much, many, a lot of

For big quantities we use much, many and a lot of.

We use much in questions and negatives. We use it with uncountable nouns.

• I can't go out tonight. I don't have much money.
• She doesn't have much time to study.
• There isn't much milk left.
• How much wine do we need for the party?
• Does your teacher give you much homework?

We don't use much in positive sentences so we use a lot of.

• I have much work this week. WRONG
• I have a lot of work this week. RIGHT

We use many in questions and negatives. We use it with countable nouns.

• How many brothers and sisters do you have?
• Were there many people at the party?
• There aren't many tall buildings in Madrid.
• You didn't make many mistakes.

We can use many in positive sentences but it is quite formal. A lot of is not formal.

• I ate many chocolates and biscuits at the weekend. OK but formal
• I ate a lot of chocolates and biscuits at the weekend. RIGHT
• There are many foreigners who live in Madrid. FORMAL (eg in a newspaper)
• There are a lot of foreigners who live in Madrid. INFORMAL

We can use a lot of in questions, negatives and positives but in informal contexts. We use with countable and uncountable nouns.

• He doesn't have a lot of time.
• Do you have a lot of friends?
  

lots of = a lot of but it is very informal.

• I had lots of fun at the weekend.

Short answers v long answers:

• How much wine did you drink last night? A lot / Lots.
• I drank a lot of / lots of wine last night.
• How much water do you drink each day? Quite a lot.
• I drink quite a lot of water each day.
• How many cigarettes do you smoke a day? Not a lot / Not many.
• I don't smoke many / a lot of cigarettes.
• How much time do you have? Not a lot / Not much.
• I don't have a lot of / much time.
• How much bread do we need? None.
• We don't need any bread.
  
  

Look at the previous posts on "quantifiers" (see under labels on the right of the page) and write some comments there.