的需要去買東西了。

In those examples,

在這些例子中，

I used much because money and food are both uncountable.

我用了 much，因為 money 和 food 都是不可數的。

For many,

至於 many，

you might have questions like,

你可能會遇到這樣的疑問句：

"Do you know many people in London?" 文法

「你在倫敦認識很多人嗎？」

and negatives like,

以及這樣的否定句：

"There aren't many students in my class."

「我班上沒有很多學生。」

We don't really use much in positive sentences anymore. 用詞

現在我們其實已經不再把 much 用於肯定句了。

We used to, 文法

以前會這麼用，

but now it sounds quite old-fashioned.

但現在聽起來相當老派。

So if you say,

所以如果你說：

"I have much money,"

「我有很多錢（I have much money），」

you sound like a character in a Jane Austen novel, 文化背景

你聽起來就像是珍·奧斯汀小說裡的角色，

which sadly you are not.

但遺憾的是，你並不是。

Nowadays,

現如今，

we only really use much in positive sentences with the words so or too. 文法

我們通常只在肯定句裡把 much 和 so 或 too 連用。

So you could say,

所以你可以說：

"I have so much money," 用詞

「我的錢太多了（I have so much money），」

or even,

甚至是：

"I have too much money,"

「我錢多得花不完（I have too much money），」

which is not a problem that I have,

我倒是沒這個煩惱，

but maybe you do.

但也許你有。

And if so, 片語搭配

如果有的話，

I can help you.

我可以幫你。

We sometimes use many on its own in positive sentences, 文法

有時候我們也會在肯定句裡單獨使用 many，

but we often do add so or too.

但通常還是會加上 so 或者 too。

So you might have sentences like,

所以你可能會聽到這樣的句子：

"I have so many friends.

「我有很多朋友。」

It's really hard to find the time to see them all." 片語搭配

「要抽時間見他們所有人真的很難。」

Again,

話說回來，

not exactly a bad problem to have. 慣用語

這也不算是什麼壞事。

At the beginning of this video,

在本影片的開頭，

I told you that there is one noun which uses both much and many.

我說過有一個名詞既可以用 much 也可以用 many。

Did you think of it?

你想到了嗎？

The answer is time.

答案就是 time（時間/次數）。

If you use time in the uncountable form with much, 用詞

如果你把 time 當作不可數名詞和 much 連用，

you're talking about a duration of time.

你談論的是一段時間。

For example,

舉個例子，

how much time did you spend watching the British Council's mini English lessons?

「你花了多少時間看英國文化協會的迷你英語課？」

And the answer is always not enough.

答案永遠是「還不夠多」。

You should spend more time watching them. 片語搭配

你應該花更多時間去看。

If you use time in the countable form with many, 用詞

如果你把 time 當作可數名詞和 many 連用，

you're talking about the number of times or the number of occasions that you do something.

你談論的是做某件事的次數或場合。

For example,

舉個例子，

how many times did Kate have to film this video to get it right? 講解

「凱特究竟拍了多少次，才把這部影片拍好？」

And the answer is embarrassingly high,

答案高得讓人尷尬，

so let's not talk about it. 語氣意圖

所以我們還是別提了。

We've received so many questions about this, 文法

我們收到了非常多關於這個問題的提問，

but you don't need too much information to get it right.

但其實你不需要太多的資訊就能搞懂。

Just remember that much is for uncountable nouns and many is for countable,

只要記住 much 用於不可數名詞，many 用於可數名詞，

and you'll get it right every time.

你就每次都能用對啦。