Study materials
Listen to a short exchange. The same bread is described with two different words.
Do you have any bread?
Yes, we have some bread.
The bread did not change. The type of sentence did, and that is what decides the word.
When to use some and any
Both words mean an indefinite quantity and both sit equally before a plural and before an uncountable word. The difference is only in what kind of sentence it is.
| Type of sentence | Example |
|---|---|
| positive | There are some chairs. |
| negative | There aren't any chairs. |
| question | Are there any chairs? |
A positive sentence is an ordinary statement with no not and no question. A negative has not in it, as in don't, doesn't, isn't or aren't. Before an uncountable word, one not counted in units, both words work just as they do before a plural. In a negative, any means none at all.
There is some soup in the pot.
We don't have any bread.
Is there any juice?
The exception is offering or requesting. Then some stays in the question, because it makes the phrase friendlier.
Would you like some tea?
Can I have some water, please?
Any sometimes appears in a positive sentence too, but then it means “whichever”, not an amount.
Take any seat.
When to use much and many
The second choice works differently. What matters here is not the sentence but whether the word is counted in units.
many books, many people
much time, much money
The word people is already plural, even without an s, so many people. The same goes for children.
many people, many children
In everyday speech much and many mostly live in questions and negatives. In an ordinary positive sentence a lot of sounds more natural, and it suits both kinds of word.
We don't have much time.
She has a lot of friends.
Many sounds fine in a positive sentence, while much in a positive sentence is nearly always replaced by a lot of. It is always written with a and of.
There are many parks in Lviv.
a lot friends → a lot of friends
With not, much and many mean only a little or only a few. Not any means none at all.
There aren't many cafés here.
There aren't any cafés here.
How to ask about quantity
Questions about quantity follow the same split. Units are asked about with how many, a mass with how much.
How many bags do you have?
How much rice do we need?
After how many the noun is always plural, because we ask about several items. Sometimes the same thing can be counted in two ways. Time in general is not counted, but minutes are.
How much time do you need?
How many minutes do you need?
Keep the price question separate. It is always how much, however many things you are buying.
How much is this?
Is goes with one thing, and are with several.
How much is this T-shirt?
How much are these jeans?
Common mistakes
The first is taking much for a countable word.
much books → many books
The second is asking about quantity with the wrong word.
How much apples do we need? → How many apples do we need?
The third is putting some into a negative.
We don't have some bread. → We don't have any bread.
Two checks catch all three. The type of sentence settles some or any, since any goes in negatives and questions. Whether the word is counted in units settles many or much, and the same goes for how many and how much.