I like listening to music, especially rock and jazz. I don’t listen to much country or pop music, but I to like some classical music. I don’t watch much TV, because I don’t like commercials much. Listening to music is much more enjoyable than watching TV.
A lot of people have said they have trouble with much. How about you? Today I am going to show you how to use much in your English conversation.
Much is used as a determiner before a noun, especially in a negative sentence and questions:
- I don’t watch much TV these days.
- Jack said he usually doesn’t drink much wine.
- We didn’t get much snow in NYC last winter.
Keep in mind we generally don’t use much in a positive sentence, unless we use much with too and so:
- Jane said she drank so much wine last night.
- My dog has too much energy, so we walk her twice a day.
We also use much as a pronoun:
- Bob said there was a lot of pizza at the party, but he didn’t eat much.
- Joe said there was a lot of litter in the park, but I didn’t see much.
We use not much of a when we refer to someone who is not good at or doesn’t like doing something:
- I’m not much of a beer drinker.
- Blair said she is not much of a skier.
We also use much as an adverb meaning to a large extent:
- We went to the club but we didn’t dance much.
- I don’t know much about golf, do you?
It’s also possible to use much as an adverb before a comparative adjective:
- This tomato sauce tastes much better that the one I made last week.
- I think Jenny is much more beautiful than Blair.
We use as much as to mean the same degree as~
- Jane said she danced as much as Maggie did.
- Bob doesn’t work as much as Frankie does.
We use very much before a past participle in a passive sentence:
- Brad was very much bothered by the neighbor’s barking dog.
- We were very much worried about Jane after she lost her job.
If you know anyone who might be interested in this English language point, why not help them out! Just share this lesson with them. Thanks for studying today!
Comments 3
Pingback: Happy English new post – Free English Grammar Lesson – Using THE » IELTS and ENGLISH Advice
Don’t forget to mention that the word ‘much’ by itself cannot be used in a positive sentence, e.g., He has much money. We say: He has a lot of money. But if the word ‘so’ is added to it then it can be used in a positive sentence.
Excellent point! Thanks for mentioning it 🙂