Unit 86

Much, many, little, few, a lot, plenty

(a) Much many few little

Much и little употребляются с

неисчисляемыми существительными:

 

much time much luck little energy little money

 

Many и few употребляются с

исчисляемыми существительными:

 

many friends many people few cars few countries

 

(b) A lot (of) lots (of) plenty (of)

A lot of / lots of / plenty of употребляются

с неисчисляемыми существительными и

существительными во множественном числе:

 

a lot of milk lots of time plenty of money

a lot of students lots of shops plenty of ideas

 

Plenty часто используется в значении

'более чем достаточно':

 

- `Have some more coffee.' `No, thank you. I've had plenty.'

- There's no need to worry. We've got plenty of money.

 

с Much и many употребляются, в основном, в

отрицательных предложениях и в вопросах:

 

- We didn't waste much time.

- Have you written many poems?

 

В утвердительных предложениях лучше употреблять

a lot (of) вместо much :

 

- We wasted a lot of food. (а не `we wasted much food')

- There has been a lot of rain recently. (а не `much rain')

 

Однако too much и so much употребляются в

утвердительных предложениях:

 

- She won't drink this coffee. There's too much sugar in it.

- There was so much sugar in the coffee that she could't drink it.

 

(d) Little / a little few / a few

 

Little и few (без артикля a) придают характеру

действия негативный оттенок:

 

- Ask Tom to take a car. We've got little time. (= немного,

недостаточно времени)

- He's not friendly. He has few friends. (=немного, недостаточно

друзей)

 

Запомните усилительные формы very little и very few :

 

- We've got very little butter.

- He has very few clothes.

 

only a little и only a few имеют отрицательное

значение:

 

- Say that you'll call him later. We've only got a little time.

- The beach was empty. There were only a few swimmers.

 

A little и a few показывают более позитивное

отношение к небольшому количеству или числу:

 

- Let's go and see the town. We've got a little time before the train

leaves. (=немного времени, но достаточно чтобы

посмотреть город)

- `Have you got any salt?' `Yes, a little. Do you want me to give you

some?'(a little = not much but enough for you to borrow some)

- I enjoy my life here. I have a few friends and we meet quite often.

(a few friends = not many but enough to have a good time)

- `When did he phone you last?' `A few days ago.' (= some days ago)