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Timar Marika
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much and many
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I am having a little dispute with one of my friends regarding the use of "much" and "many" in the following sentences:� How much ice cream do you eat? How many furniture did you buy? �Is it correct ?�
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4 Jan 2010
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zailda
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I learned that "furniture" is a collective, so it �s uncountable.
How much ice cream do you eat? or How many scoops of ice cream do you eat?
How much funiture did you buy? or How many pieces of furniture did you buy?
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4 Jan 2010
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Timar Marika
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Thank you very much! You were of great help! Have a nice day/ evening� |
4 Jan 2010
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Sonn
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In "Get Set Go" (OUP) the word ice-cream is used with "an". The article shows that it is a countable noun. Are there any cases when this word is used as an uncountable one? |
4 Jan 2010
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zailda
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The same happens in Portuguese, sometimes when we say:
I ate an ice cream.
we mean: I ate an (scoop of) ice cream.
I�ve heard they also say:
Let�s buy dozen beers.
In the sense of: Let�s buy dozen (cans/bottles of) beer.
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4 Jan 2010
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douglas
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In most cases ice cream is uncountable (this "how much ice cream")
In some cases cone or bowl is implied "we ate an<cone/bowl of> ice cream" |
4 Jan 2010
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dennismychina
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If asked if you would you like an ice cream the person offering would be referring to ice cream served in a cone or on a stick. (which would be a unit ie a loaf of bread, which is countable.)
Would you like some ice cream would refer to ice cream served in scoops into a container such as a bowl. ie a chunk /a piece of bread. Uncountable. ( not to be confused with a slice, which is countable.)
I hope I haven�t confused you even more.
So���
How much furniture did you buy?
How many pieces of furniture did you buy?
How much ice cream do you eat?
How many ice cream cones do you eat?
Enjoy. |
4 Jan 2010
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tubisch011
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If we want to express the kind more than one, we can use the uncountable nouns in the plural form.
We have no food at home. (u)
Grains and vegetables are useful foods. (c)
There is some fruit in the bowl. (u)
Oranges and apples are winter fruits. (c)
Cheese is a rich source of calcium. (u)
They sell thirty different cheeses in their shop. (c)
So this may change by the sentence you mean.
If you mean furniture or ice cream to express the kind you can make them countable like in the example. |
4 Jan 2010
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